Bears' Fast Start Turns Into Long Day Ira Kaufman, The Tampa Tribune, published 25 October 2004 It was the perfect call at the perfect time, until Thomas Jones looked back in anger. On their first snap from scrimmage, the Bears flooded the left side of the field with receivers and the Tampa Bay defense responded. Jones, the former Bucs running back who accounts for 45 percent of Chicago's offense, caught a swing pass to the right and began a 77-yard scoring jaunt down the sideline in front of the jubilant Bears bench. ``Anytime you have a long gain like that, you look back to see if there's a flag,'' said Jones, who carried 13 times for 52 yards in the 19-7 loss. ``All I could do was hope it was on them.'' No such luck. Wide receiver David Terrell, who didn't catch a pass all day, heard his name called when his offensive pass interference penalty wiped out an apparent 7-0 Chicago advantage. Terrell, who declined to speak about his critical gaffe, was flagged for setting a pick against Bucs linebacker Derrick Brooks, half a field away from the play. It was the first of 10 whistles against the Bears, who had more penalty yards (78) than rushing yards (76), and it marked the beginning of a frustrating day for Jones. ``That flag definitely hurt us,'' he said. ``It was the first play of the game and we got a big play right off the top. It was just a great play call, but we weren't on the field much after that in the first half.'' The 1-5 Bears snapped the ball only 19 times before intermission and trailed 10-0 before Jones got untracked. Fumbles by Michael Pittman and Mike Alstott in consecutive series gave Chicago instant momentum. On the six-play drive following Pittman's miscue, Jones carried five times for 18 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown dash around left tackle. Chicago's self-destruction continued when safety Mike Green was flagged for a 15- yard taunting penalty after Alstott's fumble. Instead of being in field goal range to pull within 13-10, the Bears started at the Bucs' 39 and ended up punting. Jones stood on the sideline during the ineffective drive, nursing a quad injury suffered one play before his scoring run. Although he returned in the fourth quarter, Jones never carried again after deking past Bucs safety Dwight Smith at the goal line. ``Somehow, some way, we've got to find a way to rise above these penalties,'' center Olin Kreutz said. ``Thomas Jones is as good as it gets in the NFL. Our defense turned it over to us at the 39, so we still should get seven points out of it.'' After Chicago's punt, with the Bucs facing third-and-6 from their 12, Brian Griese's pass intended for rookie Michael Clayton was picked off by cornerback R.W. McQuarters. Once again, yellow fever. McQuarters was flagged for pass interference, sustaining the Bucs' drive. ``It's very frustrating because we put a lot of work into this game - and it still doesn't come out right,'' veteran guard Ruben Brown said following Chicago's fourth consecutive loss. ``We've got to overcome these penalties. It isn't easy, but nobody said football was an easy game.''