Conventional wisdom would suggest the Bears would dial back their aggression after Caleb Hanie’s six interceptions in the last two weeks. Hanie was sacked seven times last week.
Mike Martz has no use for conventional wisdom.
“He did a lot of good things in that game [against the Chiefs],” Martz said via the Chicago Tribune. “We all – and coaches – all of us participated in that thing. . . . . We’ve got to get [Hanie] into the game a little bit earlier, probably a little bit still too conservative with him. He’s capable of probably more than what we’re doing with him. So, we’ll be a little bit more aggressive with him.”
Somewhere the Denver Broncos are thinking: “Thank you.”
Denver’s defense seems easier to attack on the ground. Ryan Mathews rushed for 137 yards against them two weeks ago. Toby Gerhart of all people topped 130 yards from scrimmage last week.
The Bears did not bring in a quarterback to replace Hanie. This week, both Martz and Lovie Smith insisted they aren’t considering benching Hanie.
“I don’t have any qualms about Caleb,” Martz said. He also says that benching Hanie has “truly never crossed” his mind.