Given the challenges Marc Trestman has faced with free agent defections, Brian Urlacher’s retirement and the rampant injuries besetting the Bears this season, the first year NFL head coach ย has done an exceptional job keeping his troops in contention forย both the NFC North title andย a Wild Card berth.ย Yet last Sunday was certainly not Trestman’s finest hour, as threeย mind-boggling decisions he made in a pivotal game against the Detroit Lions likely cost the Bears a victory and giftedย their rivals sole possession of first place in the division and a season-series sweep of the Bears.
The latter issue is of the utmostย importance because, withย both teams having seven games remaining onย their schedule, the 5-4 Bears will almost certainly have to overtake the 6-3 Lions in the standings to win the division.ย Following Sunday’s defeat, the Bears are now alsoย a full game behind the Carolina Panthers for one of the two NFC wild card berths.
The most egregious decision Trestman made Sunday was not replacing quarterback Jay Cutler before the Bears’ final series of the fourth quarter, when the team was trailing 21-13.ย Just before the second half concluded, it has since been reported, Cutler suffered a high ankle sprain.ย He had been showing no ill effects from the groin injury he sustained against Washington three weeks earlier that was supposed to sideline him for at least four weeks but from which he returned earlier than expected.ย His first half numbers were exceptional: 12-18 for 148 yards and one touchdown.ย Yet, his final pass of the half, which occurred after the ankle injury and inside the Lions’ ten yard-line, wasย ill advisedly flipped inย the direction ofย a pack of Lions’ defenders.ย The ball was deflected at the line of scrimmage andย intercepted, costing the Bears a sure tie-breaking field goal andย representing a harbingerย of Cutler’s disastrous and injury-plagued second-half.
In the second half, Cutler’s condition appeared to deteriorate with each Bears’ offensive play, as he hobbled to and from the huddle and sidelines, wincing in pain and clearly favoring the left ankle later diagnosed as sprained.ย The Bears added only six points with Cutler at the controls in the second half, three of themย resulting from a field goal following an interception returned deepย into Lions’ territory byย Strong Safety Chris Conte.ย Cutler consistently underthrew receivers, and his passes lacked their usualย accuracy and velocity.
He finished the second half a paltry 9 of 22 for 102 yards.
Certainly, after the 2010 NFC championship game,ย following which Cutler was viciously and unfairly maligned for not continuing to play after suffering aย sprained MCL to his knee,ย Trestman could not have expected Cutler toย voluntarily remove himself from the Lions game.ย This was a classic case of a coachย needing to save a player from himselfย amid the gray area where the trainersย had cleared him to play but where heย was too physically compromised to maximizeย his team’s chancesย to win.ย Significantly, onceย backup quarterback Josh McCown replaced Cutler for the Bears’ final offensive series, he completed 6 of 9 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown to draw the Bears to within 21-19 before they failed to convert a two-point conversion thatย likely would have sent the game into overtime.
To his credit, it took Trestman only 24 hours to concede that he had erred in not replacing Cutler sooner after initially defending his decision in his postgame press conference based on feedback from Bears’ trainers and doctors that Cutler was medically cleared to continue playing.ย Trestman’s contritionย is a a refreshing change fromย his smug predecessor, Lovie Smith,ย who never admitted fallibility, even, asย I previously wrote about,ย when he was questionedย for quitting on his team in a 2007 game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Theย other two strategic errors Trestman madeย involvedย egregious play calling.ย ย Early in the second quarter with the teams tied atย seven, the Bears faced aย fourth and oneย at the Lions’ 27 yard-line.ย The week before, Trestmanย elected to go for it–and Bears’ Running Back Matt Forteย successfully converted–inย the same down and distance against Green Bay early in the fourth quarter in Chicago territory with the Bears clinging to a 24-20 lead.ย The difference in that instanceย is that Forte was running effectively in particular and the team in general.ย The Bears finished with 171 yards rushing against the Packers on 5.2 yards per attempt.
Against Detroit, the Bears never established anyย running proficiency andย finished with just 20 carries for 38 yards.ย Nonetheless, the Bears called a running play for Michael Bush, who wasย swallowed up for noย gain.ย Clearly Trestman could notย be tasked withย realizing then that the potential 44-yard field goal he passed up couldย have proved pivotalย to the outcome.ย Yet to go for the first down at that juncture of the game and attempt a running play was the wrong decision compounded by the wrong play call.
Trestman repeated this folly on the Bears’ second chance to convert aย two-point conversion after they cut the deficit toย 21-19 in the final minute of the game and the Lions committed a personalย foul on the Bears first two-point conversion attempt.ย By this point, it was clear to every beerย and hotdogย vendor taking an occasional peak at the action at Soldier Field that the Bears had left their running game in Green Bay.ย Yet Trestman inexplicably called a running play for Forte, who was thrown for a loss, effectively ending the game.
One subparย game does not define a coach.ย The fact that the Bears remain in contention despite a MASH unit that expands each week is a testament to Trestman’s fine work this season.ย However,ย for the Bears to overcome their injuries andย increasingly small margin for error and have any chance to make the playoffs,ย Trestman must make better personnel and play-calling decisions than theย bungled ones he made against the Lions.
