One thing members of the Bears’ defense won’t have to worry about–for a while, at least, besides Jerome Bettis–are comparisons with the 1985 Bears. Then again . . .
The defense’s worst game of this season was the 13th. The big stumble of ’85 came in No. 13, against Miami, in a game that many said was the wake-up call that jolted that team out of complacency and was ultimately a major reason they went on to win the Super Bowl.
The ’05 Bears have won nothing at this point other than some games, but indications are they went to Pittsburgh complacent after winning eight straight.
“It’s possible,” acknowledged defensive coordinator Ron Rivera on Monday. “You do tend to get overconfident. One thing we tried to warn them against was that this was a very savvy team. They did a good job against us, and we didn’t respond very well.”
Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer admitted that “we got ourselves into a situation where we were waiting for someone else to make plays instead of the mentality we have where everybody is fighting to be the one to make a play.”
The Steelers violently disabused them of any false confidence.
Monday’s film session was quiet, with little of the banter and wisecracking that come after wins and good plays. There were too few of those this time.
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Among the most important grades assigned by coaches are the “Make-the-Play” grades–was a tackle, deflection, interception or other play made when the Bears player was in position to make it?–and Hillenmeyer estimated that more than half of the Bears’ defensive starters received their worst plays-made grade of the season.
More than grades, the Bears appeared to come out of the Pittsburgh thrashing with a sense of perspective.
The eight straight wins may have given them an inflated opinion of their own powers, meaning they may have learned as much from this loss as they did from many of those victories.
“I’ve always said we haven’t accomplished anything [through the win streak],” cornerback Charles Tillman said. “We just always put ourselves in better positions in the eight-game streak. But the last time we lost a game (Cleveland), we won the next eight straight. This is not the end of the road.”
Though coach Lovie Smith conceded that games like Pittsburgh sometimes simply happen to good teams, players were in no mood to accept anything suggesting that it was reasonable to expect the defense to crack at some point.
Linebacker Lance Briggs sharply interrupted one questioner Monday who suggested it was unrealistic to ask the defense to always be there to carry the offense.
“No, not at all,” Briggs said. “In no way. If it was up to anybody on the defensive side, you want the situation to be on us every time. It’s not realistic for a lot of teams, but it can be realistic for us.”
Rivera, who suffered through the Monday night letdown in Miami with the ’85 Bears and then experienced the rebound, knows how failure can be beneficial.
“Things are going well, you’re winning eight games and sometimes winning hides the mistakes,” Rivera said. “After a game like [Sunday’s], you refocus and prepare ourselves for the following week.”
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