More than the Chicago Bears losing another game, what grabbed the headline in the day after was the situation in the locker room after the loss. But a below .500 record shouldn’t surprise anyone. The team, it’s head coach Marc Trestman and Jay Cutler are probably just not good enough to do anything more.
The Bears haven’t made the postseason since 2010, often blowing it in the second half of the season, either with a Jay Cutler injury or simply Cutler being unable to become something he’s not: A responsible, cautious quarterback. He has thrown an interception (or more) in all four losses for the Bears this season. In all four losses this season, the Bears have turned the ball over on consecutive possessions at one point.
Does it mean anything? Could be a number of things, and not all of them have to do with Cutler, who finds himself playing behind a banged up offensive line. True, against the Dolphins at home, it was the first time this season all five designated starters were available. It didn’t look any better than before, as Cutler had a sack-fumble once again while throwing yet another interception that’s impossible to explain.
The defense, a bit re-tooled but mostly getting older and staying expensive, is yet another issue that’s dragging this team down en route to bottoming out at some point. Marc Trestman came in as an offensive genius, but that hasn’t been the case. The Bears win in San Francisco and Atlanta, but lose at home to Buffalo and Miami, not to mention the usual defeat at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, more painful and humiliating every time.
Trestman, even before the very expensive Cutler, is in bigger trouble. Players making the same mistakes over and over again aren’t just proving their own flaws, but maybe more are pointing towards the mistakes of their head coach and his inability to be flexible and change what clearly doesn’t seem to be working. While it’s been a trend for Chicago players and coaches to moan about the fans booing them, it’s not really surprising that they’re getting the cold shoulder from those who are supposed to support them.
The Bears have given up 37 points so far this season off of Cutler turnovers, 34 of them at home, as Bears fans await a first victory in Solider’s Field this season. They’re watching a head coach with creative and complicated play calling. Maybe a bit too much. That is what happens when a very productive running back like Matt Forte isn’t being used to what he’s best for, which is running the ball instead of being another receiver for a quarterback who keeps looking deep anyway.
This season seems like another one that ends with an 8-8’ish record. That’s not why Cutler got this huge new contract. That’s not why he has such an expensive and talent assortment of offensive weapons to play with him. This is now why Marc Trestman was hired, coming in for a head coach that mostly did a good job when it came to finishing at .500 or better, but rarely got the Bears during their excellent defense era into the playoffs.