Bears don't dare stir the pot
Giving Seahawks all due respect after getting burned in '06
It didn't matter that Ogunleye meant no harm. In voicing that thought, he provided the Panthers with first-rate bulletin-board material. And the Panthers, whom the Bears had beaten in the regular season, responded by crushing the Bears in the playoffs.
The Bears, we hoped, learned an important lesson from that experience: Do not talk smack unless you're prepared to back it up. Better yet, skip the smack talk altogether. Be careful not to offend your opponent, especially when the playoffs come around. Because playoff games are tough to win. No sense giving the opponent any sort of advantage.
We hope the Bears have learned this lesson. Did they? On Monday, they were put to the test, and I'm pleased to report there was not a harsh word uttered about the Seattle Seahawks.
Ogunleye: ''We have a lot of respect for them. They're a good team.''
Guard Ruben Brown: ''We can't hang our hats too much on what happened [during the regular season]. It's a new time and a new day. We're going to be prepared for anything, and they will be prepared for anything.''
Defensive tackle Ian Scott: ''Even with all the injuries they've had, they were able to win a tough game against a good team [the Cowboys].''
Running back Thomas Jones: ''We're not taking anyone lightly. You have to play four quarters of good football. You can't make too many mistakes.''
Coach Lovie Smith: ''We have our hands full.''
They're saying all the right things, and good for them. It beats giving the Seahawks, who already are eager for this rematch, any bulletin-board material.
''We're not an overconfident team,'' Smith said. ''We lost our last game to our rival. We didn't play our best ball at the end of the season.''
They also will be playing without defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who drove Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to distraction in October. And the Seahawks will have the services of running back Shaun Alexander, who missed the first meeting with a broken foot.
''The biggest difference is that we're more experienced,'' long snapper Patrick Mannelly said. ''Maybe things the guys thought they didn't do last year before the game, they're making sure they do this year. Maybe a defensive player watches more third-down plays. Maybe an offensive lineman watches more blitz. Maybe you go down and try to watch more games.''
Maybe the Bears still get nightmares when they think back to the Carolina loss.
''Since we lost last year, I've wanted to get back to this spot,'' Ogunleye said. ''It hurt watching [the rest of the playoffs]. Seattle got to the Super Bowl last year, and we want to be that team this time.''
Maybe they don't want to disappoint millions of Bears fans with another early exit.
''The difference,'' Scott said, ''is that we got a taste of what can happen to you last year and how bad it feels to lose at home in the playoffs, and we don't want that to happen again.''
Maybe they want to show the world that they're the real thing.
''We've been there before, we're experienced, we know what to expect,'' Jones said.
You don't win 13 games without being a very good team. And you don't secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, only to lose your first game. You don't get this far without believing in yourselves. The Bears might not be saying it out loud, but they have to be feeling it.
''Finishing,'' Smith said. ''Our key word that we've talked about all year is finishing.''