Bears' defense has all the Wright moves
Major Wright showed major courage.
“It's a tough one,” Bears cornerback Tim Jennings said of the ‘Elroy' dance that Wright attempted following the safety's 24-yard interception return for touchdown early in the third quarter of the Bears' 37-13 win over Detroit at windy Soldier Field on Sunday.
“It's from my hometown,” Jennings added. “I was raised in South Carolina. We've been harping on it. (The dance) is on YouTube. He's been practicing it all week. I said, ‘Major, I don't know if you got it yet.' But he was determined if he got a Pick Six that he was going to do it. The opportunity came and I was like, ‘No, don't do it!'”
“Something I just learned,” a proud Wright said, smiling.
Following Charles “Peanut” Tillman's 44-yard interception return into the same north end zone on Detroit's next possession, Jennings had a chance to notch the Bears' third Pick Six on quarterback Matthew Stafford.
But after making a diving interception at the Bears' 15 and heading downfield, Jennings was shoved out of bounds by former Bear Rashied Davis at the Detroit 33.
Had he reached the end zone, Jennings was not going to dance the ‘Elroy' in front of the Soldier Field crowd and TV cameras.
“I can do it better than Major, but I know I haven't got it perfected,” Jennings said with a laugh. “So, no, I wouldn't have done it.”
The Bears intercepted Stafford four times, all in the second half, with Corey Graham also getting into the act after D.J. Moore was ejected for attacking Stafford following Jennings' rough ride out of bounds.
The Bears also recovered 2 Detroit fumbles, giving them 6 turnovers, their most since they forced 7 at Tampa Bay on Sept. 17, 1995.
Stafford came into the game having thrown only 4 interceptions in the Lions' first eight games.
“It was literally just the ball moving (because of the high winds),” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.
“I think it was our disguise and our pressure,” Wright said. “He's not one of them quarterbacks that gives away a lot of picks like that.”
Wright's interception was his second in as many games. The second-year player out of Florida had not had a pick in the NFL before last Monday night's game at Philadelphia.
“I just read the quarterback,” Wright said. “We were in Cover 3. I came down, broke on the ball and just made a play.”
Tillman, whose interception came in man coverage, played creditably against MVP candidate Calvin Johnson. The 6-foot-5, 236-pound Johnson (11 touchdowns) caught 7 passes for 81 yards, 40 coming on one catch — but he was targeted 19 times and was kept out of the end zone.
“You got to tip your hat to my guy Peanut,” Jennings said. “He did an excellent job against one of the top receivers in the league. He didn't back down from him.”
“Tillman did a good job on the slant (interception),” said Stafford, who wore a glove on his throwing hand to protect a fractured finger. “He just sat inside and was pretty physical with Calvin. I thought it was a borderline (pass interference) call.”