Bears Notes: Ryan's moxie no surprise
By TOM MUSICK
ATLANTA – Bears guard Josh Beekman waited all week to razz his former college teammate, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, about when he planned to marry his longtime girlfriend.
Beekman smiled, but he knew his words would not rattle Ryan. Few things do.
“He’s a guy who’s cool under pressure,” Beekman said. “That’s why his nickname was ‘Matty Ice’ at BC.”
Beekman blocked for Ryan for three years at Boston College, where both players earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2006. The third-year Bears guard was not surprised at Ryan’s quick path to stardom.
“He played great competition from the Big East to the ACC,” Beekman said. “He had a pro-style offense under our old offensive coordinator. I think adjusting to [defenses] is part of his repertoire now.”
Bears practice-squad offensive tackle James Marten also blocked for Ryan at Boston College.
“Even in college, he was a coach on the field,” Marten said. “He knew everything inside and out just as well as the offensive coordinator. For him to have the success that he’s had, I’m not surprised at all.”
Good point: Bears kicker Robbie Gould became the fifth player in franchise history to amass 500 points when he converted an extra point in the second quarter.
Gould, 27, has converted 152 extra point attempts and 116 field goal attempts in five seasons with the Bears. He entered Sunday’s game against Atlanta as the third-most accurate kicker in NFL history with a 85.9 percent success rate.
The other four players to reach 500 points for the Bears include kicker Kevin Butler (1,116 points), running back Walter Payton (750), kicker Bob Thomas (629), and kicker-quarterback George Blanda (541).
10K and counting: Speaking of statistics, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler entered the five-digit club Sunday night when he surpassed 10,000 passing yards for his career.
Cutler has to repeat the feat only six or seven more times to become the NFL’s greatest passer. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre passed for 278 yards Sunday to extend his NFL record to 66,474 yards.
Bears bits: As expected, running back Adrian Peterson (knee) and Hunter Hillenmeyer (rib) were declared inactive because of injuries. … Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu avoided the inactive list for the first time this season. … Former Bears coach Mike Ditka celebrated his 70th birthday Sunday.
