News

HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ

On the game

“One of the worst second halves of football I’ve ever been associated with. We were poor on special teams, we were poor on offense, we were poor on defense, we were out-coached, we were out-played; their trainers were probably even better than ours in the second half. Credit goes to them. They came out after halftime and played a really good half of football. We played a poor half of football and that’s where it is.”

On QB Matthew Stafford

“He twisted he knee a little bit. Obviously we’ll have to do a lot of tests and those kind of things, but he wasn’t able to really get it warmed back up again and we didn’t want to put him back in the game.”

On if he was going to go back in if RB Matt Forte hadn’t scored

“Oh, no, if he was able to go back in, he would have gone back in.”

On if he would have gone in if Forte hadn’t scored

“If he was healthy enough to go back in the game, he would have gone back in the game. I wasn’t conceding the game; we weren’t putting other players in, we weren’t doing anything.”

On if there was the perception he was healthy enough prior to the touchdown

“If he was healthy enough, he would have gone back in the game.”

On WR Calvin Johnson

“If he was healthy enough, he would have gone back in the game. He’s got a leg … he was another one that had a hard time warming it back up.”

On what happened in the second half

“We came out and we did a poor job covering the opening kickoff and it went from there. We didn’t do a good job; they were playing a lot of Cover-1 the first half; they went to a lot more Cover-2; we weren’t able to run the ball at all and that was very disappointing. Not being able to run the ball against Cover-2 (is disappointing). It’s one thing when they’re loading nine guys in the box or eight guys in the box and you can’t get the run game started, but the second half they had to put the fire out with Calvin. We passed for a lot of yards in the first half, we were moving the ball very well in the first half. They were able to take those deep shots away with Cover-2, we were never able to consistently get short passes or run the ball.”

On it being a trend that the team comes out bad in the third quarter

“It’s been something different every single time. Last week we gave up the touchdown on the first drive; this week we gave up the touchdown on special teams. I don’t think it’s one thing you can put your finger on.”

On what he was upset about with the offense and special teams

“Turnovers, poor coverage units, poor return units – all that goes in. Good gracious, I don’t know what our average offensive starting point was – or (on) defense, where (the Bears') offense was – but it was probably over midfield and that’s obviously no way to be able to play. Like I said, we got outplayed on offense, defense and special teams.”

On him being noticeably more irritated after this game

“We lost the football game. You saw the second half of the game didn’t you? I mean, you saw the first half, you saw the second half. You can’t come up here and point to positives in the second half. You can’t say, ‘Well, I was trending up,’ or any of that other happy stuff. We got outplayed in the second half. We played poorly. There’s a lot to be ticked off about for that second half of football.”

On getting the kick return game going

“We’ve changed a lot of different things. We’re still searching for a formula there. Since the opener, we haven’t gotent a consistent return game. We did a nice job of returning in the opener, but we haven’t been consistent since then. Our kicking hasn’t been good, our coverage hasn’t been good.”

On if he’s still searching for a kick returner

“I mean, to be in this situation where our average start was after kickoff, obviously changes need to be made and we’re not afraid to make them.”

On what happened on the interception

“Yeah, the screen play? (Stafford) got pressured and wasn’t expecting the guy to be there. We shouldn’t give up that kind of pressure on the screen. We were too quick to go with our offensive linemen out to the screen, ended up getting the quarterback hit – the quarterback shouldn’t get hit on the screen. But we ended up getting the quarterback hit and one of their defensive lineman was able to step in front of the play.”

On Stafford's 29-yard sideline completion to Calvin Johnson

“That’s a nice throw. I mean, what do you want me to say? We got beat. There’s not going to be very many silver linings or pointing to individual plays there.”

On LB Ernie Sims

“He came out with a shoulder. He wasn’t healthy enough to finish.”

On if this was a new injury or the same one

“He came out with a shoulder. I’ll leave the rest until we get a real good evaluation of it.”

QB MATTHEW STAFFORD

On what happened on the injury

“I was just trying to break out of the tackle and just slipped on the ground a little bit – my right foot did.”

On if it was planted on the turf

“Yeah, and then it just sort of slid out.”

On if he was in a lot of pain

“No, I was alright. I’m fine.”

On if he will get an MRI

“I don’t even know. I’m sure Coach Schwartz will probably update (the media on Monday).”

On if he thinks he will play next week

“I don’t know, we’ll see.”

On what happened in the second half

“We just didn’t play good enough football. That’s what it boils down to. We didn’t execute on offense, defense, or special teams the whole day. We got away with it in the first half with some big plays and in the second half they played better than we did.”

On the offense

“I feel like we played pretty well in the first half on offense – really moved the ball, got some chunks of yardage on some big plays. The second half, just couldn’t put it together. I’ve got to hit guys and I have to play better.”

On if he feels like they left some plays on the field

“Yes. (We) actually overcame some in the first half with some guys and ended up scoring some touchdowns in the first half. But the second half, just couldn’t dig ourselves out.”

On why he thinks Detroit has problems in the third quarter

“I don’t know. Every situation’s different. Today was a little bit of everything.”

On if the Bears got better defensive looks in the second half

“No, they got a lead and they started playing a ton of Cover-2. That’s what they want to do; they want to pin their ears back, rush the passer, drop seven guys, cut the sidelines off and make it tough on me and they were able to do it.”

WR CALVIN JOHNSON

On difference between the first and second halves

“We were battling in the first half, taking our licks, they came out and made some good adjustments and we didn’t quite do the same. They took the momentum and it kind of got out of hand for us.”

On if the offense’s performance in the first half is an indication of what this offense can do

“Definitely. That’s definitely what we can do. We’ve just got to be able to adjust when those guys make their adjustments and we’ll be alright.”

On how the Bears’ defense adjusted in the second half to make him less of a factor

“They definitely changed their coverage. They had to, or we would have just kept on doing what we were doing. So of course they’re going to make that adjustment and we know that’s going to come, but at the same time we have to make that adjustment as well. And we’ll do that. We’ll learn from it and do better.”

TE WILL HELLER

On the Lions offense in the first half

“We were really quick in the first half, came out running the ball and throwing the ball pretty well. We got a situation where we were back and forth and both teams were scoring, things were clicking, and we’ve got to work on coming out and being just as productive in the second half.”

On if the Bears defense changed in the second half

“It was the same. It was just that they were making some plays. It’s just attention to detail in a lot of cases, and something we’ll continue to work on and we’ve got to come out and have a full game to win in this league.”

On if this loss is disappointing after winning last week

“Any loss is disappointing. This league is up and down, and you’re going to win some and for the most part you’re going to lose some in this league, and we’ve got to learn from it and learn from our mistakes. We’ve just got to be more consistent and come out in the second half and be productive.

DE CLIFF AVRIL

On what happened in the second half

“I don’t what happened. All around we weren’t doing what we needed to do to get a win or get some points on the board.”

On if how big of a setback this is

“We need to go in, watch film, get better and then be prepared for the Steelers next week. That’s all we can do. We have to correct the things that you messed up on and get better.”