Smith will have Bears ready

Bears fans have come to expect little from Lovie Smith in his postgame remarks, and rarely does the head coach exceed expectations.

What you do know is that he can make a 10-point loss sound like a 3-touchdown victory, so much so that it sends fans scurrying back to the box score to see if they were watching the same game.

So it was nothing less than shocking when he offered an honest assessment after the 23-20 loss to Seattle on Oct. 17.

“None of us looked good today,” Smith said. “We got our butts beat.”

He went on to criticize himself, Jay Cutler, Julius Peppers, the offensive line, the offensive play calling, the execution on third down offensively and defensively, the tackling, and just about every phase of the game.

“The offense didn't play well enough today, period,” Smith said. “Defensively, didn't play good enough. Third down, we didn't get off the field enough. Zero take-aways. We win very few games when you have that. This was a team effort.”

While Cutler frequently held the ball too long, the drops were too deep and the Seahawks were blitzing 55 percent of the time, with a Seattle defensive back blitzing on 44 percent of the plays.

Much has changed for the Bears in the three months since, but you can be certain Smith is using that Sunday of misery this week as a reminder that the Seahawks are more than an 8-9 team.

In reality, they're not, but that won't stop Smith from taking advantage of a bad loss as he makes sure his team is ready to play this Sunday.

That's one thing Smith is quite good at, and he won't pass up the opportunity.

He will remind them that the Seahawks embarrassed the Bears, hitting Cutler 10 times and collecting half a dozen sacks.

The offensive line was a mess at the time, and while still not average it's better than it was in October.

Lance Briggs didn't play and the Bears allowed 111 rushing yards.

It was, in a word, ugly.

That was then, and by now you know this NFC has set up perfectly for the Bears. With their string of luck you can almost bet that a key player will break a leg as the victors are running out the clock in Atlanta.

But the first step is Sunday.

Smith will make sure it's not a misstep.

Inside out

For an outdoor team, the Bears sure seem to practice inside a lot, though Thursday they did manage a practice in the elements.

It's just hard not to think of Tom Brady's words the day the Pats crushed the Bears in the snow, when he said, “We're very comfortable in whatever conditions we have to play in because we practice in it every day.

“We don't go in our bubble very often. If it snows, we practice in it. If it's windy, we practice. If it rains, we practice.

“They don't cancel football games very often. This isn't baseball. You're out there in the elements and you've got to be mentally tough enough to play in them.”

Seriously?

Pete Carroll says he intends to kick and punt to Devin Hester. I don't know why you'd believe him or why he would do it, but good luck with that if he lets Hester touch the ball and gives the Bears field position all day.

It seems more likely that he'd come out and admit he knew of all the shenanigans at USC.

Just thinking

For all the talk of the dreaded East end zone at Wrigley Field that was supposed to cause so much trouble in the NU-Illini contest — forcing the one-way game — I counted at least 10 players during bowl season that ran into a bench, table or stationary object on the very tight sidelines that posed more danger than a short end zone at Wrigley.

The good cause

The Chicago Wolves will host their first beer-tasting fundraiser at the Ram Restaurant and Brewery in Wheeling next Wednesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Wolves players will join fans for a night of food, fun, silent auction and raffles benefiting Wolves charities, which have raised more than $4 million the past 16 years.

For more info, visit chicagowolves.com.

Congrats

The Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame induction dinner will be Jan. 30 at the Belvedere Banquet Hall in Elk Grove, and those honored this year will be Cliff Koroll, Mark Lavarre and Steve Richmond in the Players Category; George Hayes, Bob Mathson, Jim Smith, Norm Spiegel and Irv Tiahnybik in the Builders Category; and Jay Jacobs and Andy McElman in the Officials Category.

OMG

At NBA.com, there's a video of Blake Griffin's top 10 plays, eight of which are heart-stopping slams.

Yet more proof that the only man in the NBA who can stop Griffin is Vinny Del Negro.

The clown car

Miami Herald's Greg Cote, on suggesting a new Dolphins look after the Jim Harbaugh/Tony Sparano debacle: “The new uniforms would consist of gigantic floppy shoes, oversized suspenders and a big red ball for a nose.”

Best headline

Sportspickle.com: “Roger Goodell hoping to purchase new NFL private jet with upcoming Steelers-Ravens fines.”

And finally ...

Brad Dickson of Omaha World-Herald: “This just in — the Big Ten plans to expand until it has enough teams to lose all 35 bowls.”