Bear Digest

Bears apparently not finished embarrassing the Packers just yet

Another Bears coach acknowledges something from Saturday's win that wasn't real smart football—on the part of Green Bay.
Gene Chamberlain|
Green Bay Packers place kicker Brandon McManus missed three kicks Saturday, including one when his team had too few blockers.
Green Bay Packers place kicker Brandon McManus missed three kicks Saturday, including one when his team had too few blockers. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

There seem to be a great deal of concern nationally about the feelings of the Green Bay Packers after Ben Johnson dropped F-bombs referring to them in his postgame locker room rant following Saturday night's playoff win.

Attempts to paint Johnson as an NFL coaching ogre have come from national media and social media alike after Johnson did this and didn't give Matt LaFleur a very "sincere" handshake. Those poor Packers. Poor LaFleur.

It seems Johnson might not be the only member of the Bears coaching staff who the Packers aren't fond of, after what Chicago special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said in all honesty Thursday at Halas Hall prior to preparations to face the Rams.

A missed extra point by Brandon McManus loomed large for the Packers at the end of the game, forcing them to try for a touchdown instead of a field goal for a tie. The game ended on an incompletion in the end zone by Jordan Love.

On the missed extra point after the final Green Bay touchdown, the Packers had only 10 men on the field.

"Yeah, I noticed it," Hightower said. "I noticed it and we pointed it out to our guys, and it's impressive that you (media) noticed it.”

Then, stepping a bit far, he said.

"Like that's something that, again, I'm not worried about their team, but if our team did that, I would be livid at such a crucial moment in a ballgame,” Hightower said.

No doubt Packer special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was, and, of course, LaFleur, too. No doubt they don’t appreciate it being mentioned, either.

Was Hightower telling the Packers how to coach their team? No, but it probably sounded a bit intrusive from the viewpoint of your typical Cheesehead or Cheesehead coach— a kind of “Hey, they can’t do that to our pledges! Only WE can do that to our pledges!” moment, or “Who asked for your opinion bub?”

Hightower properly used this as a good teaching moment heading into the game with the Rams, who have had special teams problems so severe themselves that they dumped special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn in late December. They replaced him with special teams assistant Ben Kotwica.

How's this working out for them?

Well, at least they can count to 11, but with 4:18 to play Rams punter Ethan Evans had a punt blocked and the Carolina Panthers quickly scored the go-ahead touchdown in their playoff game after falling on the ball at the Rams 30. Matthew Stafford intervened and saved the Rams then with a late TD pass to Colby Parkinson to make it to Sunday night's divisional playoff at Soldier Field.

The Rams have done some good things on special teams at times this year, though.

"We got a huge challenge this week, obviously, in Jared Verse and their field goal block team," Hightower said. "They blocked two, they blocked one for a touchdown. They changed the momentum in the Atlanta game."

They still lost to the Falcons, though.

"So, you know, last week is over with, this week our focus is to win," Hightower said.

So, they'll mind their P's and Q's on Bears special teams ... and count to 11.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.