Lovie Smith: Bears’ failures combination of things
Coach Lovie Smith declined to assign individual blame for the only interception Sunday or the failure to reach the end zone after having second-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
“Normally if there’s a bad play, it’s a combination of things,” he said. “I’m sure Jay (Cutler) would like to have the ball back. Devin (Hester) would probably say he could run a little bit better route.
“There are a lot of things that go into that. I just know that it was a play that really gave (Green Bay) momentum as much as anything.”
The Packers turned their only take-away into 7 points just before halftime.
Late in the third quarter, with a chance to halve their 14-point deficit with a TD, the Bears settled for a field goal. Matt Forte was stuffed twice before Alshon Jeffery’s apparent TD catch was wiped out by a pass interference call against him.
“Normally it’s a combination of blocking a little bit better and of course running a little bit better,” Smith said. “It’s not an exact science a lot of times.
“I just know when you’re in a situation, everybody that’s involved in the play needs to do a better job.”
Face of the franchise:Sunday night on Fox-TV, injured linebacker Brian Urlacher responded to criticism of coach Lovie Smith and the team by saying: #147;Two of the people I don#146;t care about: fans and media.#148;Smith was asked for his response.#147;First off it would be hard for me to respond to those comments when I haven#146;t heard the comments,#148; he said. #147;I just know who Brian Urlacher is. I know that he loves being a Chicago Bear.#147;He#146;s helped us win a lot of football games around here. He#146;s a leader. He#146;s disappointed like we all are right now in a position we were in (Sunday), and he#146;s going to come to work this week getting ready for Arizona.#148;Urlacher is expected to miss his third straight game this week with a hamstring injury.Stuff happens:In the final quarter of his nine seasons with the Bears, Lovie Smith#146;s teams have a combined 15-19 record.So he was asked if he reviewed those results for possible signs of wearing down late in the season.#147;You can#146;t,#148; he said. #147;Because everything we do is to put the best team on the field that week.#147;We have done anything imaginable to try to not have our guys wear down, from even last week adjusting our schedule and not practicing a day.#147;No, I don#146;t think any of those things happen. I think some years it#146;s just that way.#148;Go figure:After losing six straight and eight of nine to the Packers, Lovie Smith is at a loss for why his team doesn#146;t match up better.#147;We#146;ll keep trying to figure that out,#148; he said. #147;Right now, when you#146;ve lost as many as we have, I can#146;t give you a good reason for it. (Sunday) was as close as #133; we#146;ve made progress. We were in the game early on.#147;We just couldn#146;t finish the job. That#146;s why it#146;s important for us right now to just keep working to possibly have another opportunity to solve that.#148;Public accounting:Frustrated wide receiver Brandon Marshall said everyone should be held accountable for the recent 1-5 slump, even if it means jobs.#147;I would like to think that all throughout the season we#146;ve stressed being accountable with every position,#148; coach Lovie Smith said. #147;With all of us, coaches, players and all of us. I don#146;t think anything has changed from that.#148;Making moves:Offensive tackle Cory Brandon was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, and defensive tackle Matt Toeaina (knee) was placed on injured reserve.The 6-foot-7, 324-pound Brandon entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2011. Toeaina played in three games with two starts.Status quo: Asked if he had considered any coaching changes on his staff, Lovie Smith said: #147;Our same coaching staff that we had (Sunday) will be in their same jobs this week.#148;