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LAKE FOREST, IL—It took very little time for the idea to come across coach Lovie Smith's lips this week in practice following last week's debacle at San Francisco.
"We have five losses. Five losses don't keep you out of anything. Our players realize that. It's a big game coming up," Smith said.
All this past week the Bears have trumpeted this because they have nothing else on which to base the rest of their season.
"The Vikings are playing well; they’re 8-1," defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "But besides that, with the playoffs and everything it's still in our grasp."
In truth, they're right. It always takes more than five losses to be eliminated.
The Cardinals were 9-7 last year and in the Super Bowl, as numerous Bears have pointed out this week.
Taking it a step further, the Cardinals not only made the Super Bowl at 9-7, but owned the same record after nine games that the Bears have at this point. They were 4-5.
In fact, the other NFC championship game participant, Philadelphia, wasn't much better and was actually .500 after 11 games (5-5-1).
This isn't common, though. Usually it's the dominant teams who get through the playoffs—if there are any—and this year certainly there are two in the NFC in the Vikings and Saints.
Besides, the Bears do not have the makeup of a team capable of making a late-season run to the playoffs. Simply, they are playing lousy football, the kind more likely to get a head coach or assistants fired than the kind that lights a fire under a miracle team's run.
It's not their record, but the way they play that makes playoffs or even a .500 record seem unlikely.
- They are eighth in the league in penalties. Smith says this isn't common for his teams. Apparently lying is. The Bears have been eighth or better in penalties committed during four of Smith's six seasons. They've been fifth or higher in penalties three times in his six seasons.
- They say they are a running team but they passed 52 times last week against San Francisco in a game they never trailed by more than seven points. Giving up on the run is something they've done well all year and currently are on pace for the most pass attempts in team history.
- With 17 interceptions, quarterback Jay Cutler is just off the pace for a franchise single-season interceptions record.
- The defense plays well only against poor offenses like Detroit, Cleveland and San Francisco.
- The offensive line has been blamed constantly for a running attack that is ranked 30th. It's been so bad the Bears have given up early on the run and are tied for 30th in rushing attempts.
However, Smith doesn't lay all the blame on the line. This week he acknowledged running back Matt Forte dances too much instead of running straight ahead.
"I think he danced last year, too," Smith said. "We're at a point in our season right now where we're 4-5. I think anything you ask me as far as any position, it's not where we want it to be.
"Hopefully after this game we'll see some of those things. We'll see Matt make a couple more runs, we'll see every player on the field do some of the things that we've grown accustomed to."
Don't bet on it. Nine games is a pretty good sample size and the Bears haven't shown themselves capable of making a late-season run.
"The wall's against our backs," defensive tackle Tommie Harris said, slaughtering an overused cliche.
It's more likely they'll be laying beneath the wall after Donovan McNabb gets through with them than be .500 and looking to upset Minnesota.
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