Give Greg Olsen credit. The rookie tight end already understands the importance of not pointing fingers, particularly when it relates to the guy throwing you the football.
“We all have things that we can do better on offense,” Olsen said. “Brian [Griese] is not the problem.”
But Griese surely wasn’t the answer in Sunday’s 16-7 loss to the Lions at Soldier Field. The NFL’s reigning offensive player of the week had four interceptions — all of which halted drives into Lions territory. Two of his passes were picked off in the end zone and one at the goal line.
The hero from the win over the Eagles was showered with boos by the home crowd.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” said Griese, who threw seven interceptions in two losses to the Lions this season. “Obviously, we all knew the importance of this game.”
But did they? The Bears didn’t play with a sense of urgency, falling to 3-5 and losing momentum going into their week off.
A team once a favorite to return to the Super Bowl now has to wonder whether making the playoffs is a realistic goal. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 10 NFL teams in history have recovered from 3-5 starts to make the playoffs.
Cornerback Charles Tillman was asked if the Bears could fight their way back. “Hell yeah,” he said. “I’m going to go out swinging.”
Tillman created a turnover by punching the ball out of Kevin Jones’ hands, a ball recovered by Hunter Hillenmeyer. But other than that, the Bears didn’t put up much of a fight.
It didn’t help that Cedric Benson had an average day, picking up 50 yards on 13 carries. The defense had blatant mental errors, with Adam Archuleta picking up a 47-yard, pass-interference penalty and Tommie Harris jumping offside with the Lions facing fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 2.
In the return game, the Lions were smart enough to kick away from Devin Hester. The only real opportunity Hester had turned into a 39-yard punt return and set up the Bears’ only touchdown — Griese’s 20-yard pass to Olsen in the third quarter.
Outside of that score, the offense was sluggish. Their best first-half opportunity to score, outside of Robbie Gould’s missed 40-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter, came with 5 minutes 34 seconds left before halftime.
Credit the Bears defense for keeping the Lions out of the end zone a number of times. Yet none of that mattered for a team that has absolutely no margin for error. They’ll try to recover starting with a Nov. 11 road date with the Raiders.
“No sense in giving up right now,” Tillman said. “That’s not this team. We never quit.”
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POLL POSITION
Chicagosports.com asked: “Who are you hangin’ the blame on for the Bears’ loss?”
57.7%
Absolutely everyone from the owner on down
31.8%
Brian Griese (4 picks)
5.0%
Cedric Benson (13 rushes, 50 yards)
5.4%
Safeties (Late breaks, missed tackles, pass interference)
