The rookie wall may have hit Marc Trestman a little harder than he may have liked. The Chicago Bears start December reeling and stuck in the ninth spot in the NFC. The offense has been better than average, but the defense is regressing far beyond the mean. Tack on Trestman’s self-admittance of second-guessing his decisions and a rash of injuries, and you get a team that is struggling to remain in the playoff hunt.
Marc Trestman was brought in to give the Bears offense an infusion of current day NFL play calling, and that has happened. Jay Cutler and back-up Josh McCown have shown signs of competence leading to near-career and career numbers for the two signal callers. The two have an improved offensive line and legit offensive weapons to thank for making life easier on the field. Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett have excelled at various levels in Marc Trestman ’s offense.
The deficiencies on offense still pop up, and Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings highlighted many of them. The five linemen asked to protect the QB are better than last season’s collection of bodies. Jermon Bushrod was given big boy money to shore up the left tackle position and has shown that former QB Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton made him look better than what he is paid. Rookie right tackle Jordan Mills surprised many early in the season but has been a liability for a greater portion of his time. Fellow rookie Kyle Long has been just as up-and-down at right guard.
For as well as Josh McCown is playing he has looked like the fringe NFL quarterback that he is. Marc Trestman and the coaching staff would never ask him to try to be like Cutler, but at times he tries to be. McCown is also a liability scrambling away from pressure and attempting passes. Trestman the quarterback whisperer should not allow simple mistakes like that to happen.
The defense has been more of a liability than expected. There was no way that the aging group assembled for 2013 could replicate its magical play of 2012. Departures and injuries have plagued all three phases, including the losses of cornerbacks Charles Tillman, Kelvin Hayden (remember him?), linebacker D.J. Williams, and defensive tackles Henry Melton and Nate Collins for the season. Jeremiah (Jay) Ratliff played well in his return to game action in over one calendar season for a line containing a who’s who of former grocery baggers.
His presence on the defensive line may have never been needed if Sedrick Ellis did not back out of his free agent deal with Chicago and retire. Ratliff’s debut in addition to the return of Stephen Paea makes life easier for Julius Peppers and Corey Wootton. The natural defensive ends have played inside for a better part of the season due to the injury situation. A return outside makes the line that much stronger.
Lance Briggs is also expected to return Monday against Dallas, or the following week. Rookie Khaseem Greene has been okay in passing situations filling in for Briggs at outside linebacker. Second round pick Jon Bostic has been well, interesting to watch at middle linebacker. He replaced Williams in the middle and has been a target of opposing offenses looking to exploit the soft D in Chicago. Bostic looks like a lost puppy on the gridiron and has taken a few bad penalties to make matters worse for him. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is in a dill of a pickle trying to coach this defense and is missing too much of his talent to be expected to be difference makers for four quarters.
December could be an equally tough month as Chicago faces desperate teams in similar situations. The Bears will also have to face the Cleveland Browns and Josh Gordon, arguably the hottest player in the NFL. Marc Trestman may have to say a few million prayers in hopes that his secondary can try to slow Gordon down.
There is hope for an 8-8 season on the lakefront, but hope may be best saved for this offseason when general manager Phil Emery and company continue their reshaping of the Chicago Bears.
Forget November Marc Trestman, and look forward to a new month with brighter days. Your worst case is to forget the last half of your rookie season and aim for a successful sophomore season with the headset on a team you can shape to mold anything but your hairstyle.
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