Columnist Sal DeFilippo: Bears should realize there is no safety when they have the ball

Sal DeFilippo

Friday, Nov. 19, 2004 | 10:02 a.m.

Sal DeFilippo's pro football picks column appears Friday. Reach him at sal@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4076.

Chicago Bears first-year coach Lovie Smith made a rookie mistake in Sunday's 19-17 win at Tennessee.

Fortunately, it didn't cost his team the game, but hopefully Smith has learned from the experience in case a similar situation surfaces down the road.

His error in judgment had nothing to do with a bad play call, or poor clock management (two trouble spots to which Jets fans can relate), nor was it a decision to allow players to engage in pregame mingling in the locker room with disrobing women. That controversial Monday night display was also ironic, particularly in that Terrell Owens was actually the one who was uncovered for most of the night while Dallas threw in the towel defensively.

No, the Chicago coach's mistake was made shortly after his team kicked a field goal in the waning seconds of regulation, forcing a sudden-death overtime against the Titans.

The Bears won the coin toss to start the extra period, and, inexplicably, Smith chose to receive the kickoff.

Since the first team to score in overtime wins the game, conventional wisdom says that the team winning the coin toss should elect to receive the kickoff, because otherwise there is no guarantee that team will get a chance to be on offense.

But that's exactly why Smith should have opted to kick the ball to Tennessee. The less the Bears are on offense, the better.

Don't believe me? Let's review how the Bears reached the overtime period, specifically, how they put 17 points on the board in regulation.

In the first quarter, the Bears had four offensive possessions. On each occasion, they failed to get a first down and punted after three plays. In fact, in the four possessions, the Bears actually lost 18 yards from scrimmage. To put that into perspective, they would have fared much better to simply have their quarterback take a knee three times and kick the ball away.

In the second quarter, the Bears began three possessions on the Tennessee side of the field and still couldn't score. Not even a field goal. But with 29 seconds remaining until halftime, the Bears finally dented the scoreboard -- with their defense. Lineman Michael Haynes intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. That's 17 more yards than the Bears had moved the ball on offense.

In the third quarter, after another routine three-and-out by Chicago's offensive offense, Tennessee took possession and soon also was forced to punt.

The Bears' special teams joined the party as R.W. McQuarters returned a kick 75 yards for another touchdown. That's 14 of the Bears' 17 in regulation. Chicago's only offensive drive worthy of mention was in the final three minute, when the Bears converted three first downs and tied the game with a field goal.

Perhaps Smith was influenced by the game-tying drive, but which of these seems like the better option in overtime? Put the ball in the hands of Craig Krenzel, who at the time was 10-for-27 with no touchdowns and two interceptions and who had fumbled twice, or kick it and allow your defense and special teams to take the first crack at making a big play?

Smith dodged disaster as Chicago managed to work their way into punt formation without any major damage, even picking up a first down in the process. Tennessee began its first overtime possession backed up on its 9.

After an incomplete pass and a sack led to a third-and-long situation, the Bears defense converged on Titans quarterback Billy Volek in the end zone. Volek fumbled and the Bears recovered -- only the second time in league history an overtime game was decided by a safety.

It was the third straight win for Chicago, which suddenly finds itself only one game out of first place in the NFC North.

Rather impressive, considering the Bears have scored only 12 offensive touchdowns this season. By comparison, Owens has 12 touchdowns. Kansas City's Priest Holmes has 15 trips to the end zone, and he didn't play last week.

If the Bears were only more functional with the football, the rest of the league would be on the defensive.

This week's picks: A second consecutive 2-1 week against the number has the season total up to 16-13-1. This week, I'll take the Cowboys-Ravens under 36, the Steelers-Bengals over 40 1/2 and the Patriots -3 against the Chiefs.