Bears Notes: Soldier Field Turf Becomes Problematic Again
By Chris Emma--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- How the Bears have gone 0-3 at their hostile home venue of Soldier Field remains a great mystery. Jay Cutler may have an answer.
"I guess it's the grass," the Bears' quarterback joked. "I don't know. Nah, I'm joking."
Cutler's quip was all in good fun, but it shed a greater light on a problem that reared its ugly head once again, this time in a 27-14 loss to Miami on Sunday.
The turf at Soldier Field was once again nearly unplayable, a familiar issue from years past.
Chicago linebacker Shea McClellin lost his footing on a pass to the flats, leaving Miami's Charles Clay with open green ahead for a touchdown. Had McClellin kept his feet, it could have been a different story.
"Yes, I just slipped," McClellin said. "That was unfortunate. That just happens sometimes."
It happened several times later. Miami running back Lamar Miller was twice tackled by the turf. Gaining traction was a difficult task.
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"It's my seventh year playing here," Bears running back Matt Forte said. "I already know what it's going to be like."
At halftime, with Northern Illinois' marching band performing, seven workers dodged trumpets and trombones to replace divots in the grass.
The messy surface could either help of hurt the Bears in forming a home-field advantage. On Sunday, it was just a matter of who was slipping to the turf.
Bears' run game goes quiet again.
If ever an indication of the Bears' lack of identity on offense, it came in the stat sheet.
Forte had just two carries for 11 yards in the first half against a struggling Dolphins rush defense that entered allowing around 110 yards per game. Chicago's passing attack wasn't a much better alternative.
"It was totally disappointing," Bears coach Marc Trestman said. "We couldn't put any drives together."
In the second half, the Bears attempted to engage a rushing attack, but it was too little, too late.
Forte would post just 49 yards on 12 carries. As a whole, the Bears' offense had just 224 yards.
"It's on us, really," Forte said. "Why? We're just not being consistent. It's as easy as that."
Chicago's running game has been its most inconsistent asset. Forte has ranged from 21 rushing yards to 122 in games this season. At times, such as Sunday, the Bears have abandoned the running game completely.
To be successful, the Bears' offense needs to be multi-dimensional. It wasn't in another brutal loss.
Ratliff a bright spot
The Bears' defensive line was at its worst in Week 4 when the Green Bay Packers came to Soldier Field and quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn't hurried once. That jersey outlined in green and gold trim was white as can be.
Jeremiah Ratliff's home blue jersey was also clean, like that of Rodgers, and that's no coincidence. The Bears' defensive tackle is one of the most important pieces of the defense.
Ratliff had his best game as a Bear on Sunday, posting seven tackles and 3.5 sacks, each coming in the first half.
"It's amazing, man," Bears defensive end Jared Allen said. "Jay is a heck of a player."
When the Bears needed to put pressure on Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, there was Ratliff, a midseason acquisition of 2013 who has become a critical anchor to the defensive line.
But Ratliff wasn't smiling after his stellar performance. In the fourth quarter, he stormed in the face of safety Ryan Mundy and exchanged words. A stronger vocal presence from the 10-year NFL veteran showed itself.
"Am I disappointed?" he said. "Yeah, absolutely. Disappointed and I'm pretty sure everyone in the locker room is. This is a time when we all have to look at ourselves individually -- like, real self-checking and look at ourselves as a team and decide where we're going to be and work towards that and be consistent at it and go at it. Period. No more talk. Just do it. That's it."
The improved play of Ratliff was one of the few bright spots from another Bears' loss.
Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.
