No player in the NFL since 1955 has gone farther with his first carry than the Bears' Kahlil Bell, who sprinted 72 yards Sunday night against Philadelphia on his initial carry as a pro.

The last time anyone opened a career with a bigger bang was the Colts' Alan Ameche, who went 79 yards with his first carry 54 years ago.

On the very next snap after failing to come down with a high throw from Jay Cutler on his first NFL play, Bell produced the Bears' longest run since a 73-yarder by Neal Anderson in 1989.

The UCLA product said he has been carrying a chip on his shoulder for years, but that it actually helps him.

"Everyone has always told me pretty much my whole life that I wasn't running- back material," said the 5-foot-11, 212-pounder. "I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't quick enough.

"Naturally, when someone tells you that you can't do something, you want to prove them wrong. Someone tells me I can't do something, I look at them and say, 'OK, well watch.' "

Bell ran only a 4.68 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, slow for a running back, but he said that's not the true measure of a football player.

"I think a lot of that stuff is overhyped and overblown," he said. "You see guys who run 4.3s or 4.4s get out there, and they can't even make a cut. Or you see guys like (former Bronco) Terrell Davis, who is a 4.7 guy at the combine, and his career speaks for itself.

"At the end of the day, if you can put on the pads and you can be a football player, you're a football player."

Can't win: Jay Cutler has been demonstrative in arguing for what he considers pass-interference penalties against Bears receivers that don't get called, especially one Sunday night in front of the Bears' bench.

But coach Lovie Smith said that's part of the game.

"You can't do anything," Smith said. "The officials have never lost a game. We had all types of opportunities to win the game, to make plays. There are a lot of calls that cold go either way.

"(But they) had nothing to do with the outcome of the game. That play, I saw it differently, but I see a lot of plays differently."

Hope springs eternal: Despite 5 losses in six weeks, cornerback Charles Tillman, who forced 3 fumbles Sunday, isn't conceding anything.

"I think the day I lose hope is the day I need to retire," he said. "I'm always hopeful. I think this team is always hopeful.

"That's how you're supposed to be. It's kind of like Coach (Lovie) Smith gets criticized for being so positive all the time. I think it's great that he's positive. I think that's why he's a good head coach."