Hoge's Notes: Bears Sign New Long Snapper After Mannelly Goes Down
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) — No one talks about the long snapper until he gets hurt.
For 16 years, Patrick Mannelly has quietly perfected the art of long snapping, playing in 213 games for the Chicago Bears, while missing only three.
Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions will likely be the fourth missed game of his career, however, after Mannelly suffered a calf injury in Monday night's win over the Packers.
"I know certainly it doesn't look good for this week," head coach Marc Trestman said.
Trestman creatively said Mannelly is "day-to-day up to a couple of weeks," but the Bears later clarified by officially calling him "week-to-week".
The long snapper was not ruled out of Sunday's game against the Lions on the official injury report released Wednesday, but they did sign veteran long snapper Jeremy Cain, who originally began his career with the Bears in 2004.
Marshall Applauds Trestman
Brandon Marshall had a message for Trestman after the head coach elected to go for it on 4th and inches from his own 32-yard-line in the fourth quarter.
"In the locker room after the game, I just went up to coach and said, 'You have some big huevos to do that.'"
Marshall called it the "defining moment in the game."
Second-Guessing
The Bears were left in that 4th and goal situation because tight end Martellus Bennett was ruled just short of the first down marker on a catch and run on third down. The spot was questionable, but Trestman said he chose not to challenge it because the coaches upstairs in the booth did not think it would be overturned.
Many wondered why he didn't go ahead and challenge it because he called timeout anyway to set up the fourth down play.
"I just decided not to," he said. "From my perspective, I couldn't tell how close it was, so I had to trust the guys upstairs, and they were right. Not by much, but they were right."
From his perspective, he needed to trust his guys in the booth and if they said not to challenge it, his attention need to turn to calling the right play on fourth down.
Trestman also took the blame for letting four seconds run off the clock near the end of the first half. Josh McCown gained 20 yards on a scramble down to the Packers' 6-yard-line and appeared to go down with 11 seconds left on the clock. Four seconds ran off before the Bears used their last timeout, leaving them with one shot at the end zone before kicking the field goal. Had it been called right away, they might have had time for two shots. At the very least, McCown would have had more time to go through his progressions and find someone open.
"I just didn't get to (the official) quickly enough," Trestman said. "I should have been down the field another 20 yards to make sure that got done. I could have given us more time for the last play, yes."
Notables
- The Bears officially added defensive tackle Jay Ratliff to the 53-man roster Wednesday, but he still nursing a groin injury and will not be ready to play Sunday.
- Linebacker Blake Costanzo (back), tight end Dante Rosario (ankle) and cornerback Charles Tillman (knee) were all listed as limited on the Bears' injury report.
- Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah (ankle), cornerback Bill Bentley (knee), safety Louis Delmas (knee), offensive tackle Corey Hilliard (knee) and linebacker Travis Lewis (ankle) all missed practice for the Lions. Wide receiver Nate Burleson (forearm), wide receiver Calvin Johnson (knee) and safety Glover Quinn (ankle) were limited.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
