Bears Bicker At Each Other After Another Home Loss
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 20, 2014 2:30PM
Five of the Bears' first eight games this season are on the road and the conventional wisdom held if they could win their three games at Soldier Field while playing .500 ball on the road, they would be able to position themselves for at least a wild card berth with a bye week looming. But Soldier Field has turned into a house of horrors this season after Sunday's 27-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins, a game in which they were thoroughly outplayed on offense, defense and special teams and looked unprepared to play football. The Bears' record now stands at 3-4 with next Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, and every other game this season, shaping up to be a must-win.
The Bears' frustration with their play at home carried over into the locker room after the game with several players, notably wide receiver Brandon Marshall and offensive lineman Kyle Long, declaring the team's play was unacceptable.
Long went further and singled out Bears fans for booing the team's play while "growing quiet" on third down, comments Long backtracked later. There's enough blame to go around, starting with coach Marc Trestman and his staff. Let's get started.
The Good
Not a goddamn thing. The Dolphins had 24 first downs to the Bears' 14, 393 total yards of offense to the Bears' 224 and an astounding 137-52 advantage in rushing yards. If there was something positive to take from this game, it would be Jeremiah Ratliff's 3.5 sacks, which helped keep the score 14-0 Miami at the half.
The Bad
Jay Cutler: Marshall reportedly called out the Bears' quarterback in the locker room after the game. Bad Jay was on display Sunday. Cutler's stat line: 190 yards on 21 of 34 passing attempts with a touchdown and an interception. He also fumbled three times (and lost one of those) and forced several passes into double coverage intended for Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.
Matt Forte: The Bears running back is becoming an afterthought in the offense after another subpar game. Forte rushed for 49 yards on 12 carries and caught six passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. But he hasn't proven to be a difference maker so far this season. Forte has never been a rush between the tackles player and the injuries to the offensive line have exposed his limitations further.
Defensive Depth: With a linebacking corps and secondary held together by spit and bailing wire and a defensive line that couldn't get any pressure on Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehiill from anyone other than Ratliff, Miami was able to mount early first half drives on the Bears defense, were 5-12 on third down conversions and turned two of three fourth down tries into first downs. The Bears secondary took another hit when it was revealed rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller suffered a broken hand and a hip pointer during the game. The Bears haven't confirmed the report and, if Fuller is injured, it's unknown how long he'll be out.
The Ugly
Coaching: Trestman called the scene in the locker room after the game "very sick." If players are calling each other out and attacking the fans, that falls on him and his coaching staff. The offense, full of potential in the preseason, isn't scoring. Cutler is inconsistent, at best, which is a knock on Trestman's reputation as a quarterback guru. The defense continues to falter under Mel Tucker's direction. Special teams, long a strength of the Bears, are an afterthought under Joe DeCamillis. If you want to get a gauge of how fans feel about this Bears team, all you need to do is tune in to the postgame show on WSCR AM, where Bears legends Doug Buffone and Ed O'Bradovitch take calls from (and fuel the fire of) fans who are now calling for Trestman's head.
The Bears haven't reached that point yet, but moves will be made if Trestman can't right the ship, starting Sunday in Foxboro.