| Bears coach Lovie Smith has the backing of special teams coach Dave Toub. (US Presswire) |
It wasn't quite an impassioned plea, but more of a slap in the face telling people to wake up.
Special teams coordinator Dave Toub thinks the city of Chicago would suffer a great loss if Lovie Smith doesn't return as coach. Smith's deal is up after 2013 and his future seems in question with the Bears in danger of missing the playoffs for the fifth time in six years.
"Lovie is a great coach and he needs to stay here," Toub said.
Toub pointed to Smith's steady style as a major plus.
"He's always going to be the same," Toub said. "I think that's a great character trait to have as a head coach. He doesn't waver. If it (the job pressure) is bothering him, he's not letting the players see it. He's not letting coaches see it. He's been steady.
"He lets coaches coach, he lets me do my job. He has total trust in everything I do. As a coach you can't ask for a better situation."
Toub pointed to Smith's record and said he is definitely underappreciated.
"We are very lucky," Toub said. "The Chicago Bears are very lucky to have Lovie Smith. We better realize that.
"Everybody better realize that."
Packer backers: The Bears are coming to grips with the thought that they have to become Green Bay Packer fans for a few hours if they manage to win Sunday against Detroit.
"I can root for Green Bay," LB Lance Briggs said. "It doesn’t mean I like Green Bay. Everybody in Chicago is going to be pulling for Green Bay. It’s just the way it is."
It's a somewhat bitter pill for WR Brandon Marshall considering a week ago he was telling people he "hated" the Packers. Marshall still refuses to wear a cheesehead, so to speak.
“I’m not cheering for anybody but the Bears," he said. "Yeah, that’s how it is. We put ourselves in this position. It could be a good position. You never know how things will work out.
"But all we can do is beat Detroit and sit back and have a cup of coffee and see what happens at that afternoon game.”
The Bears will be heading out to the airport and arriving back in Chicago at about the time the Vikings-Packers game ends. They'll be following it as best they can.
"I’m not necessarily going to watch every play," Briggs said. "I might check scores and stuff like that."
No hard feelings: Briggs refused to get down on the selection process after his run of seven straight Pro Bowls ended. But he did point out a flaw in the selection process.
"It’s one of those things, you know," he said. "It’s just there weren’t any traditional outside linebackers in the Pro Bowl, you know, and that is just the way it goes."
All the outside linebackers chosen were essentially rush linebackers in a 3-4 defense.
No Henmel fan: Bears DT Henry Melton had called Lions C Dominic Raiola "dirty" on Wednesday. On Thursday, Raiola fired back with some comments to Lions reporters.
"It's tiresome, especially from a guy like this, a guy that didn't even play the past two weeks," Raiola said, referring to Melton's collarbone injury. "I don't know what to say anymore. In my book, he's a clown. That's all I got."
Raiola expressed outrage that Melton made the Pro Bowl.
"I mean, this guy, he made it to the Pro Bowl?" he said. "This guy made the Pro Bowl? (Over) Kevin Williams, who worked through injuries all year? (Over) Suh, who’s a better player than this guy? Come on."
Injury update: LB Brian Urlacher (hamstring), RB Armando Allen (knee), LB Blake Costanzo, and S Chris Conte (hamstring) were the only Bears not practicing Thursday. None have practiced this week. RB Matt Forte (ankle) was able to practice on a limited basis and looked fine running drills. CB Charles Tillman (ribs), and DT Melton (collarbone) were able to practice on a limited basis. RT Jonathan Scott (hamstring) and CB Tim Jennings (shoulder) practiced without limitation.