'Don't kick to Hester' strategy has plus side
Overall, the Eagles' plan to make sure no punts or kickoffs went anywhere near Devin Hester on Sunday worked pretty well, but it also gave the Bears excellent field position on occasion.
That's what you get for having a last name of Hester.
"Now, I think he's a national name," coach Lovie Smith said. "I know he's a national name. Everybody's talking about how to deal with him, so it wasn't unexpected the way they tried to keep the ball away from him."
Sav Rocca's first punt went out of bounds after just 21 yards, giving the Bears the ball at their 41, but they failed to capitalize.
David Akers' kickoff with 22 seconds left in the half went out of bounds giving the Bears the ball at the 40, but they didn't have time to do much.
In the second half Rocca launched an unreturnable punt into the end zone and kicked a 27-yarder out of bounds giving the Bears possession at midfield, which led to a Robbie Gould field goal for a 12-9 lead.
"Good strategy on their part," Smith said of kicking away from Hester. "As far as we're concerned, we're just going to assume that teams are going to take that approach, and we know that our offense will start with good field position most of the time."
The Bears averaged just 6.5 return yards on short, high kickoffs that were handled by Rashied Davis or Adrian Peterson, who were immediately swarmed by the Eagles. The tactics on punts and kickoffs are something the Bears will have to deal with.
Rocca's last punt was perfectly placed out of bounds at the three-yard line, but resulted in the Bears' best drive of the day, season and maybe decade.
Over and out: Even though the loss of audio in quarterback Brian Griese's headset just prior to the final TD drive came at a crucial time, coach Lovie Smith didn't accuse the Eagles of trying to get slick.
"Oh no," Smith said. "Something happens like that each week. Just a part of football. Tell me some technology that never fails; there isn't any. That's just a minor thing you have to deal with from time to time. You try to go over all those situations through the week that might come up. You have certain plays you run in certain situations."
Injury update: Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who has played through knee and hamstring injuries without missing a game this season, added a sore back to his woes Sunday night, but the injury isn't considered serious.
Running back Cedric Benson stayed in the game despite a minor knee injury. Backup safety Brandon McGowan left the Eagles game in the second quarter with a sprained elbow and will be re-evaluated later in the week.
Defensive tackle Darwin Walker is expected back this week after missing two games with a sprained knee, while cornerback Nate Vasher (groin) probably will miss his fifth straight game and then get an extra week of rest and rehab during the bye before returning against the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 11.