Nov 23, 2009 4:13 pm US/Central
Bears Still Hope To Salvage Season
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Johnny Knox #13 of the Chicago Bears tries to get away from a Detroit Lion defender on October 4, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Lions 48-24.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
The struggling and disappointing Chicago Bears have only one touchdown in their last two games, have lost five of six and have watched their playoff chances sink.
What — if anything — can they do to salvage their season?
The Bears wanted to head into the final six games with a glimmer of hope, but after another inconsistent performance and their fifth loss in the last six games, it's hard to still have it. But believe it or not, some Bears do.
"Absolutely I have hope. The door isn't closed. The door is still open. It comes down to us winning these last six, and we have to win," said Bears Defensive Tackle Israel Idonije.
"If you had cancer, wouldn't you be confident you would beat cancer? The doctor might say one thing, but you would be like, 'no, I'm beating this cancer.' That's how I look at it. I'm confident we can come out of this," said Bears Cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman.
Whether it's unbridled optimism or blind faith, the
Bears (4-6) insist they can still make a run at the playoffs. Chicago missed the postseason at 9-7 last year. To get to 10 wins this year, the Bears have to go undefeated.
That would mean beating Brett Favre and the Vikings twice, starting this coming Sunday. Bears cornerback Charles Tillman says he's not ready to give up, and that the day he loses hope is the "day I retire."
Surprisingly, Lovie Smith isn't drinking the orange and blue Kool-Aid as much as his players are.
"Team-wise, we realize where we are. I know we said the playoffs started last week and we need to win out. Now I feel this week we have more of a realistic approach to where we are," said Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith.
And after a 3-1 start, the Bears are shocked where they are now.
"Yeah, I'm really surprised. It was not our plan to be here, but we have to deal with the cards that we were dealt and just need to use them in a positive way," said Bears Safety Daniel Manning.
Now the Bears are stuck in the middle of nowhere at 4 and 6 and headed to Minnesota, of all places. The Vikings have got to be looking forward to that. Unfortunately, The Bears don't have too much to look forward to these days, except for maybe Thanksgiving.
CBS 2's Megan Mawicke and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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