01-19-2007, 09:01 AM
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FBF Coach
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Rivera making seventh trip to NFC title game
Quote:
By Larry Mayer
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – As he prepares his players for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera has plenty of experience to draw upon.
Rivera played in three conference title games as a Bears linebacker in the 1980s and coached in three straight as an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2001 through 2003.
Defensive coordinator Ron Rivera hopes to make his second trip to the Super Bowl.
“If there is one thing you can always talk about, it’s how enormous this game is and what it really means,” Rivera said. “In the same respect, you have to approach it as business as usual. You don’t want to get too high or too low in terms of preparation, but you have to understand and realize the scope. It is one-and-done here.”
Rivera’s record is just 1-5 in the NFC title game with his only victory coming in 1985 when he was a reserve linebacker on the famed Super Bowl XX championship team. In two other appearances as a player, the Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers in 1984 and 1988.
“When you feel like you should (advance to the Super Bowl) and you don’t make it, it is very disappointing, believe me,” Rivera said. “It’s a huge downer, but you can’t forget what you’ve accomplished. This team is 14-3. We’ve done a lot of good things. (But) obviously we still feel like we’ve got some unfinished business left.”
In their last appearance in the 1988 NFC Championship Game, the Bears lost to the 49ers 28-3 on a frigid day at Soldier Field. Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana passed for 288 yards and 3 TDs, including scoring strikes of 61 and 27 yards to receiver Jerry Rice.
“I remember it was cold and it was disappointing,” said Rivera, who will never forget how Bears fans backed their team even in defeat. “It was a heck of an experience. The crowd was tremendous. The support we got even after the loss was really tremendous. That’s why to me it would be terrific to be able to give something back to them after these many years they’ve supported us, and now we’re in a position where we can return the favor.”
Marching in: Saints return specialists Reggie Bush and Michael Lewis will provide a difficult challenge for the Bears, who struggled covering kickoffs in last Sunday’s divisional playoff win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Lewis ranked 14th in the NFL in kickoff returns with a 24.7-yard average, but he has averaged 29.3 yards on 12 returns in his last three games including returns of 51, 37 and 36 yards.
“We’ve got our hands full this week,” said Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub. “We’ve talked about it every day this week. They put the tape on and see these guys jump out at you.”
The Bears were fifth in the league covering kickoffs this season, allowing an average of just 20.8 yards per return. But Seattle’s Nate Burleson averaged 27.7 yards on six returns last Sunday with a long of 41 yards.
“We didn’t play real good on kickoffs last week,” Toub said. “It looked like every time it was something different. One time we ‘over-squeezed’ too much. The next time we stayed too wide. It took us about three kicks before we settled down.
“Later in the game we kind of got them under control. It was out of character for us, and I think we’re going to get it straightened out. But we’re going to be tested this week with Michael Lewis and obviously Reggie Bush as a punt returner.”
Health update: Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye returned to practice Thursday and was removed from the injury report. Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad did not participate in the workout and was added to the injury report as probable due to illness. Wide receiver Mark Bradley (ankle) missed practice for the second straight day and remained questionable.
Landslide vote: Ogunleye found it hard to believe that he finished second to punter Brad Maynard in an online Chicago Sun-Times poll that asked readers who they thought was the sexiest Bears player.
Maynard received 57 percent of the vote, but the playing field wasn’t level. The landslide victory apparently occurred because a local radio show that Maynard regularly appears on urged listeners to vote for the punter.
“I was second?” Ogunleye said with a smile. “I think I deserve a recount.”
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Sunday can't come soon enough.
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Rivera making seventh trip to NFC title game
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