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Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Oak Park
Journal
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Touchdown Bears.....
© Oak Park
Journal photo by Joe Paolella
Prime
Time Bears Manhandle 2005 NFC Champions... Remain Undefeated
by Dan Peters
In what was supposed to be a battle of the NFC's best, The Bears Tarred
and feathered the defending NFC Champs in front of a National audience.
The night began perfect for football.. 69 degrees and hardly a cloud in
the night sky.. But by the beginning of the fourth quarter, it also
started to rain on Seattle's parade as well. Maybe this was what's
called in Chicago.. "Bear's weather"?
In what could be a preview of the NFC Championship Game..The Bears
manhandled the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night 37-6.
Rex Grossman, who was named offensive player if the month in September,
showed how deserved the honor was by yet another solid performance,
completing 17 of 31 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions
and threw for 232 yards.The Bears improved to 4-0 for the
first time since 1991.
`Thirty- seven to six just shows what we're capable of, but we're a lot
better than that,'' Grossman said. `They're a lot better than they
played tonight and we realize that. ... We realize we may face them
down the road at some point, and we're glad we got the win.''
Hasselbeck on the other hand was 16-of-35 for 196 yards and did not
throw a touchdown.
This coming a week after tying a franchise record with five touchdown
passes in a 42-30 dominating triumph over the New York Giants.
Hasselback was sacked five times - including twice each by Tommie
Harris and Mark Anderson. What a difference a week makes.
"There is really no need for that,'' Hasselbeck said. "I've got to be
smarter. We have to stick to our game plan and handle that stuff
better. We didn't communicate well and didn't execute well.''
The league's MVP, Shaun Alexander had been bothered by a bruised bone
in his left foot before it cracked during last week's win over the
Giants. Still, he hoped to play, saying the power of prayer had healed
him and even jumping around for coach Mike Holmgren. A second round of
tests on Wednesday showed the bone was still broken, so he sat for the
first time since being drafted in 2000, and Morris made the fifth start
of his career. I doubt his presence would have made a difference in
tonight's game.
Maurice Morris started for Alexander and carried 11 times for 35 yards.
The four-receiver set that worked so well for the Seahawks against New
York seemed to play into the Bears' strength, leaving Hasselbeck under
pressure all night. He was sacked five times and seemed to run more
yards sideways than forward.
``If you need time, it's going to be hard to find with our defensive
line,'' Briggs said. ``You like that rhyme?''
Briggs smiled and danced - after the Bears trounced all over the
Seahawks. ``This game is big,'' Briggs said. ``Big. Big. This is the
way we've got to play at home.''
Lance Briggs couldn't hide his emotions. He smiled, he broke into a rap
and even showed off his dance moves as he got dressed after the
game...This showed how serious they are about contending for the NFC
title.
The Bears pressure defense created opportunities for the defensive
backs - most notably, Ricky Manning, Jr. On Tuesday, he pleaded no
contest to a felony assault charge stemming from an incident at a
restaurant in Los Angeles. But he put aside his legal issues on Sunday
and seemed to turn his game up a notch.
Manning picked off a short pass intended for Deion Branch at the Bears
25 and returned it 39 yards before Hasselbeck knocked him out of bounds
at the Seahawks 36 about 5 minutes into the second quarter. That led to
a 20-yard field goal by Gould that made it 13-3...the rout was on and
the Bears never looked back.
On Seattle's next possession, Manning intercepted Hasselbeck again,
this time at the Seahawks 40. five plays later, it was 20-3. Thomas
Jones capped the drive with a 3-yard run - the Bears' first rushing
touchdown this season. The Bears running game finally surfaced after a
three week absence. Jones rushed for 98 yards and scored two
touchdowns. For all intense and purposes, the game was over.
Bernard Berrian had three receptions for a career-high 108 yards and a
touchdown. The Bears offense was firing on all cylinders.
Robbie Gould added to the scoring by connecting on three field goals.
His offense alone would have won the game tonight for the Bears.
The only thing that might sideline these "Monsters Of The Midway" will
be injuries. So far so good this year.
Next week the Bears will host their former Head Coach Dick Jauron and
the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. The Bills are coming off a win
against the Minnesota Vikings, a team the Bears barely (No Pun intended) beat the previous
week in the Metrodome. If the Bears play as well as they did
against the Seahawks, They will take a 5-0 record into a bye week
before they host the hapless San Francisco 49er's at home. Do you smell
6-0?
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