Psst -- hey, Bears: GO AFTER THE DBs

It's no time to get conservative against a secondary like this

Nine days ago, Pete Hunter was a loan officer when he got a phone call asking what he was doing the next few weeks.

Would he be interested in, say, playing defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL playoffs?

I'm not making this up. This isn't some new reality show. He and Rich Gardner, another newly signed cornerback, played in Seattle's victory over Dallas on Saturday, then thanked coach Mike Holmgren in the locker room for the chance to play.

''They caught me off guard,'' Holmgren said. ''I just said, 'Thank you.'''

Note to Bears: Attack these guys.

Hunter and Gardner and the rest of the makeshift Seattle secondary are coming to Soldier Field for Sunday's playoff game. The Seahawks' defensive backfield is just sitting there, waiting to be plucked.

All it requires is a little aggressive play-calling and a little, uh, faith in, um, Rex Grossman?

I probably should have used a period there, not a question mark.

''We're just going to run our offense,'' Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. ''We want to run the ball. What's won games for us is running the football, being physical.''

I understand. Running the ball is good, old-fashioned stuff, and also it gives the added benefit of Grossman not passing it.

But come on, this is just too good. It almost looks like a trick question.

Seattle's top three cornerbacks are out, including the two starters in last year's Super Bowl. In their place, the starters are a rookie and a converted safety.

The nickel guy knows the prime rate better than the Seahawks' playbook. And you thought the Bears' secondary is in trouble because it lost Mike Brown?

This should send two messages to the Bears: One, despite the temptation, they cannot become too conservative with their play-calling, the way nearly every NFL coach does in the playoffs. Marty Schottenheimer has nearly ruined a stellar coaching career this way.

And two, no matter how well you think you are stacked for future Super Bowl runs, the window might slam at any time.

''Usually, you don't have a lot of loan officers back there,'' Holmgren said.

''They've only been here a couple days, then all of a sudden we're throwing them out there against some of the best receivers in football.

''I've never had a team that got hit [with injuries] in a position like that before. It's been one of those years.''

After reaching the Super Bowl last year, the Seahawks were expected to be even better this season. But excessive injuries -- including to running back Shaun Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck -- followed by inconsistent play from Hasselbeck, have made the Seahawks very average. They barely got to the playoffs at all.

Are you watching, Bears? Being good this year doesn't mean anything about next year.

The Bears can't blow another opportunity, the way they did in the playoffs last year against Carolina, and simply expect to have another shot.

Peanut Tillman knows. He had a terrible game against Carolina, allowing Steve Smith to run all over.

''Disappointment is my personal trainer,'' he said.

''Nothing is promised to us. We might never make it this far again. Seize the moment.''

Holmgren said that, after losing the Super Bowl last year, ''it took me a while to get over it, where I wasn't sure I'd continue to coach. Then, I made the decision to stay. We had a great offseason, and the mantra was, 'Let's go back there and get it done.' We've had an unusual season.''

In this case, seize the moment means to attack those defensive backs, if the weather holds up.

But Lovie Smith keeps talking about defense and running, running and defense. The Bears should have been doing more of that all season to take pressure off Grossman. But while you don't want to go overboard, you also have to attack the other team's weakness.

Especially when it's this glaring.

Smith continues to insist that he has faith in Grossman.

''We like Rex being our quarterback,'' he said Wednesday. ''We think he can lead us where we need to go.''

OK, Lovie. We'll see how confident you are in him.

If Grossman can't be trusted to throw against a loan officer, then that's pretty telling.

Last week, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells fell into the same trap that so many NFL coaches fall into in the playoffs, getting way too conservative. Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards did it in the loss to Indianapolis, too. Even Colts coach Tony Dungy was too conservative.

The News-Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., tallied an unofficial count showing that the Cowboys used two receivers on 32 snaps, three receivers on 20 and four just three times. That, the paper said, spared Seattle from getting into its dime defense.

From using extra loan officers.

I know, I know. It's hard to trust Grossman. But Seattle doesn't have much of a pass rush, and its secondary is in shambles. And while the new guys do have NFL experience, they were out of the league.

If Smith can't trust Grossman to attack that, assuming the conditions aren't bad, then maybe he shouldn't be playing him at all.

''I have a lot of confidence in Rex,'' Bears running back Thomas Jones said.

''Everyone has a lot of confidence in Rex.''

That's what everyone says.

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