Some veteran Bears let struggling Hanie down

The many Caleb Hanie critics who have abandoned the Bears’ bandwagon like rats from a sinking ship would say it can’t get much worse for Hanie than Sunday’s loss and his 23.8 passer rating.

But the Bears’ offense left 2 touchdowns on the field, and neither could be blamed on the four-year veteran quarterback.

With a little competence from veterans, the Bears could have won despite a weak effort from Hanie.

Because Marion Barber lined up 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage, it negated his apparent 4-yard TD catch, and the Bears had to settle for a field goal instead.

“That’s something that we should be able to do, getting lined up,” Smith said. “Marion will tell you that. We can give him a little bit more time also to get aligned.

“But that’s just a part of the group of things we did wrong that normally won’t happen.”

Late in the fourth quarter, trailing 10-3, Hanie completed passes on four straight plays for 46 yards to get the Bears to the Chiefs’ 13-yard line.

It looked like five in a row and a tie game when Hanie hit Roy Williams in the hands just across the goal line. But Williams bobbled the ball into the hands of Chiefs safety Jon McGraw, killing the drive.

It was hardly Williams’ first drop of the season.

“None of us did as good a job as we need to,” Smith said. “Roy is a part of that. Next time he’ll make that play. We had a lot of other opportunities.

“There are a lot of other plays I would like to have back. I think all of us here on our football team are saying that, and Roy is a part of that.”

He will return:Matt Forte will miss some games with a sprained MCL in his right knee, but coach Lovie Smith said he expects Forte back before the end of the regular season.#147;I can#146;t tell you exactly when, or whether it#146;s this week, next week or whatever,#148; Smith said, #147;but hopefully we#146;ll get him back soon. He looked pretty good this morning, but he didn#146;t finish the game, so there is concern.#148;Sans Forte, Marion Barber and Kahlil Bell will handle the running-back chores.Barber has been an effective short-yardage complement since missing the first three games with a calf injury, and Bell picked up 34 yards Sunday on his first 4 carries of the season.#147;The No. 2 and No. 3 tailbacks stepped up when we needed them to,#148; Smith said. #147;(Barber) is a different running back than Matt. We won#146;t shift him out (as a receiver) an awful lot during the course of a game.#147;He#146;s not that type of player. He#146;s more of a (between) the tackles type of runner. Kahlil can do probably more of the things that Matt can do.#148;Fiction department:Various Internet sites have speculated that offensive coordinator Mike Martz will not be back next season, either because he won#146;t be rehired or because he will take another job.Lovie Smith questions the validity of some of those reports.#147;If there#146;s a change that will be made, I#146;ll be making it, and I definitely haven#146;t discussed that with anyone,#148; Smith said. #147;I#146;m sure there are a lot of things out there that people make up. That has to be made up because nothing like that came from me. It should definitely stop right there.#148;Coming on strong:When Major Wright was sidelined with a sprained shoulder Sunday, Craig Steltz took over at strong safety #8212; even though Wright and Brandon Meriweather have been sharing time at the position for several weeks.#147;It#146;s hard to back up and be really good at both safety positions,#148; Lovie Smith said. #147;We just let Brandon last week concentrate on backing up the free safety position, and we had Craig be the primary backup at strong safety.#148;Steltz wound up with a game-best 10 tackles and a forced fumble.#147;We were very pleased with what (Steltz) did,#148; Smith said. (He had) 2 big open-field tackles. But that#146;s how he normally plays when we ask him to come in.#147;He#146;ll be steady, he#146;ll be where he#146;s supposed to be always and you know what type of play you#146;re getting from him.#148;Wright will be re-evaluated later in the week, but he could miss Sunday#146;s game at Denver.ŸFollow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.FBN25191813Bears wide receiver Roy Williams bobbles the ball near the end zone in front of Kendrick Lewis of the Chiefs in the second half Sunday at Soldier Field.Associated PressFBNFBN38832794The Chiefs’ Jon McGraw intercepts Roy Williams’ bobbled pass in the end zone for a touchback, as teammate Tamba Hall celebratesAssociated PressFBN