Bears remember Atlanta and those final, agonizing seconds

One year and one day ago, the Bears allowed Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan to complete a 26-yard pass on a play that began with seven seconds left and ended with one tick on the clock, setting up a game-winning 48-yard field goal.

"That day he became a veteran," said Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. "He has a lot of poise and is (leading) their team in the right direction. So we definitely have our hands full with him."

They had their hands full last season, when Ryan was playing in just his sixth NFL game.

He completed 22 of 30 passes for 301 yards and 1 TD, and he was neither sacked nor intercepted. He's even better this year with a 102.9 passer rating, sixth best in the NFL.

Asked about the nightmarish game last year at the Georgia Dome, Bears coach Lovie Smith said: "What happened last year? It's about this year. We're playing a good 2009 Atlanta team, and that's about as far as we go."

The Bears aren't sure whether to ignore that world-class collapse, use it as motivation, or learn from it.

They had taken a 20-19 lead, their first of the game, on Rashied Davis' 17-yard TD grab from Kyle Orton and were looking a 4-2 start square in the face.

But a poorly conceived and inadequately executed squib kickoff gave the Falcons the ball at their 44-yard line.

Ryan's miracle pass to Michael Jenkins set up Jason Elam's 48-yard kill shot as time expired. It left the Bears at 3-3, and the loss cost them a playoff berth as they fell a game short at 9-7.

"We're still talking about it; the last 11 seconds on the clock and how we lost that game," wide receiver Devin Hester said. "It's a bitter taste, and we don't want to have that feeling again once we walk off that field."

The Bears may not want to admit it, but watching tape of that game brings back the pain.

"If you would have asked me (that) question last week I would have said no," Ogunleye said. "But watching some of the game film, the way (Ryan) was really on point, it kind of gets to you."

The revenge factor won't help the Bears on Sunday night when the lights go on in Georgia, according to defensive end Alex Brown.

"Last year's game is not going to help us or hurt us," he said. "We're not going to get any points from last game, and neither are they."

So maybe it's best to forget it.

"What game?" Smith said. "(We're) really not talking a whole lot about what happened last year. If you watch (Sunday's) San Francisco game, that's enough to think about, as far as (how) good they are.

"That's enough to get us motivated right there."

The Falcons improved to 3-1 Sunday with a 45-10 rout of Mike Singletary's 49ers, who came into the game with a 3-1 record. Ryan completed 22 of 32 passes for 329 yards, with TD passes of 90 and 31 yards to Roddy White.

A year ago, on that fateful pass, Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris hit Ryan a split second after he released the ball.

They'll need to get to him a bit sooner this time or risk a similar fate, especially since the Falcons have added future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez to their offensive arsenal.

"The kid's good," Brown said of Ryan after Monday's practice. "I'm not going to spend the next 10 minutes talking about how good he is. - OK, he makes all the throws, and he has a great arm.

"His offensive line blocks, they have a great running game, and they added Gonzalez. I mean, they gave him another weapon.

"But this is Monday, and I do not want to keep saying he's good (all the way) through Friday. He's really good.

"I don't want to disrespect any quarterbacks in the league, but I think he's progressing really fast to be in the top five or six in the league. He's that good."

No one knows that better than the Bears.

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