Danieal Manning gets on-the-job training at CB
Instead of starting veteran nickel back Ricky Manning Jr. at cornerback in place of injured Nate Vasher on Sunday night, the Bears went with second-year safety Danieal Manning, who got experience at corner a week earlier.
"We think that gives us the best chance to win," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "All decisions we make are based on that. That will probably be the same lineup we'll go with this week."
That lineup includes Brandon McGowan starting at Manning's free safety spot, and Ricky Manning remaining as the nickel corner, covering the slot receiver, in passing situations.
The plan could not be considered a success Sunday night, given that Danieal Manning was toasted by Green Bay Packers wideout Greg Jennings for a 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter and picked on with success for much of the evening.
"He didn't have a great game," Smith said of Manning, who started 14 games at safety as a rookie and three after Mike Brown was hurt in this year's opener.
"He played about like most guys play in the first time out moving from safety to corner. He'll get a lot better. He played better at the end of the game than he did starting the game, just like most of the defensive players."
With Vasher expected out at least another two weeks with a groin injury, it appears Danieal Manning will have more opportunities to learn on the job.
"Whenever a guy doesn't play as well as he needs to," Smith said, "with more reps and experience, they normally get better the second week."
When Vasher returns, the Bears will have to decide whether McGowan, who had a team-best 13 tackles against the Detroit Lions and a victory-preserving end-zone interception against the Packers, keeps his starting job or is replaced by Danieal Manning.
"We can't wait to get Vasher back, and we'll tackle those questions then," Smith said. "Right now we're just trying to put the best group we can out there."
Back with a vengeance: After missing the Lions game with a strained hamstring, Pro Bowl weak-side linebacker Lance Briggs returned with a career-best 19 tackles against the Packers, including 15 solos, reminiscent of Brian Urlacher's dominating performance at Arizona last season.
"He was making plays all over the field," strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said. "And the tackles he was making weren't like when the ball comes right to you. They were tackles where you're out in space, where if you make the tackle two out of three times you're doing a great job, and he was making all of them."
Despite missing one game, Briggs is second on the team in tackles behind Urlacher and has had double-digit tackles in three of his four games.
"Lance probably wasn't 100 percent, but the team needed him," Lovie Smith said. "We had a lot of players that had bumps and bruises that disregarded them and just fought for the team. Lance came up big."
Turning it around: Sunday night, Lovie Smith characterized the defensive effort in the first half as one of the worst in his four years as head coach. Monday afternoon he amended that assessment.
"I shouldn't say one (of the worst)," Smith said, "(I should say) the worst half we have played here. But they don't crown a winner after the first half of the game.
"In the second half, the guys really came out and corrected a lot of the things we did the wrong in the first half, missed tackles, just bad play overall. I don't know how many three-and-outs we had, quite a few."
Starting with just less than six minutes left in the third quarter, the defense forced the Packers to go three-and-out on five straight possessions, which enabled the Bears to turn a 20-10 deficit into a 27-20 victory.
Injury update: Wide receiver Bernard Berrian, who led the Bears in receiving in each of the first four games, had just 1 catch for 10 yards at Green Bay before leaving with a toe injury.
"He should be OK," Lovie Smith said.
Darwin Walker was knocked out of the game with a sprained knee, which doesn't look as promising. Linebacker Jamar Williams should be back after being sidelined with a migraine.