Hoge's Notes: Cutler Wearing 'Precautionary' Hard Cast On Ankle
By Adam Hoge-
HALAS HALL (CBS) — It may look serious, but the Bears insist the hard cast on Jay Cutler's left ankle is "precautionary" and is just a common way to stabilize it while the injury heals.
"The doctors and the trainers talk about just making it stabilized," Bears head coach Marc Trestman said Thursday. "It wasn't swollen after the game. It was swollen on Monday and they just wanted to make sure it was stabilized. It'll just be week-to-week with it."
Cutler suffered a high ankle sprain in Sunday's loss to the Lions when he was hit over the top of left tackle Jermon Bushrod. The ankle got caught underneath Bushrod, who was falling backwards in the opposite direction, causing the sprain. Cutler played on the injury until he was finally taken out for the last series of the game, but by Monday he had been ruled out of this Sunday's game against the Ravens.
Cutler was back on the practice field Thursday helping with individual quarterback drills, much like he did when he was out with a groin injury a few weeks ago. He was wearing shorts, which is what exposed the hard cast.
'Success Flu' Bug
While answering a question about the success he has had this season, backup quarterback Josh McCown referred to something head coach Marc Trestman calls the "success flu." Essentially, it's just a way Trestman keeps his player guarded, preventing the success from going to their head.
Of course, Trestman took the metaphor to another level, talking about vaccines and syringes.
"When the H1N1 was going on and the flu bug hits you get vaccinated so you don't get sick right? So what we try do in the times when we're having success and people are telling you how good you are and how good we are, it kind of stabilizes you," Trestman said. "So we vaccinate these guys so they don't make it about themselves. They realize the reason we're having success is because of the work and endeavors of others."
Trestman has talked often about playing for each other as teammates, and this is just another one of his tactics for keeping his players humble.
"That's really the definition of humility, when you understand that it's not because you're doing it well, it's because all those people are putting you in a position to do well and that's what you're doing for them. The concept simply is when you start feeling that things are going your way or you're being given the credit, we have some syringes available and we vaccinate them and that stabilizes them to be more even keeled and recognize that these guys around them, these coaches and these players around them, are the reason why they are having this opportunity to execute at a high level on the field."
Martellus Nursing Ankle
Tight end Martellus Bennett is nursing an ankle injury and did not practice Wednesday.
"We're hopeful that a day off the ankle will give him a little relief and he'll be back at it," Trestman said.
Bennett was a little more cryptic about the injury, not ruling out the possibility he may miss Sunday's game against the Ravens.
"It's always a possibility. I don't know yet. We'll see how I feel over the next couple of days," Bennett said.
Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer was a little more optimistic.
"Oh, Martellus will be fine. And we have a lot of weapons. And obviously we'll have to adjust some things. But we feel like Martellus will be ready," he said.
Notables
- Shea McClellin (hamstring) only did side work with the trainers for the second straight day. It appears that he'll likely miss his second straight game with the injury. Patrick Mannelly (calf) and Jeremiah Ratliff (groin) were also out. Trestman said right tackle Jordan Mills "has a little bit of a quad" injury and was limited Thursday. He practiced in full Wednesday and was not listed on the injury report. It does not sound serious.
- The Ravens have a number of key defensive injuries as defensive end Chris Canty (knee), defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (knee), linebacker Daryl Smith (thigh) and cornerback Lardarius Webb (groin) all missed practice Thursday. Meanwhile, linebacker Terrell Suggs (neck), cornerback Jimmy Smith (groin) and safety James Ihedigbo (toe) were all limited for Ravens. Canty and Suggs were not on the injury report Wednesday.
- Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs has nine sacks, which is the same amount the entire Bears' defensive line has this season. Combined, Suggs and Elvis Dumervil have 17 sacks. The Bears have 14 total as a team.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.
