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© Oak Park Journal photo of the Chicago Bears
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Dan Peters Sports Editor
Oak Park Journal
Great Weather, but whether or not the Bears would Win was something to
be weathered.
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Scott Krause
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Sleepless in Chicago. Seahawks Burn Bears in rout 38-14 It’s starting to look like next year for the Chicago Bears by Dan Peters The Seattle Seahawks flew into Chicago on a near picture perfect day for football. The Seattle defense rose to the occasion in the second half, pressured Caleb Hanie into a game-turning mistakes and shut down and shut out the struggling Bears in all phases of the game, especially the final 30 minutes. Seattle makes Adjustments at halftime. Halftime usually gives you a short time to make adjustments to your offense and defense. The Seahawks made those adjustments, the Bears as usual kept it “status quo”. “We really cut the defense loose,” Seattle Head Coach Pete Carroll said after the Seahawks finished with four interceptions, a fumble recovery and four sacks in a 38-14 victory Sunday. The Seahawks trailed 14-7 after the first half, and then outscored the Bears 31-0 in the final two quarters. “To come back in the second half, shut them down and not give a point up,” Carroll said. “Hanie was running all over the place and until we slowed that down, we really weren’t in control of the football game. So the halftime adjustments and the guys actively carrying those onto the field were very important.” Having blinders on again. One must ask what was Caleb Hanie thinking? After all the Seahawks did have on white jerseys. Maybe Hanie is color blind? Or maybe he just is not NFL material. Hanie has shown some spark at times, but after four starts, most quarterbacks would have made adjustments and made plays. One would only have to look at how former Bear Kyle Orton, traded a few short weeks ago from the Bronco’s to the lowly Chiefs, has made the adjustment to a new team. As the Bears were struggling again, Orton guided the Chiefs to an upset win over the rival Green Bay Packers, the Bears next opponent. That’s why they play the games.   © Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photos by Scott Krause The Key play to the Bears downfall… Pick one. With the game tied at 14, Seattle’s K.J Wright hit Hanie as he tried to roll and he ended up throwing the ball right to Red Bryant. Bryant , rumbled and galloped after an interception 20 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter, then the Seahawks scored twice in a span of 50 seconds and went ahead to stay. "I just tried to get rid of it," Hanie said. "The guy got a little more of me than I anticipated and I forced a throw right to the defensive tackle. Some unfortunate luck there." “That’s a fat kid’s dream right there,” Bryant said. “It’s not every day as a defensive lineman you get an opportunity to get an interception. To get in the end zone off one, so many emotions go through your head. …” “K.J. did a great job of getting to the quarterback and then he just threw the ball up and I just happened to be at the right spot at the right time,” Bryant said. . Brandon Browner picked off another of Hanie’s passes in the fourth quarter and took it 42 yards for another TD and the Seahawks evened their record at 7-7. © Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photos by Scott Krause Peaking at the right time.. for the Seahawks Marshawn Lynch broke 1,000 yards rushing for the season and scored for the 10th straight game with two TD runs and Jackson also had a strong second half, completing 15 of 19 for 176 yards over the final two quarters. But it was the defense that played the biggest role in keeping the Seahawks’ wild-card hopes alive. Seattle has won five of six and the victory came on the field where they were beaten in the divisional playoffs last January. Injuries mount for the Bears Knox is scheduled for surgery Monday to stabilize a vertebra in his back. The Bears said the prognosis for Knox is good and it is not considered career-threatening. Knox’s injury was the latest setback for the Bears over the past month. Quarterback Jay Cutler (broken thumb) and running back Matt Forte (sprained knee) have been sidelined and this week. Distractions did not help the Bears either. Wide receiver/special teams player Sam Hurd was arrested on federal drug charges and subsequently cut by the team. “It has been a tough week,” Chicago defensive back Charles Tillman said. The Bears Defense looked great in the first half, then went on Christmas break. Tavaris Jackson came out on the first possession of the third quarter and drove the Seahawks 80 yards. He threw a 33-yard pass to Golden Tate who broke two tackles on the play, and then hooked up on a 43-yarder to Ben Obomanu setting up Lynch’s 3-yard TD run to tie it at 14. After Bryant’s return, Seattle got a 33-yard field goal from Steve Hauschka and then iced the game early in the fourth on Jackson’s 2-yard TD pass to Michael Robinson. That score was set up by Leon Washington’s 36-yard punt return. "Yeah, I'm mad," said middle linebacker Brian Urlacher. "This is not our team. This is not how we're supposed to play. This is not how we should play. Doesn't matter who is playing quarterback. The defense has to play better. That's all there is to it.” Game over, season over, not even a miracle could possibly save these Chicago Bears. Hanie’s few bright spots.. Hanie threw a 25-yard TD pass to Kahill Bell with just under 2 minutes left in the first half for a 14-7 lead. But then Hanie made the mistake by throwing the ball right to Bryant and the Bears never recovered. "The feeling in the locker room is not good," Hanie said. "All the guys in the there want to win games. I'm at the top of that list. I want to win games and I haven't gotten it done." "It's tough when you're 7-3 and everything's looking good," said receiver Roy Williams. "All of a sudden, you're 7-7 in the blink of an eye. One thing about this football team is that we've been fighting. The ball hasn't bounced our way." Sounding like a broken record “It’s hard when you don’t get more production from the quarterback position,” Smith said. “Caleb’s been our guy, great opportunity, but we haven’t played as well as we need to.” Hanie, who was replaced late in the game by Josh McCown was10 of 23 for 111 yards. “When Jay went down, I thought we were missing a key piece on our football team, but when you look back, we had some opportunities. To go on a four-game losing streak, no, that wasn’t a part of my mindset,” Coach Lovie Smith said. “We’re better than that. We’ve lost a lot injury-wise, but every team in the league will talk about injuries and the people they’ve lost.” Things won’t get any easier as the Bears head to Lambeau Field to play the rival the Packers, who suffered their first loss Sunday at Kansas City. With Hanie struggling the way he has, the Bears are going to have a difficult time winning another game this season. Bring in Nathan Enderle and see what he can do.. What do the Bears have to lose? Not much at this point.  Please come back safe and soon, but not too soon.... © Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo
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