No one ever should be satisfied with a loss. However, losing the Oakland Raiders isn’t the end of the world for the Chicago Bears. While it’s a game they could have won, the bottom line is they made more mistakes than the Raiders. Plus, credit has to be given to the Raiders for making big plays at key moments of the game. Raiders punter Shane Lechler proved to really pin the Bears into horrific field position. As far as I’m concerned, that was the difference in the game. Oh yeah, Sebastian Janikowski isn’t exactly chopped liver with his five field goals.
Knowing how good Lechler is, perhaps the Bears should have reconsidered the onside kick towards the end of the fourth quarter. Lechler was able to pin the Bears deep into their own territory and it was a difficult mountain to climb for even the best of NFL quarterbacks especially Hanie. But I can’t fault the Bears logic in attempting the onside kick. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Too bad Corey Graham couldn’t get that ball; it was very close.
The biggest storyline from yesterday was Hanie. His numbers ended up being solid and a reflection of how he played. He was very antsy to state the contest but settled down in the second half. The real goat here was Mike Martz. Why he would ask Hanie to make a blind touch pass to Kellen Davis is mindblowing. But that was Hanie’s last interception and he became much more poised in the second half.
I’m not too upset about yesterday. Consider it a preseason game and a one the Bears were allowed to lose. It’s out of their system. The Bears have proven to be resilient this season. No reason to hit the panic button quite yet.
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