Bears' special teams special, indeed

In the previous five years under the guidance of Dave Toub, the Bears' special teams have put up some impressive numbers.

• Danieal Manning has at least 1 kickoff return of 40 or more yards in six straight games, the longest streak in the NFL since 1970.

• The Bears have the most blocked kicks in the NFL since 2004 (16), and they led the league in blocked kicks the past two seasons, with 4 in 2008 and 8 in 2007.

• The Bears are No. 2 in opponents' punt-return average since 2004, allowing just 7.1 yards per attempt.

But Toub couldn't single out a specific stat that was more important than the others.

"We're happy that we're good at a lot of things," he said. "There's not just one in particular."

Continuity is a big reason for the success of Toub's crew, according to the special-teams coordinator.

"That's probably the most important factor," Toub said. "The fact that we have the same guys in the same system for the last six years, that's what makes us pretty good. The guys work hard, we've got good players, we put a lot of time into it, and it's important to us."

Pat Mannelly has been the Bears' long-snapper for the past 11 years. Brad Maynard has done the punting for the past eight years, and Robbie Gould, the third-most-accurate FG kicker in NFL history, is entering his fifth season.

Even the coverage teams, which usually have high turnover, have maintained some consistency. Adrian Peterson has been in double figures in special-teams tackles in four of the past five years, and linebackers Jamar Williams and Nick Roach have been more recent standouts.

"If you have anybody on special teams for more than two years that's considered a long time," Toub said.