There’s icing the kicker. And then there’s deep-freezing him.
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Tight end Alonzo Mayes unwittingly did the latter to Paul Edinger on Sunday, forcing the Bears’ kicker to line up again for an all-important insurance field goal after a holding penalty.
The Bears led by seven with just over three minutes remaining. Edinger, who hit the upright and missed a 42-yarder as the first half expired, drilled a 37-yarder high through the uprights.
Then he saw the penalty flag.
“At first, I was like, `Oh, shoot,”‘ Edinger said. “But it was the same shot as the first one. The ball’s in the middle of the field, so it really wasn’t a big deal. It just gave me a second shot and I hit it the same way.”
One small problem. After the holding penalty, Edinger’s second attempt was 10 yards further, from 47 yards out. To say it cleared the crossbar by a small margin is to say the insurance points were huge.
“I didn’t think he hit the second one as well as he hit the first one but he hit it down the middle and he had enough to get it through,” Bears coach Dick Jauron said. “The guy’s going to be really good. He just kicks them. He views that as his job and [distractions] don’t bother him. We didn’t think twice about kicking it again.”
Blown replay: Replay official Howard Slavin “should have” ordered referee Ron Winter to review Bill Schroeder’s final 17-yard touchdown catch for the Packers, according to NFL official observer Art McNally.
Bears coach Dick Jauron tried to get Winter to look at the catch, but since it came with 1:58 left, the request was not allowed. Within the last two minutes of each half, challenges revert to the replay booth.
Schroeder had two 17-yard touchdowns in the final quarter during the Packers’ comeback, and appeared to come down with his heel on the end zone end line with the second. After several replays by the Fox network, announcers determined it looked like Schroeder’s left toe landed legally before his heel hit the line. But McNally, former supervisor of NFL officials observing from the press box, admitted Slavin “should have” intervened.
Earlier, the Bears used their first replay challenge of the season to their advantage. They asked for a review of a 14-yard apparent completion from Brett Favre to Donald Driver that would have resulted in a first down. The replay official reversed the call. The Packers were forced to punt and three plays later the Bears scored on a 68-yard pass from Cade McNown to Marcus Robinson.
Butler didn’t do it: Packers safety LeRoy Butler was involved in all three of the Bears’ long plays that led to 17 points.
The first was a 52-yard reverse by receiver Eddie Kennison, who fumbled the handoff from Cade McNown. It set up a field goal. “They had everything swinging their way,” Butler said. “The guy fumbles it, kind of kicks it, then I miss a tackle and he goes 50 yards. Bad way to start.”
McNown’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Robinson came after McNown scrambled to his right and threw a bomb back to his left. “I assumed he was sacked, which was a Cardinal sin,” Butler said.
Robinson was behind both Williams and Butler like a punt returner waiting for a fair catch.
The third one was the Bears’ best play of the season, a 58-yard touchdown by Robinson on a quick screen. The Bears caught linebacker Nate Wayne blitzing in a regular defense, the perfect call at the perfect time. Guard Todd Perry pushed Butler out of the way and Robinson was gone.
Butler played even though his father died earlier in the week.
Onside decision: Packers coach Mike Sherman said he debated whether to go with the onside kick with 1:58 left and three timeouts remaining after his team pulled to 27-24. The Bears recovered at the Green Bay 41 and were able to punt to the Packer 18.
“I feel it was the right decision, because we had a chance to win at the end,” Sherman said.
Brett Favre did not complete a pass of more than 14 yards on the last drive and didn’t even attempt to go deep. “I didn’t have much of a look at all,” Favre said.
Quick study: Rookie linebacker Brian Urlacher continued to shine with another strong outing in just his third NFL start. Urlacher, who led the Bears in tackles in his previous two starts, finished with six stops–five of them unassisted. . Urlacher also had a sack–his third in as many starts–and a fumble recovery.
“I just feel more comfortable out there,” Urlacher said. “When you know what to do, it’s a lot easier. And that just comes with repetitions.”
Sack attack: Phillip Daniels, quietly off to one of the better starts by a Bears defensive end in recent seasons, registered his fourth sack in five games with a first-quarter sack of Favre.
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Hurting: The Bears may have lost backup tackle Jimmy Herndon for a couple of weeks with what was initially believed to be a torn biceps tendon. His injury is being called a strained shoulder.
Fullback Curtis Enis left the game on the Bears’ first series with a bruised shoulder and did not return. Running back James Allen bruised his thigh but insisted on playing.
Daniels left the game with a stinger (pinched nerve) when his neck was bent sharply backward on a tackle of Packers tailback Dorsey Levens, but he was able to return. “When I hit Dorsey, he said, `You all right?’ and I said, `No,'” Daniels said.
Herndon started at left tackle with first-teamer Blake Brockermeyer judged not sufficiently recovered from an infection in his upper right arm to play a full game. When Herndon left with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, Brockermeyer replaced him.
Packers defensive back Gary Berry was taken from the field on a stretcher after the opening kickoff return when he collided with Allen and suffered a neck injury.