Bears’ Chilo Rachal on Rams: Dumb ‘D,’ dumb, dumb
BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com September 23, 2012 9:42PM
Bears running back Michael Bush scores on a three-yard run in the second quarter Sunday at Soldier Field. | Tom Cruze~Sun-Times
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Updated: November 23, 2012 1:58AM
There were more than a few adjectives used by the Bears to describe the way the St. Louis Rams go about their business. Loud, foolish and dumb seemed to prevail.
Hey, at least the Rams lost the dirty tag for a week.
“They talk a lot, they talk a lot, extremely a lot,’’ Bears starting left guard Chilo Rachal said of St. Louis’ defense. “And I feel like it’s unnecessary. Everyone is a competitor, and when you’re losing, I guess you feel like you need to talk mess, but I think it’s unnecessary.’’
Maybe even more so for a team that’s 1-2.
“I think that’s their game plan,’’ Rachal said. “They’ve been doing it since Week 1; that’s what we hear. The Redskins said they played dirty, and I think that’s their game plan, to get into people’s heads. But it’s unnecessary. It’s dumb. It’s foolish.’’
There was a lot of pushing on both sides of the ball, and Julius Peppers even got caught with a shove that earned him 15 yards.
“They were talking, but you just look at them, and they’ll shut up the next time they come back,’’ Bears running back Michael Bush said. “That’s the game, you know. If you don’t get caught up in it, you’ll be fine.’’
Getting TV time
First-round pick Shea McClellin had more responsibility handed his way against the Rams. He filled in for Israel Idonije in the defensive-line rotation on several series and put pressure on Sam Bradford, just missing a sack in the third quarter that was credited to Peppers and Idonije.
Not bad for a rookie who looked overmatched in the early days of training camp.
“I wouldn’t say it’s night and day; it’s a slow process,’’ McClellin said. “I think it takes time to get better, and it’s not going to happen in a couple of weeks. It’s definitely a process. That’s the mentality you’ve got to take — just go into practice and try to get better every day.’’
McClellin is learning to be more disruptive in the passing game.
“That’s the job as a rusher, to get after the quarterback,’’ he said. “Any kind of pressure, quarterback hurry, anything like that is good.’’
The wounded
Tight end/fullback Evan Rodriguez injured his knee on the opening kickoff.
Rodriguez was a fourth-round draft choice out of Temple. He has been valuable on special teams and made the transition from tight end to fullback.
