Key Bears doubtful vs. Lions
Cornerbacks Nate Vasher (groin) and Charles Tillman (ankle) and linebacker Lance Briggs (hamstring) didn't practice Friday for the third straight day.
In almost every case in the past, when a player missed an entire week of practice it meant he didn't play on Sunday.
However, the Bears didn't list any of the three as out on Friday's injury report.
But Vasher, who could wind up missing more than a month, will not play, even though the Bears list him as doubtful. Tillman and Briggs also aren't expected to play, although they're listed as questionable.
"We would like for them to practice through the week," said Bears coach Lovie Smith. "But Sunday morning, if a guy's healthy and ready to go, and we think he can help us, he'll play."
Four other Bears are listed as questionable, including guard Ruben Brown (ankle), offensive tackle Fred Miller (knee) and defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee), who all returned to practice Friday, but on a limited basis. Harris is not expected to play. Safety Adam Archuleta is also questionable (broken hand) and has been limited in practice all week.
Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, running back Adrian Peterson and defensive tackle Darwin Walker are all probable and participated fully in Friday's practice. Linebacker Brian Urlacher missed practice because of general soreness and is listed as probable. All four should play Sunday.
It's not OK: Wide receivers coach Darryl Drake realizes drops are inevitable, but that doesn't excuse them.
"It's just (a matter of) concentration," Drake said. "Sometimes it's guys just going out there trying to do too much; (trying) too hard. That's what happens on most of the drops. I know one (Bernard Berrian) lost it in the lights, but you've still got to catch it. Heck, I lost it in the lights in pregame, and I still caught it. Guys threw it back to me in pregame, and I still caught it."
Berrian's drop of what looked like a sure touchdown pass would have given the Bears a 10-3 lead in the second quarter and might have changed the complexion of the game.
"It forces you to reaffirm your focus out there, and it just can't happen," Drake said, "especially when you're struggling. T.O. (Terrell Owens) dropped three, but he also made a bunch of plays, too. Some of the other ones were when a guy (Berrian) got hit and let it go. I told him, 'You know the guy is behind you; catch it and then tuck it away. You know you're going to get hit.' Things just happened so quick, but he should make those catches."
Not complicated: Linebacker Brian Urlacher has a simple explanation for the Bears' disappointing start.
"The reality is we're not playing that good right now," he said, "so we have to find a way to get better and get it fixed. We didn't want to be 1-2. No one thought we would be. We thought we'd be doing a lot better on both sides of the ball, but we're not."
Urlacher said encouragement and a lesson can be taken from 2005, when the Bears lost three of their first four games but won 10 of the final 12.
"If we could take something (from that), it's that we're not out of anything yet," he said. "We're not even as bad as we were back then, and we still made the playoffs and ended up 11-5."
Live and learn: In his 10 years as an NFL quarterback, Brian Griese has learned a couple basic truths.
"For me, quarterbacking is about two things," he said. "It's about making good decisions in split-second instances and making plays. That's what you get paid as a quarterback to do, and that's how I'm going to approach it."
On second thought: If past performance is an accurate predictor, Rex Grossman might have been benched a week too soon, considering that in two games against the Lions last year he threw for 486 yards and 5 touchdowns while completing 40 of 63 passes without an interception.