Are Bears on verge of sack attack?
The Bears haven't had a single sack in the past two weeks, as Tony Romo and then Aaron Rodgers tossed a total of 96 passes, completing 68 for 690 yards.
They did have 3 interceptions in those games and a few pressures, but they need to do a better job getting after Giants quarterback Eli Manning tonight (7:20 p.m., Channel 5, WBBM 780-AM).
"We're getting there," said linebacker Brian Urlacher who has 1 of the Bears' 2 sacks. "We're getting pressure, (and) we're getting holding calls, (but) we're not getting him on the ground. We played two good quarterbacks. Rodgers and Romo run around pretty good in the pocket. Those guys are tough.
"(Defensive end Julius) Peppers is getting held three or four times a game. The guys in the middle are getting up there, too. The sacks will come. We will start getting them on the ground. We've just got to keep being relentless."
Peppers has the Bears' other sack, along with 5 quarterback pressures, 1 behind team leader Mark Anderson. Israel Idonije and Matt Toeaina each have 3.
But getting close isn't good enough for defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.
"They're working; but (the sacks) ain't coming, and it's not good enough," Marinelli said. "The only thing that's good enough is getting them on the ground. We just have to keep pushing and driving, so we're just going to keep working at it. The effort's great, the 'want-to' is great, but the results are needed."
Idonije, who is splitting the left end position with Anderson, thinks the line is on the verge of getting it done.
"The last two weeks we played two quarterbacks that are extremely mobile; tough, scrappy guys," he said. Eventually we'll get some. When I watch the film, I know our guys are working their butts off to make plays.
"You saw away and saw away and eventually the tree comes down. So look for some big things from that front four because we're working hard. It's going to break."
Return to greatness: The last time the Bears played in New Jersey, Devin Hester returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown against the Giants in their old stadium at the Meadowlands in 2006.
"That's the first thing I thought about when I looked at the schedule and saw that we play them out there," Hester said. "That missed field goal. I want to get a punt-return (touchdown) against them. I want to get a punt-return touchdown against every team in the NFL. That's my goal."
Six of Hester's 12 kick-return touchdowns (8 punts, 4 kickoffs) have come in prime time. His 62-yard punt-return TD last week was one of his shorter scores. It was only the third of 14 (including the missed-FG return and the kickoff return in Super Bowl XLI, which don't count in career kick-return stats) of less than 73 yards.
Looking for improvement: Quarterback Jay Cutler believes the offense needs to make more of a contribution to the team effort than it did in the Packers game, even though the Bears are 11th in the NFL in total yards and No. 5 in passing yards.
"They had a lot of penalties and a few turnovers," Cutler said of the Packers. "It's a good sign, but we can't rely on that all year. If we think we're going to win a bunch of games and get into the playoffs relying on defensive play like that every game, and offensively for us to struggle, we're probably not going to get very far with that."
Fashion statement: Lance Briggs "Mohawk Movement" has spread not only from the linebackers to other positions, but to the coaching staff.
"Lance looks good in a Mohawk," said 29-year-old linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who has resisted the trend. "I've only got a couple more years of hair, so I'm kind of holding on to whatever I can get."
Tinoisamoa gave a thumbs-up to linebacker coach Bob Babich's new 'do, which kind of resembles a Mohawk.
"It looks good on him," Tinoisamoa said.