Bennett sports orange shoes, fine or not

Earl Bennett was fined $5,000 last week by the NFL for wearing orange cleats during his 5-catch, 95-yard performance that included his first TD catch of the season.

He was warned that a repeat violation would cost him $10,000, but Bennett was sporting the orange again Sunday against the Lions, and he caught 6 passes for 81 yards — so maybe it was worth it.

The Bears and quarterback Jay Cutler might think so, since Bennett was the only Bear to catch more than 1 pass.

“I was just trying to make plays,” said Bennett, who was playing in his second game after missing five with a chest injury. “We were able to move the ball pretty good.”

But only when Bennett was catching the ball. The Bears were outgained 393-216. After 15 minutes and 45 seconds, the Bears had a 20-0 lead, even though they had been outgained 87-74 and had just 9 rushing yards.

Familiar formula:Sunday#146;s formula for victory #8212; 6 takeaways, 2 defensive touchdowns and a punt-return TD #8212; is one that Bears coach Lovie Smith is fond of.#147;We rely on our special teams, No. 1,#148; Smith said. #147;We#146;re not shocked when we score on special teams. We#146;ve done it so much. Defensively, it#146;s not good football unless we take the ball away. We#146;ve establish our foundation on being solid with the run, and stopping the run on the other side of the football.#148;Although Matt Forte was kept in check by the Lions, the Bears still outrushed Detroit 109-80.Williams for Williams:Left guard Chris Williams suffered a wrist injury late in the second quarter that required surgery Sunday night, and he is expected to be lost for the season.Edwin Williams, who is not related to Chris, replaced him for the remainder of the game.#147;I don#146;t know how long he#146;ll be out,#148; coach Lovie Smith said, #147;but he#146;ll be down for a while.#148;Williams had started all nine games and the final 11 games last season.Big-time hit:Just a few plays after Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley was penalized for roughing quarterback Jay Cutler, Lance Briggs retaliated by leveling Calvin Johnson after a 4-yard reception. Briggs was cited for unnecessary roughness, although on the replay it was clear he led with his shoulder, not his head. It fired up the Bears#146; defense, especially nose tackle Anthony Adams.#147;That was a great hit,#148; Adams said. #147;I was ready to play after that. I almost got a penalty for hitting Briggs. I didn#146;t think the hit was deserving of a penalty.#148;Ÿ Follow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.