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 Playing the New England Patriots in a road game this week is not
exactly an ideal situation for a team with a quarterback prone to
turnovers, like Jay Cutler has been.
Cutler's penchant for turnovers long has been his downfall, and in a
season when the Bears thought he would get past this because he had
finally be in the same offense for successive years, the problems
remain.
It's threatening to turn the Bears' entire season sour.
"I've just got to lead this group and try to find a way to make sure
we play clean football for four quarters," Cutler said.
Only four teams have taken the ball away more times than the Bears
have, yet they have squandered their defense's takeaways by giving
it away 13 times.
In each of their four losses, they lost the turnover battle, and
usually it's Cutler giving it away.
"We've got to protect the ball, we've got to convert on third down,
we've got to get a rhythm going," Cutler said.
Eight Bears turnovers occurred at home, but playing in New England
is unlikely to generate any confidence. The Patriots are second in
the league in takeaways with 14.
"It's frustrating," coach Marc Trestman said. "It's frustrating
because we don't practice that way. We work very hard at ball
security. Certainly with any team it's going to be a priority. It's
not just a priority with us.
"When it doesn't happen, it just makes everything more difficult,
when you turn the ball over. It makes everything much easier when
you take care of it and you're able to take it away, and certainly
that's what the Patriots are feeling right now."
Normally dependable running back Matt Forte even had a big turnover
that cost the Bears a loss in Carolina.
"It's one of the main things we talk about, is taking care of the
football, protecting the quarterback and establishing the run game,"
Forte said. "In the games that we;ve won, we've done that. In the
games that we've lost, we haven't done it.
"It's not a secret formula to winning games or how we play well. We
just have to play consistently, like when we've won the games that
we have won."
It's been Cutler, though, whose play has dragged the offense down
the most, despite a career-best passer rating of 94.4. Trestman
remains firmly behind Cutler, pointing to his 67.3 completion
percentage as another indication he is getting the offense.
"You can see the numbers, where Jay is with his rating, where Jay is
with his completion percentage," Trestman said. "There's a lot of
movement in the right direction.
"The change and the improvement is certainly not over. We're
continuing to work on that, he is. What people need to know about
Jay is he's tremendously invested in this football team. He's highly
intelligent. His work ethic is second to none in the organization,
like it is with most quarterbacks. We're just looking to push to the
next level."
After giving Cutler a seven-year contract, with $54 million in
guaranteed money, the number the Bears wanted to see improve was the
win total.
Now there are questions whether he's actually reading defenses
correctly. In the loss to Miami, Trestman at halftime took away
Cutler's option to check out of running plays and into pass plays
after the Bears ran it only four times in the first half, including
only two carries by Forte.
"That's no different than making a halftime adjustment," Trestman
said. "We have some runs that are attached to throws and others that
are just called runs, so at halftime we said regardless of the front
we're getting (from the defense), we think we can run the ball this
half so that's what we decided to do.
"It wasn't as if we were handcuffing anybody or taking things out of
the quarterback hands; that wasn't the intent at all."
Except, it sure sounds that way.
"To be very specific, the intent was we wanted to make sure when we
called a run, we felt that we had the advantage and the advantage
was to run it," Trestman said.
"Jay didn't make any wrong decisions. They did a good job of
defending those decisions and so we made an adjustment to attack
them a different way in the second half."
Regardless of how it's sliced, it sounded like another problem area
for Cutler and something else the Bears can't afford to have if they
hope to climb back to .500 by beating New England.
SERIES HISTORY: 12th regular-season meeting. Patriots lead series,
8-3. New England has won the last three, and six of the last seven
including the last game played in Foxborough in 2006 (17-13).
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NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - NOTES, QUOTES
--Rookie S Brock Vereen may or may not start, depending on the
status of S Chris Conte. On Wednesday, Conte seemed over his
shoulder issues and went through a full practice, but Vereen will
play in a safety rotation regardless. And when he does play, it
might mean tackling or defending his brother, Patriots running back
Shane Vereen, who is third on the team in receiving with 23 catches.
"That's my job, just like he would be looking to run me over or
break my tackle," Vereen said. "After draft day, obviously, we
looked up each other's schedules. Since then it's something that
we've both been anticipating, but we're very excited for it to
actually be here." The competition growing up led to plenty of
heated exchanges. "Video games, backyard basketball, football in the
living room ... growing up it was definitely a very competitive
atmosphere," he said. And the damage done in the household? "Eleven
broken X-Box controllers," he said.
--Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker found himself answering questions
about why defensive end Jared Allen sat on the bench for a long
drive in the third quarter against Miami. Allen, himself, seemed a
bit at a loss to explain it. "Going forward, obviously we want him
in the game," Tucker said. "He's been a highly productive player for
us. It was an unusual series, we had a lot of short-yardage
situations. We didn't really get into third-and-long. "We visited
with him about it and we're ready to move on. We'll be fine."
Allen found discussion after the loss to Miami about whether the
Bears had enough leaders on the team a bit naive.
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"I've never been a huge guy on needing a person to be an out-front,
vocal leader," he said. "I would assume people respect the fact that
I show up and I work. And I've been around this league long enough
and had enough success in this league to where if I need to talk to
someone I can. I think I have that respect as a teammate.
"I think that's what we do well with this team. Again, I would say
we have good leadership. Maybe from the outside looking in, you
(media) guys are looking for a vocal person who has an 'S' on his
chest to do something. Those aren't the guys typically I find that
people respond to."
--With Tom Brady perceived as a less mobile quarterback than the
Bears have been used to facing, a pass rush up the middle will be
key. Last week Jeremiah Ratliff gave an indication he can provide it
with a career-best 3 1/2 sacks. "He was just relentless," Tucker
said. "He's just very impressive. He plays very, very hard and he's
very strong in the run game and also in the pass game. He's a guy
that you know what you're going to get day in and day out.
"We've talked from day one about pocket collapse and pocket push,
and we're getting that and also an edge rush."
BY THE NUMBERS: 10 -- Number of times the Bears have started inside
their own 20 following kickoffs, second most in the league.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "The only thing I regret is that the door wasn't
closed. I wouldn't change any of my reactions, because they came
from my heart and that's how I felt and that's how I still feel." --
WR Brandon Marshall, on his rant inside the postgame locker room
last week that occurred with the door partially open at times for
the media to hear.
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NFL Team Report - Chicago Bears - STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
--TE Martellus Bennett missed Wednesday's practice because of a
hamstring injury and is day-to-day. Dante Rosario is the only other
tight end on the roster at this point, and unlike earlier this year,
the Bears do not have a fullback who could play the H-back spot in
the offense. Bennett is day to day and if he's unable to play Sunday
it could severely affect the offense.
--CB Kyle Fuller missed practice Wednesday to the broken hand and
hip-pointer he sustained Sunday. He is day-to-day.
--S Danny McCray missed Wednesday's practice because of a knee
injury suffered in Sunday's game and is day-to-day. He had been used
primarily on special teams, but also saw some action in safety
rotation with Brock Vereen and Ryan Mundy last week.
--LB Lance Briggs practiced on a limited basis Wednesday after
missing two games due to a rib injury.
--LB Jonathan Bostic practiced Wednesday on a limited basis after
missing two games due to a back injury.
--S Chris Conte returned to the practice field after missing last
week's game with a shoulder injury He went through a full practice
Wednesday.
GAME PLAN: The running game must be used more extensively than last
week, especially early in the game and even if the Bears fall behind
a score or two. Initially some trust in their own defense has to be
displayed. The Patriots have the No. 1 team in the league against
the pass, but they're only 24th against the run. Matt Forte has to
be used in a variety of ways in the running game. There has been a
tendency to only use him off the edge, outside or with counters. But
the running game has to come at all points with a goal of wearing
out the anchor or the Patriots' defensive front, Vince Wilfork. The
passing game can't be afraid to take shots downfield. There could be
opportunities for back-shoulder throws that the Bears haven't used
much against the extensive zones they have faced.
Defensively, the Bears will need to play six men in the box and
disguise coverages. It's not easy to fool Tom Brady, but to sit in a
zone and invite him to attack it only can result in something
similar to what he did against the Bears defense four years ago in
the snow at Soldier Field, resulting in a 36-7 Patriots win. Using
Forte in the passing game as the Bears did in two games before their
loss to Miami is a good, safe alternative against New England, but
it's not likely to be enough. At some point they'll have to get big
gains by Alshon Jeffery or Brandon Marshall.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
--Bears WR Brandon Marshall, who has gone three weeks without a
touchdown catch, vs. Patriots CB Darrelle Revis, who has one
interception and four passes defended on the year. -- The two locked
up regularly when Marshall was with Miami, and in those Marshall
games had the advantage in three of the last four games, including
one 100-yard effort. Marshall's 5-inch height advantage and ability
to play physical make him an ideal match for Revis Island.
--Bears DT Stephen Paea, who has four sacks, vs. Patriots C Bryan
Stork -- Paea has been partially responsible for the inside push
Jeremiah Ratliff has been able to manage, but also has been able to
clean up with his own sacks. Strength is Paea's greatest asset, and
in Stork he'd be facing a player who is taller (6-4, 315) and easier
to drive back. The Bears consider getting pressure up the middle a
key to stopping QB Tom Brady. Stork is questionable for the game
following a concussion. Ryan Wendell, an experienced center who was
an undrafted free agent, would start in his place if he's unable to
go.
--Patriots WR Brandon LaFell, who has three touchdown catches, vs.
Bears CB Sherrick McManis, who likely will make his second start
this year and third of his career -- McManis has been a special
teams player most of his career and is being pressed into starting
due to the injuries suffered by rookie Kyle Fuller. However, he'd
likely be playing the nickel spot or the other corner anyway, had it
not been for Fuller's injury. McManis' technique has to be a concern
and Brady is sure to pick out the inexperience in the Bears
secondary. Then again, he'll have plenty of that to attack if Brock
Vereen gets in at safety. LaFell has 19 catches and at 6-2 has a
3-inch height edge on McManis.
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