Bears won't face nemesis
The Bears caught a break Saturday when the Carolina Panthers, their Week Two opponent, suspended Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith for the first two games of the season.
On Friday, during practice, Smith got into a sideline altercation with Panthers safety Ken Lucas and broke his nose. A day later the team announced the suspension, which is great news for the Bears, especially considering the way Smith torched their secondary in the Panthers' 29-21 upset victory over the Bears at Soldier Field in the second-round of the playoffs after the 2005 regular season.
Smith caught 12 passes for 218 yards that day – 26 more receiving yards than the Bears had as a team – including touchdown passes of 58 and 38 yards. His absence should make the Bears' Sept. 14 road trip a little less difficult.
Well that is some good news. Still have to shake my head at Lovie for his failure to adjust (much like the 'prevent' defense they were in for much of the Super Bowl) and double cover Smith in that game.