Hanie's heroics too little, too late for Bears
The last time Bears third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie had to come off the bench into a game that mattered, he was a freshman at Colorado State.
The last time Hanie even stepped onto the field for the Bears was last Oct. 10, three and a half months ago.
But trailing 14-0 and on the verge of being blown out of their own stadium by the Green Bay Packers, Hanie and the Bears made a run. It wasn't enough in a 21-14 NFC championship game loss at Soldier Field.
“He did a great job,” said tight end Greg Olsen, who had 3 catches for 30 yards. “I don't think you can say enough about what Caleb did. I don't think people realize how hard that is. During the week, you don't get any reps; everything he had to do was mental to prepare himself.”
Twice, Hanie and a Bears' defense that allowed just 104 yards in the second half and zero points, pulled within 7, but they could get no closer.
It was left to Hanie to lead an improbable and inevitably failed comeback after starter Jay Cutler suffered ligament damage to his left knee late in the first half.
“(It was) the second-to-last series (of the first half),” said Cutler, who will have an MRI on Monday, “and that last series I really aggravated it.”
Cutler tried to come back after halftime but was taken out after playing one three-and-out series.
“We gave it a go that first series, but I couldn't really plant and throw, so they kind of pulled me,” Cutler said. “It's a lonely feeling. You go through training camp and everything else and get to this point and have an opportunity to get in the Super Bowl. It's hard.”
Backup Todd Collins entered and was ineffective in two possessions, both of which also went one-two-three-punt, as he failed to complete any of his 4 passes.
“Two series and just couldn't get anything going,” Collins said. “Caleb had more experience in the offense in training camp, and he did a great job.”
So it fell to Hanie, who played briefly in two games during the regular season, threw 7 passes and completed 5 for 55 yards. Hanie didn't take a single snap with the Bears' first-team offense this week or in any week since the end of October when Collins was installed as the No. 2 quarterback. That was two weeks after Collins posted a passer rating of 6.2 against the Panthers in his only start, throwing 4 interceptions, no touchdowns and completing 6 of 16 passes for 32 yards.
That led to the obvious question of why he was next in line after Cutler.
“We thought Todd was the next guy that should be up, ready to go,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith, whose team finished 12-6.
Go figure.
After Cutler was hurt, Hanie clearly gave the Bears a better chance to win against the 13-6 Packers, who had sent Cutler to the sidelines after he completed just 6 of 14 passes for 80 yards, no touchdowns, 1aninterception and a 31.8 passer rating.
The Packers, with Aaron Rodgers in control, dominated the first half, which started with an 84-yard, 7-play drive that gave them a 7-0 lead. They added another score in the second quarter and had over 100 yards rushing in the first half, along with Rodgers' pimnpoint passing.
Hanie, who has never started an NFL game and has played in just four in his three years in the league and thrown a total of 14 passes, led a TD drive on his first possession. He completed his first 2 passes, an 8-yard flip to Matt Forte and a 32-yard strike to Johnny Knox, setting up Chester Taylor's 1-yard run that closed the gap to 14-7 with 12:02 left.
But minutes later Hanie was intercepted by the Packers' 337-pound nose tackle, B.J. Raji, who stepped in front of Forte and rumbled 18 yards for a touchdown, restoring the 14-point advantage.
“It was kind of a whirlwind,” Hanie said of the most extended playing time he has gotten in an NFL game. “I tried to do what I could, but I made a couple mistakes, and you kind of feel like you let your teammates down a little bit.”
Still, the 25-year-old Hanie came right back and completed passes of 13, 7 and 5 yards on consecutive plays before hitting Earl Bennett for a 35-yard TD with 4:43 left.
Hanie got one final chance and drove the Bears from their 29 to the Packers' 29-yard line but, with 37 seconds left, he was intercepted by Sam Shields at the Green Bay 12-yard line. His 65.2 passer rating wasn't bad in relation to Cutler's 31.8 and Collins' 39.6.
“I felt real good about what Caleb was able to do,” Smith said. “We had an opportunity at the end to tie the game, and that was with Caleb leading us.”
Afterward, Smith and Cutler's teammates took offense when told that some NFL players had questioned the quarterback's toughness on Twitter.
“I don't question his toughness,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “He's tough as hell. He's one of the toughest guys on our football team. He doesn't complain when he gets hit, he goes out there and plays his ass off every Sunday. He practices every single day. We don't question his toughness.”
Center Olin Kreutz was surprised Cutler played at all after the injury.
“When he walked back to the huddle, I could see his knee wobbling,” Kreutz said. “When you tear a ligament it feels like there's nothing there, and it gives out on you. That was what was happening to him, and you can't play with that. You can keep trying, but you can't do it.”
• Bob LeGere will have more from Halas Hall on Monday, and on our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com. Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter@BobLeGere.