Chicago Bears and Caleb Hanie on Same Page; Moving Forward, No Regrets
Published by Joshua Edwards on November 30, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Hanie knew the question was coming. It was as inevitable as his interceptions.
Would you take back the swing pass intercepted just before halftime?
“It wasn’t that bad of a play call, actually,” Hanie said.
Yeah, it was great. Right up until one fat man (Aaron Curry) tipped it to another fat man (Kameron Wimbley) who would have scored unless a fatter man (Lance Louis) yanked him down.
Sounds ideal.
Tell me, did it work in practice against the Bears defense? If so, good news: they’re all fired.
Hanie clarified, “We have blockers going that way for extra guys … In my mind it was safe and when I came back to throw I thought, ‘We got ’em.’ “
Well, you almost did. But then you didn’t.
“If we get a finger on (the linebacker), he wouldn’t have disrupted that play, or at least it wouldn’t have been where he gets there just in time to pop the ball in the air. It was just a good play on the defensive part,” Hanie said.
That’s true: Aaron Curry read it all the way. You can see it on the video. Question is, why didn’t Hanie see him?
Head coach Lovie Smith was prepared for the criticism and already moving past it.
Would he have called a different play?
“In hindsight do you mean?” said Smith. (You can count on passive-aggression from Lovie.)
“No. I think our game plan was good enough to win the game. We all know that swing there at the end of the half, you take that away and it’s a different ballgame. We don’t give up the long screen pass and it’s a different ballgame. I liked our game plan.”
Oh, I see. We’ll just write a letter to the NFL.
Dear NFL, Please take away that swing pass at the end of the half. We feel it was unlikely to happen, and therefore should not be factored into the outcome of the game. Yours, The Bears.
Let me know when they update the record to 8-3.
In other unbelievable news: Jay Cutler was seen on the sidelines, occasionally not grimacing, and even (gulp) helping Caleb.
Hanie said, “He made it a point to be there for me every time I came off the field, which I really appreciated. You know, he did that last year in the NFC Championship game. People … just didn’t see it all the time on the TV.”
Hopefully, Jay told him it’s a bad idea to throw swing passes with his eyes closed.
Then we can all move forward with confidence.
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