Hasselbeck exposes Bears' defense

When the Bears lose, cornerback Peanut Tillman doesn't exactly enjoy fielding reporters' mundane questions.

Let's just say after the Bears' unexpected 23-20 loss to Seattle on Sunday afternoon, Tillman delivered more snappy responses after the game than during it.

Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spent a lot of time throwing to Tillman's side particularly on slants and crosses that took advantage of wideout Mike Williams' size advantage as Seattle piled up 242 yards and 1 touchdown through the air.

“Yeah, like we wanted to lay an egg on purpose, Tillman said. “That was our intent, right? Naw, man, we just came out flat. We just didn't play good.

For the first time since last year's Week 7 debacle at Cincinnati, the Bears neither forced a turnover nor recorded a sack.

For a defense that had forced 14 turnovers in the first five games, the problems began almost immediately.

The offense needed less than three minutes to stake the Bears to a 7-0 lead, but the defense needed less than three minutes to erase that lead.

Hasselbeck and Co. double-timed it down the field as they gobbled up 62 yards on three passes to cap their opening drive.

Right after Hasselbeck hit Williams for gains of 16 and 24 yards, the Seahawks didn't huddle and snapped quickly. With the Bears in Cover-2, wide receiver Deon Butler beat Tillman on an out-and-up for a 22-yard touchdown in the back corner of the end zone.

Tillman didn't get any safety help because Hasselbeck pumped to a receiver over the middle.

“With a veteran quarterback like Hasselbeck, said cornerback Tim Jennings, “he knows some of the weaknesses in the defense and he was able to put the ball and put his guys in the right position to make plays.

Seattle played with the benefit of a bye week, but the Bears claimed they weren't victimized by many new wrinkles or schemes.

The Seahawks did play their first game with trade acquisition Marshawn Lynch and they used him a ton on misdirection runs as well as a play-action threat to hold the linebackers in place.

Bears linebacker Brian Iwuh, who posted a game-high 9 tackles in his first start for the injured Lance Briggs, found that effective.

“We're a downhill defense, Iwuh said. “So I think they hit the perimeter on us and some of the misdirections slowed us down.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa thought the Seahawks established a fast tempo from the start and kept the Bears from digging in as they've done in every other game this season.

“We pride ourselves on hitting and tackling and I don't know that we did that today, like what we're accustomed to and the fans are accustomed to, Tinoisamoa said. “They had us so on our heels, we couldn't get a bead on (the slants to Williams). When you can't stop the run, then it's pretty much anything goes. They've got run and pass on their side.