Defensive slugfests aren’t what they used to be. Had Buddy Ryan’s 1985 Bears been penalized for roughing the passer the way son Rex Ryan’s Baltimore Ravens were penalized twice for “roughing” Kyle Orton on Sunday, they would have turned in their union cards and found a more manly profession.
“The second one surprised me,” Orton admitted.
He said the first one gave him a bloody lip, which is illegal these days as NFL owners strive to eliminate 10-6 games by constantly introducing rules to enhance passing and protect quarterbacks.
With rookie Orton overthrowing open receivers and Baltimore’s Anthony Wright doing his usual impersonation of Anthony Wrong, there was nothing rulesmakers could do to create offense Sunday.
But while this was not as much of a pure defensive standoff as the score indicated, it really was better than it looked. A hard-hitting game in the rain with no turnovers on either side is not bad football.
They are searching for memories at Soldier Field these days–new memories. The 1985 Bears, great as they were and honored again at halftime, haven’t done enough lately to stir the faithful.
So when these Bears look back on their season, they might point to the Ravens and remember when they started to learn how to win.
It was their second victory in a row, a new accomplishment, and it reminded them that it should have been their third. They were ahead of Cleveland by the same 10-6 score two weeks ago and blew it.
“It was nice to go out and put the nail in the coffin,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said.
Now they must make it three in a row next week in Detroit for Sunday’s game to mean much. Finally, the NFC North is guaranteed to get one team with a winning record after the Lions and Bears, both 3-3, face off.
Until the Bears stack wins, their most enduring memory of this season is Thomas Jones, who has played too well and too consistently for all that yardage to go for naught.
“They knew we were going to run the ball, and we still ran,” Urlacher said. “If you can do that in this league, you can be pretty good.”
The Ravens couldn’t. They are searching for memories, too, and they can’t find either the Jamal Lewis or the Ray Lewis of only a few seasons ago. Urlacher and the Bears did a much better job on the skittish Jamal Lewis than Ray Lewis and the Ravens did on the irrepressible Jones.
The Ravens looked like a team in dire need of Trent Dilfer, the Cleveland quarterback who helped them win the Super Bowl in the 2000 season. They have held on to relics like cornerbacks Deion Sanders and Dale Carter yet got rid of Dilfer.
Yes, it is true. Sanders actually played in that game Sunday, providing excellent reason for the 1985 Bears on the sidelines to resist comebacks.
The roughing penalties on Adalius Thomas and Terrell Suggs helped keep both Bears scoring drives alive, and Ray Lewis looked like a man in his 10th season weary of 10-6 games.
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He blew his assignment to cover Bears fullback Marc Edwards on the game’s only touchdown. The Bears had scored on the very same play against Cleveland, so Lewis must have missed it on film. With 8 minutes 21 seconds to play, Lewis was limping into the locker room.
The Ravens used to know how to win 10-6 games, and the Bears are trying to learn. Jamal Lewis used to be Thomas Jones too.
In the NFC North, 10-6 games can become a successful way of life. Right now, Lovie Smith will take his chances with them and worry about the next steps later.
“We like being in position of having the lead and the defense in position to win the game,” Smith said. “Six weeks in, you see what kind of defense we have. We’ll only get better.”
Buddy Ryan saw Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera at 1985 reunion festivities and told him he liked what he saw.
“I told the players Buddy complimented them,” Rivera said. “It made me feel good. If anybody knows defense, it’s him. He said he liked how hard the guys played.”
Urlacher liked how it was the offense that sealed it with a first down. Orton said he liked how punter Brad Maynard won the field-position battle. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner said he liked how “we made plays in all areas,” which is what it usually takes every single week against every single NFL team.
“We’ve been in this type of situation in Washington and Cleveland and didn’t win,” Turner said. “We’ve got a very young team, and you have to learn how to win.”
Added Rivera: “You go back to Cleveland and say that was a game when we could have learned how to win.”
In Detroit, they will find out about their short-term memory.
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