|
 The victory may prove galvanizing in a sense because Cutler
eventually made Trestman look good with three touchdown passes over
the game's final 31 minutes, and possibly because it brought
Cutler's confidence — if not the team's confidence in him — to new
levels.
"I didn't take any temperature," Trestman said Monday about whether
he asked players how they felt about Cutler's return. "I didn't. I
stayed resolute, I think, in that I felt it was in the best interest
of the team from the beginning to make sure that everybody knew the
direction that we were going to go. So I did not do that in any
way."
It didn't look good when Cutler threw two interceptions, one of
which wide receiver Brandon Marshall took blame for in the end zone
to end the first Bears drive.
"There's no quarterback competition," Marshall said later. "And it
was just tough for all of us. We all rallied around Jay coming back.
We were excited about it. He led us in the fourth quarter. We'll do
better and clean it up next week."
Cutler threw for 265 yards on 22 of 31 passing and had a passer
rating of 102.2, his third-highest rating of the year. The three
touchdowns matched his season high, and the Bears converted 9 of 14
third downs (64 percent).
Nevertheless, Cutler admitted he needed to gauge teammates and see
how they felt about the decision that he would start over McCown,
who had a 109.8 passer rating after Cutler suffered a high ankle
sprain.
"I felt the need to talk to some people before," he said. "I talked
to B (Marshall), I talked to Matt (Forte), I talked to some linemen,
just to let them know because I don't know how they feel, although I
had a good feeling how they'd react. No one flinched. Everyone was
all in on me."
Several reports citing unnamed sources before the game had said
players were divided on whether they thought it was a wise move.
Whether this actually was the case or not, Cutler admitted to
feeling pressure going into the game.
"I think I'd be lying if I didn't say I was, with everything on the
outside (media reports) and as well as Josh played," he said. "But
this was the plan all along. No one really flinched in our
building."
Just seeing Cutler openly discuss feeling pressure and handling it,
and that he sought out opinions from teammates were refreshing
changes from a player who often has been difficult to decipher in
the past. It showed an openness on different levels that could be a
unifying factor going forward.
"I think that's the atmosphere that they want to create, that Trest
wants to create, that (general manager) Phil Emery wants to create,
(board chairman) George McCaskey," Cutler said. "I think that's kind
of what direction we want to go in, having an open locker room;
players, coaches all in on this.
"We've all got to be in and we've all got to make that happen."
___
NOTES, QUOTES
—The combination of Brandon Marshall-Alshon Jeffery is now the best
ever for a season for a Bears receiving duo. Their total of 170
catches (80 Jeffery, 90 Marshall) for 2,450 yards (1,265 Jeffery,
1,185 Marshall) has beaten out the 2,347 by Marcus Robinson (1,400)
and Bobby Engram (2,347) in 1999.
The real surprise remains Jeffery, who blossomed after just 24
catches in his injury-marred 2012 rookie season.
"We saw his work ethic and we saw him making plays in practice,"
Trestman said. "And you never really know. You're not tackling in
practice. You're in shorts most of the time. You don't know that
this is going to happen. You don't really envision it."
Jeffery's trademark has become the jump-ball catches, like the
45-yard game-tying fourth-quarter touchdown catch he made against
the Browns on Sunday. Cutler didn't even see the catch as he was
knocked down on a play that drew a roughing-the-passer penalty
"Somehow it got down there and Alshon did what Alshon does best,"
Cutler said.
Trestman said it's difficult to gauge how much of what Jeffery has
done is due to defenses overplaying Marshall.
"You just never know," he said. "The object in the passing game is
to find the single-covered guy and put your guys in a position to be
able to win against that single-covered guy. I can say that I don't
think Brandon has been double-covered as much as he was early in the
season, but how much I can't say."
—The Bears defense showed what can happen if it just stops the run.
Last in the league against the run since Week 12, they snapped a
streak of eight straight games allowing 100 yards rushing or more.
"If we want to be the defense we really want to be, there's some
things we need to get done and that's holding a team under 100 yards
rushing, holding a team to 17 points or less and, of course, winning
the turnover battle more than anything," defensive tackle Jeremiah
Ratliff said.
Cleveland's 93-yard rushing total was even tricked up by 30 yards
using the wildcat offense.
"That was good play calling," linebacker James Anderson said. "They
kind of caught us off guard. We've got to do a better job of
adjusting on the field."
Trestman saw the play of Ratliff as big in stabilizing the middle of
a front that had been anything but stout against the run.
"I think that he played well (Sunday)," Trestman said. "He's a force
inside in terms of his size and his strength. He's got good
leadership qualities, good communication skills. We've said that.
He's good for our locker room. He's just getting back into it. He's
had two pretty good weeks."
—The win made the Bears 4-0 on the year against the AFC North.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
INJURY IMPACT
-
CB Charles Tillman is done for the season due to his torn triceps.
The team had originally put him on injured reserve with the right to
bring him back after the regular season for the playoffs. Tillman
would have been eligible to begin practicing this week to return for
a playoff run, but his injury did not heal at the rate expected.
Zack Bowman, who had two interceptions Sunday, has been starting in
Tillman's place since the injury occurred Nov. 10 against Detroit.
[to top of second column] |
-
LB Lance Briggs will practice this week and his status for
Sunday's game will be announced by Trestman at that point. Chances
appear favorable for his return from the shoulder fracture that has
kept him out since Oct. 20.
"It's going to be day to day," Trestman said. "I'm reasonable
optimistic, but it's going to be through the three days of
practice before a decision's made."
-
QB Jay Cutler went through the game without a problem with his
ankle or groin, although he said in the fourth quarter he did
get cleated up above his left foot but is fine.
PLAYER NOTES
-
Matt Forte's season-best 127 rushing yards on 24 carries Sunday
marked his third straight 100-yard rushing game. It's the first time
in his career he has had three straight 100-yard games, and he has
four 100-yard games on the year, which is a career-high.
-
WR Earl Bennett caught his fourth touchdown pass Sunday, a career
single-season high. He seemed a forgotten man coming into the season
with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett and Matt
Forte all chief targets in the passing game. A concussion that
knocked him out of preseason set him back further, but he has 30
catches for 231 yards and he has become a bail-out option on
third-down or goal-line situations.
"When he had the concussion, he kind of dropped off a little bit to
where he wasn't around for a while and we kind of forgot about the
kind of receiver he was before," Trestman said. "It's good to see
him become a part of it."
Bennett agreed to rework his contract and take a $1 million pay cut
to $1.25 million this year when it appeared he might be cut in
preseason.
-
The Bears left themselves needing to sign their top two
quarterbacks after this season by giving McCown a deal for $840,000
instead of $840,001, according to a report by CBSsports.com's Jason
La Canfora. The one extra dollar, or else a package that would have
given him a bonus per start, would have allowed them to keep the
right to extend McCown's contract. Instead, he becomes a free agent
after this season. Before this season, few would have cared if they
gave McCown that extra money, but his 3-2 record as a starter and a
passer rating of 109.8 have all but cinched the likelihood some
other teams will be interested in signing him.
-
DT Jeremiah Ratliff played 44 percent of the snaps for the second
straight week and appears to be cementing his spot as a starter and
contributor after a comeback from a groin muscle tear. He played
more than both DT Stephen Paea and DT Landon Cohen. He had been off
the field since last November while with Dallas, before joining the
Bears and becoming healthy enough to play three weeks ago.
Ratliff was used almost entirely at nose tackle instead of
three-technique.
"To me it really doesn't matter if it's the nose or the three or
anything like that," Ratliff said. "I thank God that I'm playing. I
thank God that I'm on a team. So the nose, three, (even) safety; I
might raise some eyebrows but I'll play it."
REPORT CARD VS. BROWNS
PASSING OFFENSE: B-plus — QB Jay Cutler's first-half struggles with
the turnover largely were his own fault, although WR Brandon
Marshall took some blame for a pick in the end zone on the first
Bears possession for not running a sharper route. However, Cutler
shook off the rust eventually and led the comeback with three TD
passes. The 7.9 yards per pass attempt was higher than the team's
average on the year, and they owned third down at 9 of 14 converted
(64 percent).
RUSHING OFFENSE: A-minus — They managed to get Matt Forte to the
edge in the second half, when he gained 83 of his season-high
127-yard total. Michael Bush got to do something other than run
short yardage and broke off a 40-yard TD run that actually provided
the seven critical points because the defense allowed a late
desperation touchdown pass. Tackle Jermon Bushrod and the receivers
were excellent getting out blocking in the open field to get Forte
started. They even converted a third-and-one running play, although
they did struggle near the goal line again.
PASS DEFENSE: B-plus — Stopping Jason Campbell isn't the most
difficult thing — some suggest he checks down at the mere sight of
opposing players standing on the sideline. But the Bears did prevent
the big pass downfield until Chris Conte got burned by Josh Gordon
near the end of the game. A 33 percent third-down conversion rate
was more in line with what Bears defenses of recent vintage had
yielded. The Browns' 273 passing yards was bolstered by a 44-yard
Greg Little catch and run on a zero route and a lot of underneath
tosses once they fell behind in the final quarter. Zack Bowman's
return of his second interception of the day for the team's sixth
defensive touchdown on the year was huge.
RUSH DEFENSE: B — Although it allowed 5.5 yards per rush attempt,
Cleveland only reached that number by running the wildcat for 30
yards and Jason Campbell scrambling for 17. It was the Bears' best
overall effort on the ground since Oct. 6 and a far cry from the 204
yards per game they'd given up over seven weeks. Rookie linebackers
Jonathan Bostic and Khaseem Greene didn't over-run their lanes of
responsibility as often in this one.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Some shaky treatment of bouncing footballs on
punts, and a holding penalty on Corey Wootton that negated a field
goal were the only negatives. Devin Hester contributed a big 21-yard
punt return to set up a score, Adam Podlesh pinned the Browns back
at the 5 once with a punt and Robbie Gould moved the ball around on
kickoffs well enough so that coverage units could pin the Browns
back at their own 20 three times and the 15 and 14.
COACHING: A — Cutler gave Trestman credit for some of his best
play-calling of the year to help beat a Browns defense ranked in the
top 10 much of the year. The touch of offensive coordinator and de
facto line coach Aaron Kromer was evident on many of the running
plays as they allowed linemen to get outside in one-on-one
situations with defenders to spring Forte. Ultimately the biggest
coaching decision and gutsiest was Trestman's for starting Cutler.
In the second half, Cutler made it a good one.
[© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2013 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
