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Bear Down Chicago Bears!!! Bears set to play out string after another loss.
AP - Sports
Detroit Lions running back Joique Bell jumps over the Chicago Bears defense for a 1-yard touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
The Chicago Bears admit they're underachievers, and now they hope no one calls them quitters.
With their playoff chances virtually shot, the Bears are looking to play out the string. Any miracle Bears playoff chances involve winning every remaining game while Seattle, Detroit and Dallas lose all of theirs, so the 5-7 Bears are trying to finish their games against Dallas, then New Orleans, Detroit and Minnesota without a decline in effort.
''It's just frustrating because as a team, the talent we have on our team, we definitely are underachieving,'' running back Matt Forte said. ''A few guys have to do some soul-searching for the rest of the season and plan how they want to play the rest of these games.''
Against Detroit on Thursday the offense finally found a way to score in the first quarter after six straight games without a first-quarter point, then vanished. They haven't scored more than 28 points this season. The defense allowed 34 points against a Lions team that had been held without a touchdown two straight games.
Two key holding penalties on center Roberto Garza helped slow the offense Thursday.
''We're a team that has certainly hurt itself throughout the year with the penalties that we have had, taking ourselves out of field position, scoring position on a consistent basis and we're (coaches) on it all the time,'' coach Marc Trestman said. ''We've got smart players, they don't want to do it.
''They have the ability to do it right and we have to continue to move forward and push them through this so we can get better as we move forward.''
Defensively, the Bears have to cope with more injuries. Safety Chris Conte left the Lions game with an eye injury after suffering concussions and shoulder injuries earlier this season. Cornerback Tim Jennings left with a groin injury. The Bears played without starters Lance Briggs (groin) and Jeremiah Ratliff (knee) due to injuries.
They'll toss that problem in with a defense that has allowed 350 yards or more nine times and has allowed 140 points in the last three road games.
''We've got to tackle,'' defensive end Jared Allen said. ''We had some opportunities (Thursday), we had some third downs get away from us, and we've got to find more ways to create turnovers.''
Cutler and other players insisted no one will quit even with the Bears all but certain to miss the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.
''I think with the guys we have and character and integrity of the guys, I don't think anybody's going to quit,'' Cutler said. ''I think the coaches won't let us, they're not going to quit on us.
''I think the leaders of the team will make sure that we finish this right.''
Allen said it now becomes a matter of pride and being a spoiler.
''You play every game for what it is,'' he said. ''Misery loves company, right? You try to take everybody down with you.
''You play because it's your job, you play because this is what we love to do. You go out there and if you're willing to shut it down, you're willing to get embarrassed, I don't want you on my team. And I don't think we have one guy (like that) in here.''
Fourth-quarter results may affect Bears' coaching situations.
By John Mullin
Six of the last nine seasons have ended with the Bears going 2-2 in the fourth quarter of the schedule, including the last two and four of the five with Jay Cutler as a Bear. So history says that the Bears will finish no better than 7-9 and officially have regressed in Marc Trestman’s second year.
What that will mean in the upcoming offseason to a coaching staff under fire is anything but clear, however. It is a situation with many, many moving — and some not-moving — parts.
As was analyzed at exhaustive length during the off week with the Bears at 3-5, anything in that 7-9 range all but assures that Trestman returns for 2015 and the third year of his four-year deal. That has really never been an issue, barring an utter collapse, and one-game collapses have never been enough to tilt the scales.
Some history on coaching non-changes
In 1997 I had reported that the Bears had decided to retain Dave Wannstedt prior to another trip to Detroit, also a Thanksgiving Day game, to start the fourth quarter of that dismal season. The Bears led 20-17 at halftime, were humiliated by 38 points in the second half and lost 55-20. The retain-Wannstedt decision was discussed briefly but stayed in place as the Bears went 2-1 in the rest of the fourth quarter of a 4-12 season.
In 2009 I was told in early December by a source within the organization that Lovie Smith was going to be brought back for the next season despite standing 5-8 at the time. The Bears proceeded to be blown out 31-7 in Baltimore, again amid a 2-2 fourth quarter, but the Bears stayed their course with Smith and eventually gave him a two-year extension after an 11-5 finish the next year.
That latter situation has some relevance to the Bears’ current situation, partly because of the similarity of record, and also because GM Phil Emery has been emphatic in his support for the work of the coaching staff and its ability to teach. The point isn’t whether that’s an accurate staff evaluation; it’s what Emery believes and he makes the coaching decisions.
For the Bears to make a change after this season would be a repudiation of the single biggest decision Emery has made as Bears general manager. That’s a cataclysmic admission of failure/mistake after just two years and it is beyond unlikely that Emery reverses himself on Trestman.
But there’s much more to the situation as it projects out a month or so.
Who’s willing to come work for a lame duck?
The continued abysmal play of the defense, overshadowed occasionally by the even more inept play of the offense, will have defensive coordinator Mel Tucker lined up for another after-season of calls for change. But if the Bears fire Tucker, the question is not exactly “who” they could then get as defensive coordinator, but whether they could get anyone at all.
Trestman will be perceived as a lame-duck or one-more-and-done coach after this season. Assistants do not characteristically uproot families and lives to take what could be a one-year situation. They will want the normal three-year pact that comes with the coordinator position.
But the reason the Bears once wound up with John Shoop as offensive coordinator was that in late-2000, then-coordinator Gary Crowton left to coach BYU. Dick Jauron and the Bears finished 5-11 in 2000, a regression from 6-10 in Jauron’s first year. The assumption around the NFL was that Jauron was done after one more year.
Chris Palmer and others (Marc Trestman was a candidate) were willing to take the offensive-coordinator job but wanted a three-year contract before they made that move. The Bears organization wasn’t willing to make that deal, and Shoop was promoted instead after the Bears won two of their last three.
The Bears may have changed and would consider a multi-year deal for coordinators in that situation. Doubtful, though. More likely would be that changes quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh is elevated to offensive coordinator or defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni is promoted to defensive coordinator. Cavanaugh and Pasqualoni at least have been coordinators before; Shoop wasn’t.
If the Bears manage to go 2-2 in another season’s fourth quarter, it will mean that they’ve played a couple of winning games. That may be enough for jobs to be kept, particularly if there really is no better option willing to come in.
Briggs exit closes an era in Bears defense with unsettled futures ahead.
By John Mullin
Fourth-quarter results may affect Bears' coaching situations.
By John Mullin
Six of the last nine seasons have ended with the Bears going 2-2 in the fourth quarter of the schedule, including the last two and four of the five with Jay Cutler as a Bear. So history says that the Bears will finish no better than 7-9 and officially have regressed in Marc Trestman’s second year.
What that will mean in the upcoming offseason to a coaching staff under fire is anything but clear, however. It is a situation with many, many moving — and some not-moving — parts.
As was analyzed at exhaustive length during the off week with the Bears at 3-5, anything in that 7-9 range all but assures that Trestman returns for 2015 and the third year of his four-year deal. That has really never been an issue, barring an utter collapse, and one-game collapses have never been enough to tilt the scales.
Some history on coaching non-changes
In 1997 I had reported that the Bears had decided to retain Dave Wannstedt prior to another trip to Detroit, also a Thanksgiving Day game, to start the fourth quarter of that dismal season. The Bears led 20-17 at halftime, were humiliated by 38 points in the second half and lost 55-20. The retain-Wannstedt decision was discussed briefly but stayed in place as the Bears went 2-1 in the rest of the fourth quarter of a 4-12 season.
In 2009 I was told in early December by a source within the organization that Lovie Smith was going to be brought back for the next season despite standing 5-8 at the time. The Bears proceeded to be blown out 31-7 in Baltimore, again amid a 2-2 fourth quarter, but the Bears stayed their course with Smith and eventually gave him a two-year extension after an 11-5 finish the next year.
That latter situation has some relevance to the Bears’ current situation, partly because of the similarity of record, and also because GM Phil Emery has been emphatic in his support for the work of the coaching staff and its ability to teach. The point isn’t whether that’s an accurate staff evaluation; it’s what Emery believes and he makes the coaching decisions.
For the Bears to make a change after this season would be a repudiation of the single biggest decision Emery has made as Bears general manager. That’s a cataclysmic admission of failure/mistake after just two years and it is beyond unlikely that Emery reverses himself on Trestman.
But there’s much more to the situation as it projects out a month or so.
Who’s willing to come work for a lame duck?
The continued abysmal play of the defense, overshadowed occasionally by the even more inept play of the offense, will have defensive coordinator Mel Tucker lined up for another after-season of calls for change. But if the Bears fire Tucker, the question is not exactly “who” they could then get as defensive coordinator, but whether they could get anyone at all.
Trestman will be perceived as a lame-duck or one-more-and-done coach after this season. Assistants do not characteristically uproot families and lives to take what could be a one-year situation. They will want the normal three-year pact that comes with the coordinator position.
But the reason the Bears once wound up with John Shoop as offensive coordinator was that in late-2000, then-coordinator Gary Crowton left to coach BYU. Dick Jauron and the Bears finished 5-11 in 2000, a regression from 6-10 in Jauron’s first year. The assumption around the NFL was that Jauron was done after one more year.
Chris Palmer and others (Marc Trestman was a candidate) were willing to take the offensive-coordinator job but wanted a three-year contract before they made that move. The Bears organization wasn’t willing to make that deal, and Shoop was promoted instead after the Bears won two of their last three.
The Bears may have changed and would consider a multi-year deal for coordinators in that situation. Doubtful, though. More likely would be that changes quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh is elevated to offensive coordinator or defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni is promoted to defensive coordinator. Cavanaugh and Pasqualoni at least have been coordinators before; Shoop wasn’t.
If the Bears manage to go 2-2 in another season’s fourth quarter, it will mean that they’ve played a couple of winning games. That may be enough for jobs to be kept, particularly if there really is no better option willing to come in.
Briggs exit closes an era in Bears defense with unsettled futures ahead.
By John Mullin
Chicago Bears Linebacker Lance Briggs (55)
The impact of Lance Briggs being placed on injured reserve late Friday from the groin injury suffered in the win over Tampa Bay probably is considerably less than it might have been even a few years ago, really than even a few games ago. That says as much about the times as it does as about Briggs, one of the finest linebackers ever to play for the Bears.
The season is effectively over at 5-7 and Briggs said last week on his ComcastSportsNet show that his injury was going to keep him out for a number of weeks. There simply no longer any real reason for Briggs to suit up any longer as a Chicago Bear.
Last year there was, when he suffered a fractured shoulder and missed seven games. When he was ready to play again, the Bears were 8-6 and had a playoff berth within their grasp before losing at Philadelphia and to Green Bay. This year, the Bears played themselves out of anything meaningful with or without Briggs, although they were better with him (4-4) than without him (1-3).
Briggs will probably leave the NFL after this season in much the same way as running mate Brian Urlacher did in early 2012 and Charles Tillman may after this season — still possessed of some skills, an abundance of savvy, but with health and age questions that will discourage pretty much any suitors, including the Bears.
Perhaps there’s even a touch of the bittersweet in the way things ended, playing against (and beating) a team coached by the man — Louie Smith — who meant so much to Briggs. Smith challenged a young Briggs, then treated him with a level of respect accorded only to a few: “As I started making more and more of the plays and the years kind of went on, his tune really changed and it was always, 'I know where Lance will be, I know where Lance is going to make that play, so that's not a worry for me.' And that was earned.”
Jonathan Bostic was drafted in the second round of the 2013 draft with the stated plan of him being a weak-side linebacker someday — Briggs’ position after Smith arrived and immediately moved him from the strong side. Smith knew something about that position, and about Briggs, who promptly became a Pro Bowl alternate in his first season at “Will” and became the first player other than Urlacher to lead the Bears in tackles since Urlacher arrived in 2000.
The 2014 season wasn’t a good one for Briggs in more than a few respects, between the quirky stories around his skipping the Monday practice before the Buffalo game to open a restaurant in California, and the other circuses swirling around a shaky team.
But eras do end inevitably, smoothly or not. The one defined by Briggs, Tillman and Urlacher, three of the best to ever play their positions in Chicago, effectively ended earlier this season when Tillman re-injured his right triceps in week two and Briggs went down with a rib injury in Carolina. The two of them probably wouldn’t have altered the outcomes in New England and Green Bay, but neither is it likely that the Patriots and Packers put a combined 106 points on the Bears with Briggs and Tillman.
The bigger question than what’s next for Briggs is what’s next for the Bears, who have bet their futures at linebacker in Bostic and Shea McClellin. The late Mark Hatley set a foundation pillar in place when he drafted Urlacher in 2000. Jerry Angelo did the same in Briggs (and Tillman) in 2003.
If Phil Emery has done as well with Bostic and Kyle Fuller as heirs apparent to Briggs and Tillman, that will be an accomplishment. It’s a couple of tough acts to follow.
Ray Rice wins appeal, eligible to play.
By Jay Busbee
Suspended Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Rice (R) and his wife Janay Palmer arrive for a hearing on November 5, 2014 in New York City. Rice is fighting his suspension after being caught beating his wife in an Atlantic City casino elevator in February 2014. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Ray Rice has won his appeal against the NFL and is eligible to play immediately:
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