Mulligan: Steltz's pick helps Bears roll vs. Lions

[Xee]

Steltz's pick helps Bears roll vs. Lions

November 3, 2008
BY MIKE MULLIGAN mmulligan@suntimes.com

For the second time in as many games, an unlikely hero emerged to save the day in the Bears' secondary.

Fortunately for Craig Steltz, who made a key interception in the Bears' 27-23 win over the Detroit Lions, he won't be a one-and-done performer like Zach Bowman, who was lost for the season after suffering a biceps injury against the Minnesota Vikings two weeks ago. In fact, depending on the severity of Mike Brown's calf injury, Steltz could be getting a lot more playing time in upcoming weeks.

''Great pick,'' Brown said of Steltz. ''He's a good player, man.''

Brown is no stranger to injury, of course. In fact, his start Sunday was his eighth of the year, exceeding his total of seven from the last two seasons combined. He suffered a torn Lisfranc ligament in his foot two years ago, and last year he went down with a torn ACL. Brown also missed the last four games in 2005 and the playoff run to the Super Bowl with a calf injury and 14 of 16 games in 2004 with a blown Achilles tendon.

The injury Sunday was nowhere near as severe with Brown predicting he'd return soon. There's an old line in football about giving up 50 followers for one good leader, and Brown is the most natural leader on the team. Still, for the Bears, it's playmakers that are in short supply. Can Steltz provide some help in that area?

It sure looked that way when he made a crucial interception on the goal line in the fourth quarter, returning the ball to midfield before a personal foul on Adewale Ogunleye pushed the Bears back 15 yards.

''They were driving down the field, and we had to get a turnover,'' Steltz said of the pick that came on third-and-nine from the 19. ''We came in at halftime down by 10, and we couldn't give up any more points. As a defense, we had to go out there and get some turnovers and get the ball back to the offense. I just came up with a big play in the end zone.''

It was a game-changing play. If the Lions had added a field goal, they would've been trying to get another at the end of the game instead of trailing by four points when they had two possessions in the last four minutes.

''I just did what I wasn't supposed to do,'' Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky said. ''Calvin [Johnson] ran a skinny post. I thought I could move Steltz and get the ball to Calvin. I just tried to do too much. It was one of those moments where you quickly learn that if you step out of the box at this position in this league, you get hurt.''

Defensive coordinator Bob Babich, who used the bye week to pull off a move from the coaching box back to the sideline, could be seen frantically exhorting his players during a disastrous first half in which the team allowed four consecutive scoring drives.

''Our guys did a great job,'' Babich said. ''They came in at halftime, made a decision that they weren't going to score.''

[Beardude]

I didn't like the Steltz pick in the least. He's proven me wrong and now looks like a very solid pick. I would however like to see M Brown not miss any moe than one game.

[DaDitka]

''Our guys did a great job,'' Babich said. ''They came in at halftime, made a decision that they weren't going to score.''

Funny, it looked to me that Orlovsky made that decision

[Beardude]

''Our guys did a great job,'' Babich said. ''They came in at halftime, made a decision that they weren't going to score.''

Funny, it looked to me that Orlovsky made that decision

Me thinks Orlovsky's sore thumb might have played a role as well. I hear he's out for a week or two.

[G08]

I think Steltz isn't going to wow you with athleticism, but from what I've seen/read about the guy, he understands the game of football and uses that to his advantage. I sure hope he'll be picking Mikey B's brain about the position so he can fast-track his progression to being a starter.