Even When You Stop LT, You Can't Stop LT

Just a couple of quick thoughts while the Bears' loss is still fresh in my mind.

If you had told me that the Bears' defense would hold LaDainian Tomlinson to 25 yards on 17 carries, I would have taken that deal in a heartbeat. Of course, he still threw for a touchdown, and scored another one.

Even though the Bears stopped him, he still beat them.

It didn't help that the Bears committed four turnovers, and amazingly enough, none of them were Rex's fault. Sure he threw an interception, but it was Bernard Berrian quitting on the route, not Grossman's throw, that resulted in the pick.

Everything was going fine until a bad punt took a fucked-up hop and hit Brandon McGowan on the shoulder. San Diego recovered the ball, and quickly turned a 3-0 deficit into a 7-3 lead. All the momentum shifted on that play, and the Bears never had a chance afterwards.

Obviously, like any of you who watched the game, I'm worried about the running game. Cedric Benson only got 42 yards on 19 carries, but he also fumbled the ball away. Adrian Peterson had a nice 5.4 yards per carry, but it was his fumble that put the final nail in the Bears coffin.

Whether the Bears running game isn't that good or the Chargers defense is (and I'm leaning towards San Diego's defense), the Bears are going to have to do a lot better job next week against the Chiefs.

Monster of the Midway

• Tommie Harris - Since we didn't get to see much of him in the preseason, there were a lot of questions going into the game about Tommie's health, but I think he proved he's fine on Sunday. It was the same Tommie Harris we saw firing off the ball last season before he went down, and it showed in the Bears' overall defensive performance. Harris was so quick off the ball, that the refs didn't seem to notice he was offside on the play where he literally stole the snap from the center.

Dumbass of the Day

• Brandon McGowan - It's really not fair to give this to Brandon, I mean, it's not his fault the shanked punt hit him. It did though, and it was from that point on that the Bears lost control of this game. Other consideration went to Bernard Berrian for quitting on the Grossman pick that could of put the Bears up 10-0 at halftime, and to Nathan Vasher for a late hit on Philip Rivers that kept a Chargers drive alive.

Other Thoughts

• I'll admit the Nike commercial with Shawne Merriman and Steven Jackson is nicely done, but what kind of message is it that Merriman's in it? Yes, he's a great player, but he's also a known cheater. The guy was suspended last season for steroids, and we repay him with a national endorsement deal?
• Is Devin Hester scared to get hit now after suffering that injury in the preseason? I don't think he called for as many fair catches all last season as he did on Sunday.
• Anybody else notice the standings in the NFC North? Packers, Lions, and Vikings all won, leaving the Bears alone in last place.
• Mike Brown left the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained knee. He almost made it through an entire game without getting hurt! Way to go, Mike. UPDATE: It appears Mike may be out for the season. Faaaaaantastic.