Urlacher: Maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were
There appears to be a discrepancy regarding the talent level on the Bears roster.
“Maybe we’re not as good as we thought we were,” middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said after Thursday night’s 23-10 loss to the Packers. “We’ve got a long way to go and that’s obvious. Maybe Green Bay’s just that good. I don’t know, but we didn’t play well, and they played good enough to do what they did to us.
“They kicked our butts.”
The Packers did it to the Bears for the fifth straight time and the seventh time in the last eight meetings. But quarterback Jay Cutler said Thursday night’s result isn’t indicative of the relative strengths of the two NFC North rivals.
“I think if you play it on cards and look at our team vs. their team,” Cutler said, “we’ve got just as good players as they have.”
Defense not enough:The defense got 5 sacks, forced a fumble, picked off a pass, held one of the NFL#146;s best offenses to 321 total yards and 1 touchdown and allowed just 4 of 14 third-down conversions, but the Bears still got blown out by the Packers.#147;You can#146;t really play any worse than we did and expect to win games,#148; said linebacker Lance Briggs, evidently speaking more about the offense#146;s performance. #147;We know that we have to take care if the ball, be sharp and move the ball and get it into the end zone, and we#146;ll have a chance.#148;The offense turned the ball over four times #151; all interceptions #151; and had only 168 yards of total offense, the skimpiest output since the 110 yards against the Giants Oct. 3, 2010.Sack attack:The 5 sacks vs. the Packers give the Bears 8 this season, the most in a two-game stretch since Weeks 11-12 in 2010 #151; when they allowed 0. All 8 sacks have come from the defensive line, which had 30 all of last season. Julius Peppers#146; 2 sacks gave him 102 for his career and 22 games with at least a pair of sacks. He has 21 sacks in 34 games as a Bear and is third in the NFL in sacks since he entered the league in 2002.Henry Melton picked up his third sack of the season and has 10 since the start of last season, the most in the NFL among defensive tackles. Melton has recorded 7 sacks in his last nine games.Rookie defensive end Shea McClellin got the first frac12; sack of his career, sharing one with defensive end Corey Wootton #151; who now has 1frac12; this season after getting none in 2011 and 1 as a rookie in 2010.Forcing the issue:With the Packers inside the red zone on the verge of expanding a 13-3 lead late in the third quarter, Bears cornerback Charles Tillman provided a temporary reprieve when he punched the ball loose from Jermichael Finley and recovered the fumble.It was Tillman#146;s 29th career forced fumble and seventh fumble recovery. His 29 forced fumbles are most in the NFL by a defensive back since Tillman entered the league in 2003.