En-Tice-ing Bears to get tough

Give Mike Tice the game ball or maybe all the game balls.

Not because he used to be Minnesota's head coach and the Bears beat the Vikings 27-13 on Sunday afternoon.

“We knew how much it meant to him and we wanted to go out and perform for him,” veteran center Olin Kreutz said.

More than that, though, Tice should be rewarded for something he reportedly did four days before kickoff.

“We're going to find out (against Minnesota) whether we're man enough,” Tice was quoted as saying to the Bears' offensive linemen he coaches.

It's about time somebody emphasized physical toughness around Halas Hall.

Head coach Lovie Smith's defense has been sort of bend-but-don't-break. New offensive coordinator Mike Martz's schemes are more finesse than smashmouth.

This is a franchise that bases its reputation on being rough and tumble, but it has been awhile since you sensed that the current regime defines itself by those qualities.

Leave it to Tice rough and tumble as both a player and a coach to put in words what essentially is the “Monster” part of “Monsters of the Midway.”

If Tice meant it as a challenge, good for him and good for his offensive linemen for responding in both the passing and running game.

Not that Minnesota provided much resistance. The Vikings look like a football team whose window of opportunity slammed shut on quarterback Brett Favre's 41-year-old ankle at the end of last season.

Favre? This supposedly was his last game ever in Soldier Field, and he moved around the place like an old man heading to the bathroom in the dark at 3:30 a.m.

Tice said something else significant a couple of months ago: He targeted the Bears' bye week for when his unit would come together.

Sure enough Roberto Garza recovered from injury, J'Marcus Webb and Chris Williams gained experience, Frank Omiyale settled in at left tackle, Kreutz provided senior leadership … and presto!

During the two games since the bye, quarterback Jay Cutler has been able to drop back without fearing for his life, the running game has been pronounced if not profound, and Martz has been able to call plays more confidently.

“We're trying to get better every week,” Kreutz said. “We have a little better understanding of what the coaches want of us.”

Cutler, who was left for dead in a brown paper sack on the side of the road not long ago, was thrown for a loss just twice in the past two games.

“It's huge,” Cutler said of the line's improvement. “These guys are finally coming together.”

Combine Cutler's mobility and Martz's more balanced playcalling with at least an adequate line and the Bears' offense can advance toward looking NFL-worthy for a change.

“For us it's great going out and fighting for four quarters,” said Garza, the veteran right guard.

The Bears in general and offensive line specifically wore down the Vikings before scoring a knockout in the fourth quarter.

That's what the Bears always used to do. Win or lose, they pounded on opponents to the point nobody needed to challenge their manhood.

Congratulations to Mike Tice for reminding the Bears that's how football is played around here.