Cordarrelle Patterson was the victim of a crime last Sunday in Green Bay. He made a terrific play on special teams following the Bears' first punt of the day that saw him force Packers returner, Tramon Williams, to fumble. The Chicago Bears recovered and should've had the ball. Instead the referees called him for a penalty, giving Green Bay the ball and an extra 15 yards for good measure. They quickly went on to score. Everybody pretty much agreed the Bears got hosed on that play. So what did special teams coordinator Chris Tabor think?
He was asked about the play when he spoke in front of the media for the first time on Thursday. Suffice to say he could only offer a diplomatic answer for fear of letting his emotions get the better of him. It was obvious he still wasn't happy about it. Thankfully he got an assist from an unexpected source. Kyle Long, the Bears' longtime guard who is on IR, was following the conference and made sure to speak up when Tabor spoke his peace on it.
Colorful language included this time.
Chris Tabor has a good one at his back in Long
Hard to argue with that assessment. Anybody who watched the game knew that penalty set the tone for the entire game. The Bears were playing from behind the entire way after it. If the refs get the call correct, Chicago gets the ball back with great field position and a chance to go on top. It's possible the outcome is totally different. So it is little wonder a lot of guys including Tabor are still pissed about it. That was their season on the line and the refs influenced the outcome in a huge way.
Long was right to help give his coach's displeasure that extra oomph.
