Bears Notes: 'We Haven't Been A Consistent Offense'
By Dan Durkin-
(CBS) Through 12 games, what exactly has Bears coach Marc Trestman learned about his offense?
"What I've learned is, we haven't been a consistent offense," Trestman said. "We haven't been able to put four quarters together, for whatever reasons -- and they're multiple as we've said. So that's what we're trying to improve on."
Considering the Bears (5-7) could be officially eliminated from playoff contention this weekend, any improvements are too late. The Bears' lack of consistency points back to an overall lack of discipline and inability for all 11 players to be on the same page and cleanly execute the offense.
"Those are the things we haven't done, is to be able to sustain the football and finish drives and not hurt ourselves and getting ourselves out of field position where we can't get points," Trestman said. "We've been consistently doing that, and we're trying to overcome that."
So, in short, the Bears offense has been consistently inconsistent.
It appears as if they're still a group of individuals playing on every play, opposed to a group that works in tandem for a collective goal. The results speak for themselves. The Bears are scoring 21.1 points per game, which ranks 22nd in the NFL and is below league average by about two points, and they have yet to break 30 points.
Injury update
Chris Conte has been a source of ire for Bears fans, but the reality is that he's clearly one of the top two safeties on the roster and is by far Chicago's best option at free safety. Conte left Thursday's loss at Detroit with an injury, which forced rookie Brock Vereen into extended action, and the results weren't good.
Trestman clarified what medical procedure Conte went through during the game, as it was initially reported as a concussion, which would've been his third time in the protocol this season.
"He was evaluated for concussion, and he was cleared, and then he had a situation with his eye," Trestman said. "I'm not a doctor, so there's a situation with his eye and we're still trying to get some clarity with that as we move forward, so he didn't practice today."
Here's the full injury report from Monday's practice. The Bears host the Cowboys on Thursday night at Soldier Field.
Didn't participate
-- S Chris Conte (eye)
-- DE Cornelius Washington (chest)
-- WR Chris Williams (hamstring)
Limited
-- TE Martellus Bennett (foot)
-- WR Alshon Jeffery (hamstring)
-- CB Tim Jennings (groin)
-- DT Jeremiah Ratliff (knee)
-- DE Trevor Scott (knee)
-- LB Darryl Sharpton (hamstring)
Full
-- RG Kyle Long (calf)