Griese needs more help from his receivers

Q. What are the Bears' postseason possibilities if they don't win tonight?

A. No chance.

Q. What do they have to do to win this game?

A. They must get assistance from their receivers. Their timing with Brian Griese has to be better this week. There were 21 points left on the field from last week from deflected passes. Usually when you get a deflected pass it's a timing problem. If the pass is a half-step behind Bernard Berrian, it means you're throwing to the pace that you've seen from your receivers in practice. I hope they practiced at a faster pace this week, so the quarterback has the timing he needs. The first Griese interception, it's up to him to put the ball in front of Bernard Berrian in that route, but it comes down to timing. A deflected pass by Berrian led to (the second) interception, and there was a drop by Muhsin Muhammad a play earlier that would've been a first down. There was a drop by John Gilmore on third-and-9 that would have been a first down. These players have to accept the responsibility where they have to play better in order for Griese to perform his job more efficiently. Drops lead to fewer plays and fewer opportunities. Deflected passes lead to interceptions that take you away from opportunities.

Q. For three quarters last week the Bears' defense neutralized Jon Kitna by rushing him and putting constant pressure on him. Can that same philosophy work against Favre?

A. The Packers have a solid offensive line, but not a great offensive line. It's a great quarterback making an average offensive line look very good, and that's what you're always going to contend with -- Favre and his ability.

Q. The Bears intercepted Favre three times last season and had 5 sacks, and they intercepted him six times in 2005 with 4 sacks. Do you expect more of the same tonight?

A. I think he has a better supporting cast this year, and guys are making huge plays in meaningful moments. Is that going to happen forever? Maybe not, but can it happen against the Bears? Yes it can.

Q. Are the Packers as good as their record?

A. They're good enough to be 4-0 against the competition they've played. Are they a Super Bowl possibility? No. Could it eventually catch up to them with a couple of injuries? Yeah, this team could really get derailed by a couple of injuries, and the Bears can get immeasurably better by getting their injured players back.

Q. Where are the Packers most susceptible?

A. If you can make Favre throw it 50 times a game and put the game in the hands of the receivers. I don't see great receivers; I see a great quarterback making great throws.

Q. What has to change in the Bears' offense to make it more effective, and what specific players have to be more involved?

A. They have to have specific packages downfield for Devin Hester, and they have to have specific matchup confrontations with Greg Olsen. You have to start getting those guys involved in the mix. Four or five times this year they've thrown parallel passes to the line of scrimmage to Hester. That's not Devin. He doesn't catch the ball on the line of scrimmage and make 11 guys miss. Put him downfield in space in zone coverage and let him catch the ball and let defensive backs try to adjust to his athleticism. Hester and Olsen need to be more involved, but the responsibility of improvement goes to the offensive line. They played very poorly in Detroit, and John Tait's going to miss the game and it's going to be a very hostile environment. So, if you want to see this team make measurable improvements, it's going to be because of the offensive line. It's unfair to put a lot of the blame on Cedric Benson and his inability to run the ball on certain plays because they're just not blocking them properly.

Q. What else needs to change for Benson to become more successful? Are they running him wide too much?

A. Exactly. Anytime you pull offensive linemen and you're trying to get to a distance before you get to the hole, and it's unfair to Cedric. Look at his most effective runs this year: there was never an offensive lineman pulling; it was all straight-ahead running. It was making these guys take their weight-room strength and convert it to functional football play. That's what I've been asking for: simplicity. When they did take the fancy out of it last week, he had some effective runs.