It might make a warm holiday sentiment for the Hutchinson family, but backup quarterback Chad Hutchinson will not start in place of Craig Krenzel on Thanksgiving against his former teammates, the Dallas Cowboys. Bears coach Lovie Smith shot down that rumor even before it floated out of Soldier Field on Sunday.
Asked if Krenzel is the starting quarterback despite another bad outing, Smith did not hesitate.
“Yes, he is,” Smith said.
Krenzel has struggled in four starts, completing 46 percent of his passes with six fumbles and six interceptions compared to three touchdowns. He has 54 completions and has been sacked 21 times.
Combined with the turnovers, Krenzel has experienced more than half as many negative pass plays as positive. Smith declined to discuss the reasons for not getting Hutchinson experience in the fourth quarter of a game that was well out of reach.
“I didn’t really see it like that at the time,” Smith said. “We wanted to get Craig Krenzel as much time. He’s a young quarterback still developing. We didn’t see the need in that. Next question.”
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning empathized with Krenzel’s misery. He can relate; he has been where Krenzel is. “I don’t like to see a quarterback get booed, get pulled or have one of those games,” Manning said. “We were 3-13 my first year, and I’m sure a lot of people were saying, `Who is this guy?'”
Short on words
David Terrell caught three passes for 76 yards and showed the athleticism he wants to be known for on two grabs. Terrell uncharacteristically gave one-sentence answers afterward and implied the organization had put the unpredictable wide receiver under a gag order.
“I’m not trying to say too much of nothing right now,” Terrell said.
Did somebody with the Bears tell him to watch what he said?
“I want to be in Chicago next year,” Terrell said.
Does that mean yes?
“I am going to do what I’ve got to do to be in Chicago next year,” he said.
Back on the field
Left tackle Marc Colombo played the fourth quarter, his first action at the position more than two years after dislocating his left kneecap. Colombo thought he played like someone who had not played in two years, noting, “The speed is obviously different. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.” A holding call against Colombo on Dwight Freeney that negated a 7-yard touchdown pass to Terrell particularly bugged him. Replays indicated that Colombo did not appear to have grabbed Freeney. “I got turned around and walled him off and [got called for] holding,” he said.
Nasty situation
Bears receiver Bobby Wade did not think fans such as the one heckling the Bears behind their bench loudly enough to get players to react would ever lead to a violent episode. “I don’t think people are crazy enough to leave the stands and come down with gladiators on the field,” Wade said. “And I don’t think any [player] would take it to the point where they try to go up in the stands. There’s too much respect in football. Now, if it was basketball and they were that close, an arm’s reach away…”
Manning and his father, Archie, were watching Friday’s Pacers-Pistons game during dinner at an Indianapolis steakhouse. They were appalled at the brawl–and the Colts play at Detroit on Thanksgiving. “Hopefully the Lions fans won’t hold that [fight] against us,” Manning said.
Extra points
Wade dislocated his right shoulder early in the game but had it popped back into place. He said it was not serious but did not know how much it would hurt Monday. “It was pretty painful,” Wade said. . . . Left guard Ruben Brown suffered a stinger in his shoulder that required him to leave the game twice. Brown said he expected the stiffness to increase Monday and did not want to predict how it might affect his status for Thursday’s game. . . . When Justin Gage caught a 7-yard pass in the fourth quarter, what was left of the crowd sarcastically cheered. Gage, a fan favorite expected to be a big-play threat this season, has just eight catches. . . . The Bears’ pass rush, the biggest source of the recent three-game winning streak, had no sacks and no knockdowns. . . . Nathan Vasher’s interception of Manning was his fourth, tops among NFL rookies. . . . Colts tackle Ryan Diem, a Carol Stream native who played at Glenbard North High School and Northern Illinois, was scrambling last week for tickets to Sunday’s game to accommodate family and friends. “There’s over 100 that I know about,” Diem said, “maybe more.”
