Bear(ing) the News – A Chicago Bears Blog

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune on wide receiver Brandon Marshall:

“The eighth-year receiver already has topped 1,000 yards for the seventh consecutive season and is headed to his fifth Pro Bowl next month. One place Marshall never has been, however: the NFL postseason. For the Bears to punch a ticket into this year’s playoffs, they will need Marshall to be on top of his game. He has been most weeks since joining the Bears, having registered 212 catches, 2,729 yards and 22 touchdowns in the last two seasons. With six catches Sunday, he will reach 100 for the fifth time in his career.”

I have stated repeatedly that the Bears making the playoffs isn’t very important because there’s no way that they (or the Packers) will do any real damage once they get there. But there are reasons why seeing them do it would be sweet. I would dearly love to see Marshall rewarded. He arrived followed by a boat load of trouble and many (myself included) assumed that past history was going to be an indication of future results. But, with some exceptions, Marshall has been a wonderful example of what a team player should be. He’s done it not just with words but with actions toward teammates like Alshon Jeffery.

Running back Matt Forte also deserves something more than a trip straight back to his living room. And it would be really nice to see Devin Hester break the return record as a Bear. So there’s much to play for today beyond what is logically an academic pursuit of a division title.

Dan Wiederer at the Chicago Tribune provides us with some weird quotes from Jay Cutler. For instance, here’s Cutler’s response to the return of Aaron Rogers to the field for the Packers this Sunday:

“I play offense.”

OK. But its a team game, right?

“It’s going to take all of us to win this game. This isn’t a personal game for anybody in that locker room. It’s all of us together.”

Then why was your response “I play offense”?

And finally, Wiederer ends with this:

“All of the Bears together will march on to a pretty big stage Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field with a playoff berth at stake. So with all that mixed together, does Cutler embrace such moments?

“‘You don’t get to choose,’ he said. ‘It is what it is. We’re in this situation. If it was different, we’d approach it the same way. We’re trying to win each and every game.’”

So, that’s not a “yes”.

I never felt worse about the Bears chances this Sunday than I do right now.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune answers your questions:

“Both safety positions have to be a top priority in the offseason surely. How have Chris Conte and Major Wright regressed so much this season? — @Vik469 from Twitter

“I would be very surprised if the safety positions were prioritized over the defensive line. If you want to talk about a “top” priority, you’ve got to start in the trenches. Neither player looks like they are playing with a high level of confidence this season. That is the first thing that strikes me. I’d expect the Bears to look for some help at this position but I don’t know if we’re going to see complete turnover. Conte remains under contract for 2014 and I expect him to return and, at the minimum, compete for a starting role.”

People who know me and read this blog know that I always agree totally with Biggs that the highest offseason priority should be solidity at the line of scrimmage.

I also agree that there probably won’t be major changes at safety. But I would definitely expect the Bears to bring in competition at the position. If nothing else, it might bring a little more focus to the play of the veterans there. Moreover, though I’m not a big fan of blaming coaches for player error, I think this is one area where the coaching staff does need to come under scrutiny. I would have thought that veteran defensive backs coach Jon Hoke along with former Bears safety Chris Harris would have had these guys on solid ground. But these players have looked poorly coached and haven’t been ready to play ball on occasion this season. I’m not suggesting immediate action. Hoke has a reasonably good history of solid coaching with the team to point to. But another year of this and I think a change has to be seriously considered.

This is a problem that needs to be solved. But like, like Biggs, I don’t think whole sale changes are called for yet.

John Mullin at CSNChicago.com quotes Bears head coach Marc Trestman:

“I don’t have any experience with [(Jay) Cutler’s Packers problems],” Trestman said this week. “So it would be really hard for me to comment on that. I don’t know that there’s trends or historical perspective on it. That’d be a difficult question for me to answer.”

Trestman might not have any “experience” with it.  But you can bet he’s watched plenty of tape on Cutler including – hopefully most especially – the Packer games.  If he hasn’t he’s a fool.

Indeed, all you need to look at is the performance against the Eagles.  There were extenuating circumstances, its true.  But when its all said and sifted,  against the Eagles defensive scheme Cutler looked exactly like he has against the Packers for the last three or four years.

If he’s learned anything from watching Josh McCown it certainly isn’t evident.

Adam L. Jahns speculates that defensive coordinator Mel Tucker may be on the hot seat:

“The number of injuries and the caliber of players lost to them have been colossal detriments, causing Tucker to change his practices so the rookies get more instruction and work on fundamentals. And it’s not as though Tucker can race out on the field, get in position, fill gaps and make tackles himself.

“With the defense due for a makeover because of all the expiring contracts, Tucker might get a second chance to really put his stamp on the defense by abandoning all things Lovie.”

I have liked Tucker ever since I watched a fundamentally sound Jaguars defense make the Bears work for every yard last year (until they finally wore down after being hung out to dry by an incompetent offense).  But there’s no denying that performances like Sunday’s shine him and the entire defensive coaching staff in a bad light.  The only rookie on that field was Jonathan Bostic at middle linebacker and he (relatively speaking) didn’t play that badly.  It was the veterans, who were supposed to carry this defense, who let him down.

Tucker catered to those veterans by keeping the defensive scheme from last year, including the language, intact. Those veterans have now, in my opinion, lost the right to such consideration.

My suggestion would be that if Tucker is going to lose his job, that he lose it in his own way, not compromising for a bunch of players who have done nothing but disappoint.   The Bears should give Tucker a fair opportunity to succeed by implementing the defensive scheme that he prefers and the one that he feels most comfortable running in the off-season, not what they think will make the Bears defensive players comfortable.  Perhaps something a little less comfortable will cause them to concentrate a little better on what they are doing out on the field.

Rich Campbell at the Chicago Tribune quotes Bears tight end Martellus Bennett during his visit on WSCR radio yesterday:

“You have 53 guys … doing everything they can and staying after work … whether it’s film, you know, doing everything they can. So for anyone to say they weren’t ready or they were not prepared … is an idiot. …Our coaches do a great job putting us in position to make plays.”

Have it your own way, Martellus.  Everyone was fully prepared and the team is just that bad.

The truth is that the Bears weren’t prepared for what they saw – not schematically, but mentally and physically.  The Eagles came out and punched them in the mouth and the team was simply unable to respond.

Marc Trestman, despite a lot of experience coaching pro football, is learn gin on the job to be an NFL head coach.  I’m not entirely sure what was learned here but I hope it was something that will prevent this from happening again.  Because you can’t just sit back and accept that “it was one of those games”.  If you do, there will be a lot more of them.

Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune speculates on the future contract talks involving quarterback Jay Cutler:

“The general manager has intimated if the club uses the franchise tag to secure Cutler from reaching the open market, it will be to buy time to complete a multi-year contract because the one-year hit of $16 million against the salary cap and the prospect of facing the same situation again in 2015 isn’t appealing.

“That does not mean a long-term contract will not average $16 million per season — or possibly more — for Cutler. The quarterbacks of the NFC clubs doing their best to back right out of the playoff race might see to that. All Cutler’s agent, Bus Cook, has to do is point to the flimsy postseason resumes of the Lions’ Matthew Stafford and the Cowboys’ Tony Romo and ask what differentiates them from his client? Not much.

“Extensions for Stafford and Romo for the season were great developments for Cutler. Both were responsible for bad interceptions at the end of losses last weekend that greatly damaged the playoff hopes of their respective teams.”

“Romo’s contract, which was added six years, included $55 million guaranteed with an average annual salary of $18 million and netted him $28.5 million in the first year of the deal with $54 million paid over the first three years. Romo is 1-3 in four playoff starts with his last appearance after the 2009 season. Cook would be foolish not to use that as a starting point for contract talks.”

And perhaps the Bears would be fools to repeat the costly mistakes that other franchises have committed.  Just an alternative thought…

Cutler is a wonderful athletic talent.  And, yes, the market will set his value, especially if the Bears don’t franchise him.  But I’m not so sure that the league isn’t getting a bit smarter about how they spend their cash and cap.  The free agent market last year wasn’t exactly a great place to be for mediocre to better than average free agents, the class I’d put Cutler in.  I’m by no means convinced that Cutler’s value outside of Chicago is that high.  It will be interesting if the Bears find ourselves in a position to find out.

Ed Sherman at the Chicago Tribune quoting announcer Al Michaels:

“During the week, you hear all these experts say, ‘The key to winning the game is sealing the edge.’ Are you crazy? There are 400 keys to a game. Yet we’ve created a cottage industry with guys yelling about ‘sealing the edge.’ But hey, people watch it.”

Guilty.