Serenity Now: Bears News And Notes
By Rob Winn in News on Nov 7, 2014 8:30PM
Photo credit: Darren McCollester/Getty Images
Well, the reprieve is over. The Bears return from their bye week exactly as the entered it: reeling. Unfortunately, they return to face the Green Bay Packers, who also had a bye week. You could call the recent rivalry a David vs. Goliath matchup, but that would give the Bears an actual chance at victory.
To give fans a little hope, the Bears have a history of pulling out surprising wins before completely falling apart late in the season in heartbreaking fashion. Heading into Sunday night's matchup here are the top stories:
Cutler's Futility
Entering his 12th game against the Packers, quarterback Jay Cutler owns a 1-10 record, including the infamous loss in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. In his career he has 20 interceptions against the Packers. Once again, this season's struggles are directly tied to turnovers, especially from the quarterback position. Cutler has continuously thrown mind-boggling interceptions, including two against the Packers at Soldier Field earlier this season. For the Bears to have any chance, it starts with Cutler limiting his turnovers to zero.
Internal Turmoil
The tension within the Bears locker room has been well documented ever since Brandon Marshall's meltdown after the loss to the Miami Dolphins. Then came stories about the players tuning out head coach Marc Trestman. Now, the bye week has brought questions about the stability of Trestman's job. While it's doubtful the Bears would fire a coach after two seasons with two years left on his deal, the ball is already rolling with the dreaded vote of confidence from general manager Phil Emery. If the Bears are able to right the ship, they'll have to ignore the plethora of distractions.
Season On The Brink
The Bears know they are underachieving (to say the least) and have acknowledged the only way to save this season starts with a win against the Packers. Tight end Martellus Bennett told ESPN, "That's what I want to see: Who's coming back with that mentality that we could still make the playoffs, and who's already packed it in and already thinking about partying and hitting the club in the offseason?" The way the Bears play Sunday will go a long way to showing whether an organizational overhaul is needed, or if they have a chance to recover from a disastrous first half.
The Bears and Packers meet Sunday night heading in different directions. The Packers have regained momentum and are looking to catch Detroit in the NFC North, while the Bears are simply hoping to regain a little dignity. The future doesn't look bright as the Bears head to Green Bay, but at least the NFL had the decency to start the game at 7:30 p.m. That way you'll have a whole Sunday to enjoy yourself before the Bears ruin it.