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Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Oak Park
Journal
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Bears
continue to flatten opponents, Trounce Bills 40-7, remain undefeated
by Dan Peters
When any team comes to Soldier Field on a roll this year, They hit
a brick wall called the Chicago Bears. The Bears are firing on all
cylinders dominating on all aspects of the game, for the second
straight week, The Bears scored on its first five possessions, taking
a 27-0 halftime lead en route to a humiliating 40-7 victory over Dick
Jauron's stunned Buffalo Bills. The Bears improved to 5-0 for the
first time since 1986
"Anytime you execute like that on offense, defense and special teams,
it's so much fun," said quarterback Rex Grossman "All your hard
work coming together and everyone playing the way they're playing, it's
fun to see teammates make a bunch of plays, and it was a blast out
there."
Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson had stellar performances today. Jones
carried the ball for 109 yards on 22 carries and Benson added 48 yards
on 14 carries, scoring his first two NFL touchdowns of his career. The
Bears running game is back.
"Both of those guys are unbelievable backs," Grossman said. "I know
they're both competitors. They both want to be out there, and from my
standpoint I think it's great. In this league you definitely need two
running backs. I can't say enough about how good both of them are. They
both deserve to start and they both deserve all the carries. I'm glad
we have both on the team."
Robbie Gould breaks Kevin Butler's record.
During the Bears rout of the hapless Bills, Gould broke Kevin Butler's
team record of 16 straight field goals to begin a season set
in 1995. Robbie hasn't missed a kick in five games this season,
connecting on 17 field goals and 15 extra points. He connected on four
field goals for the third time in Sunday's 40-7 win. He
connected on field goals from 42, 43, 32 and 41 yards.
Gould has made 19 consecutive field goals dating back to last season.
It's the third longest streak in Chicago Bears history behind Butler
(24 in 1988-89) and Jeff Jaeger (21 in 1996-97) and the NFL's second
longest current streak behind the Raven's Matt Stover, who has made 29
in a row.
"This is the best I've ever kicked," Gould said. "I have confidence and
I'm in a rhythm. Right now I'm just going to go out and try to get
better. Obviously, the season is a long way from over. I'm trying to
get to Week 16 and beyond."
Dave Taub, Special Teams Coordinator said Gould has succeeded due to
his mental toughness."He doesn't get cracked by the pressure and he's
hard on himself,' Toub said. "If he doesn't hit a ball real good, even
though (the kick) might be good,he's mad at himself because he didn't
get good rotation on the ball. The fact that he works so hard in
practice, it's good to see that it's paying off for him."
Alex Brown, the comedian Rumbling bumbling and stumbling When asked
about his interception return when he stumbled to the ground without
being touched after taking three strides."I'm a lot more athletic than
that, please write that," he pleaded good-naturedly with a reporter.
"I'm a lot more athletic than that. It just didn't happen for me that
time. I really can't explain it. I don't know. I have no idea what
happened. I think I gained like 30 pounds and I fell. I ran like three
yards and I fell. I think I just got real nervous. I don't know. I
did catch it, though. It was a pick. We got the ball back. That's the
good that I can take out of that."
Nobody's Perfect, Even the best Bears lose shutout bid with 1:06
remaining in the game. J.P. Losman's 5-yard touchdown pass to
receiver Lee Evans ended what could have been the "Perfect" game. It
was just the second touchdown permitted by the Bears defense this
season and only the third TD in eight straight home victories. Is there
any better defense in the NFL? Not at this point.
"The guys right now are upset about (losing) the shutout," coach Lovie
Smith said after the game. "We felt like we should have gotten it. But
they did a lot of good things.
"Interceptions by the defense took Buffalo out of the game early and
often. Alex Brown, Lance Briggs and defensive back Ricky
Manning, Jr all had picks today while fifth-round draft pick Mark
Anderson, playing for injured Adewale Ogunleye had two of his teams
three sacks. His season total is a team-leading 5, tops among NFL
rookies."
"That's been a big plus, to be able to have a good rotation," said
defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. "I do know that if we're doing
our job, somebody's going to make a big play and that was evident
today. We had some guys that filled in and did a great job. Guys were
making plays. Guys were flying around and getting pressure on the
quarterback."
The Bears Next victim The 1-4 Cardinals on Monday Night.
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