Peppers: 'We need to get better'
Some people, when exposed to crippling cold, come alive. Their endorphin levels surge and their senses become razor-sharp.
Other people find their extremities and brains numbed by extreme weather conditions like those on the lakefront Sunday afternoon.
At the end of the Bears' 36-7 loss to New England, the Weather Channel reported a wind chill of 6 degrees thanks to the 34 m.p.h. winds (and the occasional 55 m.p.h. gusts) that turned Soldier Field into a $365 million snowglobe.
As you read these takes on the Bears' most-lopsided home loss since Nov. 2004, decide for yourself which players thrived on the cold and which seemed blinded to Sunday's reality.
• Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who didn't make the defensive stat sheet Sunday:
“Definitely I feel like we'll see those guys again down the road.”
• Tight end Greg Olsen, who caught 1 pass for 6 yards:
“We felt really good coming in. We felt each week, these last few weeks, we were getting better. It all came to kind of a crashing halt here, as far as our progress.
“By no means is the season over. This one obviously hurts. It's a tough pill to swallow on a national stage. We had a chance to set yourself up there as a Super Bowl contender and then totally you-know-what.”
• Linebacker Lance Briggs, who contributed 5 tackles:
“Was I surprised? Yeah. Obviously we thought we would play a better game. But, you know, sometimes you need a good butt-whippin'. And that's what we got.
“Why do you need it? To get yourself back to where you need to be. Ground yourself a little bit. Take you off your high horse. Things like that, it can be good. It can come at the right time.”
• Running back Matt Forte, who totaled 61 yards from scrimmage on 9 carries and 2 catches:
“Sometimes you go on a five-game winning streak and everybody starts to think, ‘Oh, we've made it. We've arrived. We're the best team.'
“That goes to show you we've got a lot of work to do and we can get better.”
• Defensive end Julius Peppers, who contributed 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 other tackle for loss and 2 pass breakups:
“We need to get better. A lot better. Quickly.”
• Coach Lovie Smith, whose record dropped to 13-10 in Bears games decided by 20 points or more:
“I've been in this situation before when you've been blown out. It happens from time to time, especially against a good football team.
“But then you go back and this game counts as one loss no more than that. We went into this game against the Patriots in first place in our division and we still are.”
• Linebacker Brian Urlacher, who led everyone with 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 3 pass breakups:
“The reality is we got our butts kicked and we're still in first place. We've got to take something out of this. We'll watch the film tomorrow, but we're still in first place in the NFC North and that's where we want to be.”