Oct. 20--The Bears held a practice Tuesday at Halas Hall and will have another one Wednesday morning before peeling away for their league-mandated break during the open date.
Right tackle Kyle Long, for one, has been accepting of the extra work during the team's midseason "off week."
"I don't really have anything (else) going on," Long joked. "Shoot, it's not like I'm going to go on a Vegas trip with some of my buddies. That just isn't appealing to me. I like to hang out and maybe get to walk my dog a couple times this week."
After Sunday's 37-34 overtime loss to the Lions, the Bears won't return to action until hosting the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 1. But they are using this week to stay polished and to do some extensive self-scouting.
After Tuesday's practice, Long addressed a variety of topics.
On why he was so upset with his individual performance in Detroit
I let number 57 (linebacker Josh Bynes) look like an All-Star. I personally was probably one of their top defenders. If you look at it statistically, (I was responsible for) two tackles for loss, two holding penalties in key situations. First drive, they go down and score. We had every intention of going down and following suit. We get into the red zone. And I blocked too much on the end. Marty (Bennett) and I have the end and the linebacker. And I get too invested in the defensive end. The linebacker sees a free run through. He does that as he's coached, as he's supposed to do. Nothing against him. We know on film number 57 likes to run through. So you have to be able to see where he is at all times -- because he has the speed to be able to destroy a play. And if you're helping him out, that's only making his job a lot easier.
On his play at right tackle through the first six games
I feel like it's getting better. My pass protection is getting better. I just can't continue to make the same mistakes in the run game.
On having receiver Alshon Jeffery back against the Lions
Anytime you have Alshon Jeffery in the huddle and on the field, it's a different game.
On whether the Bears' running game can be as productive as it was in the opening weeks of the season
We're very close. Very close. I know that's something that fans want to see. I know that's something we want to see, you guys want to see. It falls on us. It falls squarely on our shoulders as offensive linemen. Examples like the one I gave you earlier where I could have been better. I'm sure if you get any number of the guys from the O-line, they'll you the same thing, maybe they had a play here or there or play there.
On the progress of offensive tackle Charles Leno
I can't say enough about the job Leno has done. He's a young guy. He's had to play against some really good players. Ziggy Ansah is pretty darn good. He held his own. They had one sack and Jay (Cutler) was out by the sticks running. Although we did have some success in the pass game from a protection standpoint, we need to be able to run the ball the more and that'll open up the pass even more. And again that falls on us.
On how to make this bye week productive
We need to get better at football. There's nobody that we're preparing for necessarily. But we can self-scout and we can figure out where we're struggling in terms of technique and assignment. We can really pound on those things. We took an opportunity today in individual (drills) as an offensive line to do some things that maybe we need some shoring up on. I think having those reps is extremely valuable.
On whether he's lobbied to catch passes after the Bears lined up defensive lineman Mitch Unrein as a fullback on Sunday
I have to do my job before I can worry about doing someone else's job. Trust me, I've thought about it. Do I think anyone can guard me? Absolutely not. But at this point it's not a sure thing that my guy gets blocked every play. And until that's the case there isn't anything else I should be worried about.
