Arizona's loss to the Bears on "Monday Night Football" was bad. Really, really, really, really bad.

But the Cardinals still have more than half of a season left to play after that debacle, and they need to focus on the positives if they are to regroup and make it through the rest of their schedule. (And I hope they do regroup, because Monday night's game was extremely entertaining and I'd love to see a few more like it out of them.)

So here are 10 positives the Cardinals can take from the loss to the Bears.

1. There were probably a million or so people who went to bed before the end of the game last night, and they all woke up this morning thinking you are awesome, Cardinals. So don't worry -- not everyone is making fun of you today. Although they will once they see the score and learn how you blew that game. Because, man -- that was pathetic.


2. Arizona's new stadium had no history to it until last night. But now the venue has played host to a historically embarrassing, soul-crushing loss by the home team. And that's all that was missing for it to be the true home of the Arizona Cardinals.


3. Blowing a 23-3 lead? That's called snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And anyone who is willing to snatch something from the jaws of anything is pretty brave in my book. Heck, I once tried to snatch a chocolate bar away from a little puppy and he scratched me, so I gave up. And that puppy died. Kind of like the Arizona Cardinals.


4. By forcing Rex Grossman into six turnovers, you put an end to all this ridiculous talk about Grossman being an NFL MVP front-runner. So you deserve a lot of credit for that, Cardinals. Now, if only you could go back in time to 2002 and somehow erase the scar of Rich Gannon as league MVP, the award would still hold the prestige it truly deserves and everyone might forgive you for what happened last night.


5. When you're a terrible team, it's hard to stay positive and happy all season. But not after last night. I mean, did you see coach Dennis Green's postgame news conference? Awesome. And hilarious. I have no idea what he was even talking about, but if you guys can't get some laughs out of that, you're not even trying.


6. Blowing that game to the Bears and keeping them undefeated means there's a pretty good chance you might become immortalized through the lyrics of the new "Super Bowl Shuffle" song the Bears inevitably will record. So that's cool.


7. Sure, you lost by a point. But you covered the 13.5-point spread by a mile. And you all really should feel free to bet on your games for the rest of the season. I mean, do you really think anyone is going to care if the Cardinals are betting on their games? Heck, much of the nation didn't even know you existed until Monday night. A little bit of gambling isn't going to raise any eyebrows.


8. This loss came three weeks after the University of Phoenix agreed to pay $154 million over 20 years for the naming rights to your stadium. And what fortunate timing on your part, because if negotiations were still under way, the University of Phoenix surely would pull out because it wouldn't want to be associated with such an inept franchise as the Arizona Cardinals. So, in a way, by putting off a signature Cardinals loss like this until Week 6, you made your organization $154 million. Well done. Maybe they'll let you have some of that money for gambling.


9. If there is one thing we know, it's that Arizona's loss made Nick Lachey sad. And anyone who has turned on the radio and been subjected unwillingly to one of his songs can agree he deserves to experience some misery of his own as payback.


10. You learned a lot about yourselves as a team last night, Cardinals. For instance, if you want to beat a good team like the Bears you'll have to build a 30- or 40-point lead, because anything less than that you'll choke away pretty easily.

A preseason story said that Larry Johnson has his goal set on being the NFL's next 2,000-yard rusher. OK, let's see, he has 357 now, so he'll have to gain 149.4 yards a game from now on. That's possible, but if he continues his current average of 3.4 per carry, he'll have to average 44 carries per contest, or 11 per quarter. Whaddya think? Personally, I don't think he's gonna make it.

ChicagoSports.com

October 18, 2006, 1:36 PM CDT


Bears strong safety Mike Brown had surgery on a ligament in his right foot Wednesday morning, and is out indefinitely.

"Whenever a player has surgery, it's pretty serious, and that's the case with Mike," head coach Lovie Smith said. "We'll have to let you know a little bit more about his situation a little bit later on. But again, whenever you have surgery, normally it will be a significant amount of time that will be missed."

Brown, who has missed 18 games the last two seasons with injuries to his Achilles' tendon and calf, left Monday night's victory over Arizona in the fourth quarter shortly after returning a recovered fumble for a touchdown.

Smith said he won't determine whether to put Brown on injured reserve, making him inactive for the rest of the season, until he has more information. He's reluctant to pull the trigger because of Brown's role in the defense.

"You can get good football players, but good football players who are born leaders, that's what [we'll] miss from Mike," Smith said.

Smith also announced that the team has suspended safety Brandon McGowan for a week for violating a team rule. He will return Monday.

Todd Johnson replaced Brown Monday, and will compete for the starting job with McGowan, Cameron Worrell, and former starting free safety Chris Harris, who is expected to have fully recovered from his quadriceps injury by the time the Bears play again on Oct. 29.

Now that T.O. has loaded up on TDs, he has a new gripe: not enough catches before halftime.

Terrell Owens said Wednesday his three touchdown catches this past Sunday let him know he's an important part of the Dallas Cowboys' offense, but he also noted that all three came in the second half.

He had only one catch for 19 yards over the first two quarters against Houston. And he was shut out over the first two quarters of the previous game, against Philadelphia.

A trend is developing and Owens doesn't like it.

"For me, the game is getting boring, you know?" he said, giggling. "In the first half of the last two ballgames, I'm not in the ballgame. That's not to say I'm not working hard. I'm not sure what the case may be."

Statistics and reality differ a bit. For instance, Owens dismisses the passes thrown his way that didn't end up in the box score: an interception and an incompletion against the Eagles; a well-thrown ball he missed after slipping and falling; and a catch wiped out by a penalty against the Texans.

Still, he's right about more balls going his way in the second halves of the last two games.

"It's not really anybody's fault," he said. "I just feel like it's something that needs to be (addressed). ... I feel like I need to be in the offense, involved a little bit earlier in the ballgame."

Actually, Owens has been perfectly balanced through five games. He's caught 11 passes in the first half, 11 in the second half. He's also had more yards before halftime (156) than after (121), while all his touchdowns have come in the final two quarters.

While the three-TD game was a nice boost, Owens has yet to crack 100 yards or really be the focus of a game plan.

Part of it could be the slow-growing relationship between Owens and quarterback Drew Bledsoe. They missed a lot of practice time because of a hamstring injury that knocked Owens out of most of the preseason, then a broken hand took him off the field for another week.

Owens doesn't think that should matter, nor should the fact he's still learning Dallas' offense after playing his entire career in two West Coast systems.

"I feel like any time I step on the field I can make plays," Owens said. "As I've said all along, it's all about the opportunities that I am given."

More opportunities will come once Cowboys coach Bill Parcells gets a better grasp on Owens.

"We still have a lot to learn about some of the things he can do and how best to use him," Parcells said. "We are trying to spend a lot of time figuring that out."

Owens' performance against the Texans should help. His first two TD catches came on plays he and Bledsoe discussed earlier in the week. Owens also made a nice adjustment on the second one, slipping between two defenders to make the catch.

"Going into this game, I felt like I had to make some plays to let them know that's what I do - I make plays," Owens said. "I think it's been an adjustment. The coaches, obviously, they're working hard, trying to find ways to implement me into the game plan. I've just got to go accordingly."

One seemingly easy way to get him the ball would be quick slant passes, the kind that have been so successful most of his career.

Bledsoe said they could be coming.

"As he becomes more comfortable in this offense and has more practice time, you'll see some more of those type of quick throws, where we get the ball in his hands and just let him run," Bledsoe said. "He's got such explosive down-the-field speed that it's a different challenge. But at the same time, he's a guy that should and will be a huge weapon for us going forward."

Also Wednesday, Owens also laughed off barbs thrown at him by Charles Barkley during the Monday Night Football broadcast.

Among Barkley's comments: "If I was a teammate, I would have hit him in the head with something," and that "T.O.'s got such an overbearing personality, he'd be tough to play with."

Owens said he heard Barkley say it and sent him a text message soon after. Barkley wrote back and they later spoke by phone. Owens also mentioned that earlier this summer he and Barkley argued about something Barkley said on the air about Kobe Bryant.

"Charles and I, we're good friends," Owens said. "I didn't take it personal. It's just Charles being Charles."