TOO HOT
Sack full of praise for defensive end
Seemingly everywhere, defensive end Alex Brown finished with four tackles after initial review, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass defense. Jake Delhomme recovered both fumbles but wasn’t as lucky on Brown’s sacks, getting dropped for a total of 23 yards. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for from Alex,” coach Lovie Smith said. “He’s a good football player. All day, he was able to get good pressure.” And that’s why safety Mike Brown said to look beyond his teammate’s season total of three sacks. “His sack total might not be great, but he causes a lot of holding penalties and a lot of pressure,” Mike Brown said. Alex Brown’s first pressure of Delhomme led to Nathan Vasher’s first interception.
TOO COLD
QB controversy? Uh, never mind
Rex Grossman sure looked cold walking off the field after the game. That’s a lame attempt at humor, but it’s hard to find a poor performer in a complete victory like this one. So Kyle Orton’s workmanlike effort should quiet those clamoring for the return of Grossman, who is expected to participate in full practices this week. About the only hole in Orton’s repertoire again was consistent chemistry with Muhsin Muhammad, who dropped a touchdown pass and had Orton’s lone interception bounce off his hands on a poorly thrown ball. “It’s frustrating for both of us,” Orton said. “He’ll be open and I’ll miss him. Or I’ll put a ball on him and he’ll drop it. It’s been going back and forth all year like that. We just had to laugh it off.”
JUST RIGHT
Kicker’s trouble gone with the wind Robbie Gould kicked a 39-yard field goal straight through the uprights in the south end of Soldier Field. Coincidentally, that’s the same distance and target Gould tried in last Sunday’s wind fest against San Francisco, when his attempt took a hard right turn. “It was nice to go out there and not have to deal with the wind,” Gould said. “You can kick from anywhere when it’s like that. The conditions were great.” Gould also nailed a 33-yarder and is now 9-for-13 on the season. He is only 1-for-4 from 40 to 49 yards, but his kickoffs continue to get solid depth and height and his confidence is growing with each game. “I don’t really feel like a rookie anymore,” Gould said. “I just have to continue to try to improve.”
