There's no excuse for never sacking Griese

Q. Do the Bucs' max pass protection and Brian Griese's short drops explain why the Bears' defense couldn't get 1 sack on 67 pass plays?

A. No. Brian Griese is not a great athlete, so just the athleticism of the Bears' defensive linemen should have enabled them to get to him. The defensive ends should have been better athletes than the offensive tackles for Tampa, and they are. But Griese had such a good pre-snap understanding of where the ball was going to go that it was one-two-three, plant, throw. There was no hesitancy, and he was creating mismatches in his deployment of personnel before they ever snapped the ball. A lot of it was just Griese playing a very intelligent game.

Q. How will the Bears be able to get to Donovan McNabb tonight when they couldn't touch Griese?

A. Defensive linemen will have to beat the opposing offensive linemen (at the snap). McNabb is smart, he's strong, he's a better quarterback than the last time they played him (last season). He's more healed up.

But don't give up on the Bears' defense. It's still a quality group of athletes, and they have depth, so they can go out there and throw a lot of people at you, and it's going to take a team effort. McNabb can let his routes go longer because he's great with his feet, but he's also willing to take the outlet receiver. He knows how to get rid of the ball, so you better limit the yards after catch, or you better limit the time he has to sit in the pocket.

Q. How should Peanut Tillman have handled the situation that led to his unnecessary toughness penalty last week?

A. Charles had no right to do that. He's not bigger than the team; he's not bigger than the organization. If that one loss comes down to the difference between making the playoffs and missing out, you're talking about a multimillion dollar mistake. It can't happen. At the start of the game the officials should have thrown a flag and taken control, and it never would have escalated, but I still don't believe Peanut was right.

Earlier in the game Lovie Smith could have told his team, "We don't have the luxury of getting a penalty. Play under control." I'm not in agreement with coming to the defense of a player. What are they going to do to him, beat him up? He's got shoulder pads and a helmet, and he's laying on his stomach in the grass with 61,500 witnesses. He's not in a back alley getting mugged. So to tell me you have to defend your teammate and put the opportunity for victory in the back of your mind? Uh-uh, it doesn't go that way.

Q. Why has the Bears' defense been unable to protect double-digit leads the past two weeks?

A. Because the offense is making mistakes. The 2 fumbles they had against Carolina would have led to six more plays, minimum. You're blaming the defense for an offensive problem. They had third-and-2 (in regulation) against the Bucs, and I don't think it (a bootleg by Kyle Orton) was really the right play. So two weeks in a row the offense fails to convert in several short-yardage situations. I think it's more of the offense's fault.

Q. Does Marty Booker need to be more involved in the offense?

A. He's a big body, he can be used to run interference, he can be used as a mismatch, and he can make difficult catches. Do you need a guy to go out there and catch 70-yard bombs? No. You want to get a series of first downs, and I think Marty is a real asset there. There's finally some timing between Brandon Lloyd and Kyle Orton. I don't know if Marty and Kyle have that understanding of each other yet.