Bears Say Bucs Played Dirty

The Chicago Bears dropped to Tampa Bay 27-24 in overtime, and one of the game-deciding plays was an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Charles Tillman that would have forced the Buccaneers to punt and instead gave the Bucs a first down.  After the game, the Bears knew that the second man always gets caught, but a few of the Bears players pointed fingers at the Bucs Jeremy Trueblood as intentionally trying to hurt the Bears defense.

Even with the situation, coach Lovie Smith did not excuse Tillman, saying, “I think everyone knows that’s unacceptable. Me just saying, ‘Hey guys, don’t do it anymore,’ it’s not that easy. Charles knew when it happened. It’s something that in the heat of passion, sometimes you do things that you regret later. That’s one play out of a lot of opportunities we had.”

Smith and the players know that the game still should have been won by the Bears despite any penalties.  With two disappointing losses in a row, the Bears are looking toward week three to gain momentum back in their favor.  They will have to top the Philadelphia Eagles to do so, whose only loss is against the seemingly-unstoppable Dallas Cowboys. Reserve your Chicago Bears tickets at StubHub.com.

Posted in General on September 23, 2008

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