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Oak Park Journal photo of the Chicago Bears
Dan Peters Sports Editor
Oak Park Journal
Rookies shine again in Bears late game loss to Denver. by Dan Peters
Briggs earned a start due to an injury to Bryan Knight a strongside linebacker. The third-round draft pick from Arizona registered his first NFL sack among a team-high 10 tackles, drew two false start penalties on blitzes and blocked Jason Elam's 26-yard field goal attempt. An impressive night indeed. "We've said all along that this guy has a tremendous feel for the game and has the potential to be a playmaker," said Bears coach Dick Jauron. "We saw a little bit in the first exhibition and we've seen more of it tonight. There are a lot of positives with Lance on the field." Thomas saw his first game action since breaking his left index finger in a 30-20 loss at Green Bay last December. "A-Train" as he in nicknamed, didn't touch the ball until he carried for two yards with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. "It felt pretty good to get back out there and get things going, but it's still a preseason game and we've got a lot more work to do," Thomas said. "It's the first game I've played in a while. You're going to have a lot of ups and downs, but we've got to go watch film. We've got two more weeks to go." The Bears came out throwing on their first drive, as they did the previous week against the Colts... Quarterback Kordell Stewart dropped back to pass on the team's first six plays, completing 1 of 5 for 6 yards and scrambling for 15 yards. The Bears went three-and-out on their opening possession. The Broncos on the other hand, marched 80 yards on 15 plays before Jason Elam connected on a 22-yard field goal. The drive took 8:42 off the clock and gave Denver a 3-0 lead. The Bears answered the Broncos on Paul Edinger's 28-yard
field goal on the first play of the second quarter. The kick ended a 12-play,
63-yard drive that by Stewart kept alive with scrambles of 15 yards on
third-and-10 and three yards on third-and-1. The key play of the possession
was Stewart's 30-yard pass to
The Bears No. 1 offense generated 73 net yards and three-first downs on 15 plays, again much better than were accustomed to. "I'm pleased," said Stewart, who completed 3 of 8 passes for 38 yards and scrambled twice for 18 yards. "I think things are moving in the right direction. The good thing is we're not turning the ball over. That's something that I pride myself on." Although he has yet to produce a touchdown on five preseason possessions, Bears quarterback Kordell Stewart said he was pleased with the offense's progress following Saturday's 15-10 loss to the Denver Broncos. "Just getting acclimated with everything really was what I was pretty much involved with last week, but this week I had a game under my belt and it was a little bit better. I felt more comfortable." The Broncos moved the ball down the field again early in the second quarter when strong safety Mike Green intercepted an overthrown Jake Plummer pass at the Chicago 11 and broke five tackles on an impressive 43-yard return. "Coaches are really stressing for us to get more touchdowns as a defense this season, so I was really determined to get that in the end zone," Green said. The Bears failed to turn the turnover into points, as Chris Chandler was sacked for a loss of seven and Edinger's 47-yard field goal attempt veered wide right. Both teams Kickers had problems Saturday night. Denver
squandered an opportunity to take the lead when cornerback Willie Middlebrooks
returned a Rabih Abdullah fumble 12 yards to the Chicago 11-yard line.
Alex Brown sacked veteran
Rex Grossman looked like a veteran, directing the Bears offense, He drove the Bears downfield for a 10-3 lead on Adrian Peterson's 1-yard TD plunge with 5:06 left in the third quarter. The score was set up by impressive jump-ball receptions of 28 and 29 yards by first-year wide receiver Edell Shepherd. "Any time I get an opportunity to make a play, I have to do it," Shepherd said. "Hopefully I'll just keep on doing it for the rest of the preseason games." In the most bizarre turn of events, the Broncos had seemed to cut the deficit to 10-6 on Elam's 40-yard field goal with 11:27 left in the fourth quarter. But Denver decided to take the points off the board when an offside penalty on the kick resulted in a first down at the 16 yard line. Then, only two minutes later, wide receiver Herb Haygood beat safety Julius Curry for a 10-yard TD catch from Steve Beuerlein to pull the Broncos to within 1 point. Denver elected to go for a two point conversion, but Bears defensive backs Jason Goss and Eric Joyce teamed up to break Beuerlein's two-point conversion pass intended for Frank Rice. The Broncos scored the go ahead TD with :18 left in
the game as rookie quarterback Jarious Jackson capped an impressive 13-play,
80-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak. The key play of the drive was Jackson's
36-yard pass to Rice on fourth-and-three that gave Denver a first down
at the Bears' 15 with :42
Other impressive standouts from the game.. Safety Cameron
Worrell contributed with two monster hits. The undrafted free agent
from Fresno State caused incompletions by nailing tight end Jeb Putzier
late in the third quarter and hitting receiver Herb Haygood on Denver's
final drive.
The injury report from tonites game: Rookie defensive tackle Tron LaFavor left the game in the second quarter with a right shoulder contusion. He will be reevaluated on Sunday. Left defensive end Phillip Daniels exited in the second period with a cut on his nose, but he returned later in the half. Bears who missed Saturday's game with injuries were
linebacker Bryan Knight (knee), tackle Marc Colombo (knee), safety Todd
Johnson (jaw), offensive lineman Terrence Metcalf (finger), fullback Tyree
Foreman (ankle), tight ends Robert Johnson (leg) and John Davis (back)
and defensive tackle Ernest Grant
The Bears ended their temporary stay in Champaign with
a 4-8 record at Memorial Stadium (1-3 in preseason games and 3-5 in the
2002 regular season). Their next home game will be one of the most eagerly
anticipated games in years as the Bears christen the "All new" Soldier
Field Monday night, September 29 in
2003 Regular Season Schedule |
