Lovie speaks up for Bears' Barber

Bears head coach Lovie Smith, who can be a man of few words, spoke for Marion Barber, who can be a man of much fewer words.

Following the Bears' 13-10 loss to Denver on Sunday, Barber, a seventh-year pro who rarely speaks to the media, eluded reporters better than he did the swinging arm of Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard in overtime.

Barber's quick getaway left the running back's teammates to try to explain, one, his refusal to stay in bounds late in the fourth quarter with the Bears protecting a 10-7 lead and, two, his fumble in overtime.

Barber was tackled out of bounds at the Denver 46 after a 5-yard gain with 1:55 left and the Broncos out of timeouts. Given the gift of valuable seconds on the game clock, the Broncos capitalized after the Bears punted, with Matt Prater kicking a game-tying field goal from 59 yards out with three seconds left.

Then with the Bears driving on the opening series in OT, Woodyard stripped Barber, who was carrying the ball with one hand, and the Broncos' Elvis Dumervil recovered the ball at the Denver 34. The Broncos converted the turnover into Prater's game-winning kick.

On Monday at Halas Hall, Smith fielded multiple questions about the Bears' late-game collapse and Barber's mental blunder.

“What's there to say?” Smith said when asked if he talked to Barber about him failing to stay in bounds. “I think everyone knows that's something you can't do. He realizes that also. At the time, I was getting ready for our defense. Then, it was about that as much as anything — switching to the other side and trying to get a stop.”

Smith wasn't blaming Barber for the loss, the Bears' third straight.

“We all had something to do, and could have had something to say, about the outcome,” Smith said. “In a situation like this, you tend to just look at a couple of plays here and there. But it was a lot bigger than that. All three phases had an opportunity to make a play late in the game.”

Smith noted Barber did a great job running the football. The first-year Bear rushed 27 times for 107 yards (both season highs) in his first game starting in place of the injured Matt Forte.

Bears tight end Matt Spaeth had empathy for Barber.

“We all feel real bad for Marion because we've all been in that situation at some point in our career,” Spaeth said. “He played a great game. We wouldn't have even been in that game or had a chance to win if it wasn't for Marion and the way he played. ... You can play a great game, but it comes down to one play at the end of the game and then you blame yourself. It's tough and that's kind of I guess something we all wear.”

A silent Barber after the game coincided with a silent locker room.

“It was a terrible feeling in the locker room,” Smith said. “We're supposed to feel that way — for a while. But then we have to get over it and move on, because we got a lot of football left to go.”

Smith isn't concerned about Barber's confidence going forward.

“He's a veteran,” Smith said. “He's a football player. That's how it goes. When you play ball, there are going to be some days like this where you just have a terrible feeling deep down inside. It would be really bad if that was the last game that you get a chance to play. But that's not the case with us.”

Hanie's day: Quarterback Caleb Hanie, making his third straight start in place of the injured Jay Cutler, failed to throw a touchdown pass for the second game in a row.

Hanie, however, did not commit a turnover, after throwing 3 interceptions against both Oakland and Kansas City.

Hanie finished 12 of 19 for 115 yards.

“I think it was a step forward,” said Lovie Smith, whose Bears have scored 33 points in Hanie's three starts. “If you look at his numbers, they weren't terrible numbers. We protected the football. We missed a couple of throws, but most quarterbacks, if you look at every game, they miss a couple. Caleb did some good things. He got us in position (to win).”

Steltz steps up: Fourth-year safety Craig Steltz, starting in place of the injured Major Wright, was credited with his first career sack when he stripped Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow in the fourth quarter. Israel Idonije recovered the ball for the Bears.

“We knew a lot of Tim's yardage was from him scrambling, him creating plays with his feet,” Steltz said. “We were just trying to spy on him a little bit, just trying to keep him in the pocket. On that play (strip and fumble recovery), the defensive line did a great job of containing him in the pocket, and I was able to slip in there and get my hands on the ball.”