Bears go from whining to winning

If you believe everyone surrounding the Bears, and especially those on the payroll, you know the players swear by every spoken word brought down from the mountain by Lovie Smith.

So where has the head coach been the last two weeks?

The players did nothing but complain about the field and the weather last week against the Patriots in Chicago, and then spent several days leading up to the game in Minnesota on Monday night whining about how unfair it was that they had to play outside on a terrible field again.

Not exactly your father's Chicago Bears, even though Smith has encouraged us to believe so this season.

Tom Brady made it very clear after the Pats pasted the Bears that New England would play on molten rock during a hurricane if Bill Belichick asked them to, and they wouldn't think twice about where they were playing.

Only whom they were playing.

So where was the Bears' head coach, either before the Patriots game or after, stressing the same thing?

Apparently, nowhere.

So Bears players cried all week about the conditions in Minnesota.

It definitely bothered them a week ago against a quality NFL team, and it might have been a problem Monday if they hadn't faced a weakened and defeated opponent.

Ultimately, the field conditions couldn't stop the Bears, nor could their concern about it, not against a Vikings team that quit weeks ago, was without Adrian Peterson, and started an ancient and injured Brett Favre.

So they romped to a 40-14 victory and clinched the NFC North, though it was something less than a Winter Classic.

Despite their odd week of crabby preparation, which included another week indoors — save one practice outside at Northwestern — the Bears faced an opponent with zero interest in playing football.

Good thing.

Once the Vikes fell behind the game was over, and it was an upset that Minnesota showed up at all for the second half.

Someone named Joe Webb, who's less a third-string quarterback than he is a running back who played QB at Alabama-Birmingham and was drafted as a receiver, had no chance after Favre was driven from the game.

The Bears' professionals on defense, like Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers, showed up ready to play and played well.

Matt Forte ran hard and Jay Cutler displayed his usual array of great throws and terrible passes, including a ridiculous interception near the end of the first half and a couple more that should have been picked.

But even Mike Martz — who made his QB a target and inexplicably had Cutler dropping back while up 3 TDs in the fourth — couldn't keep the Bears from their appointed division title.

Devin Hester's kick return to start the second half and punt return to set the return record begged the question — again — of why he's not returning every kick, since everyone else in the NFL has known for five years that he's the best returner in the history of the game.

But Smith instead took the most potent, game-changing weapon in the game and turned him into a bad wide receiver.

That's some coaching.

Nevertheless, the Bears can now stop complaining about the weather and begin pondering the No. 2 seed in the NFC, a first-round bye and at least one home playoff game.

It's right there for them with a game first against the Jets and QB Mark Sanchez, who had an MRI on his ouchy right shoulder Monday. And then there are the Packers, who'd be insane to play Aaron Rodgers if by then they have been eliminated from the playoff race.

Of course, that game will be in Green Bay, so for the sake of every long-suffering Bears fan, let's hope — for the love of Jeff Sevy and all that's holy — that it doesn't snow.

brozner@dailyherald.com