When It Comes To The Bears....Who Can You Trust?

Let's start at the top with Lovie Smith and his coaching staff.  Lovie Smith in his sixth year as head coach has amassed a record of 49-38 with 2 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl appearance.  This season he's taken on the play calling for the defense and yet the defense after a stellar start has fizzled as of late with only one sack in their last 3 games but yet seven turnovers in that same amount of games.  He's always been criticized for not having enough emotion as he's a stoic figure on the sidelines.  However, do I trust Lovie Smith to turn this season around?  I just don't see Lovie Smith being a leader of this team.  From not willing to discuss changes in on-field personnel to protecting Bob Babich like he's a child of his, I just don't trust Lovie Smith to turn this season around.  This goes for his entire coaching staff as well from Ron Turner to Pep Hamilton.   I can't lay my trust in the guys running this team.

As far as players however, you look for consistency in their play.  Is there anyone you can trust on the offensive side of the ball?  The Bear fan in me wants to scream JAY CUTLER from the mountain tops and push out my chest so everyone can see that the Bears FINALLY have a solid man behind center.  However you can't overlook the fact the Cutler has cost games for the Bears.  Four interceptions against Green Bay, two versus Atlanta, and three more against Cincinnati has single handily cost games.  You can't win in the NFL if your quarterback is not responsible with the ball.  We all know Cutler has a cannon for an arm, but I can't trust his judgement on the field.  He holds the ball extremely too long and tries to make passes with little talent at the wide receiver position. 

Then the running game.....do we have to start here??  Seriously, Matt Forte is a bust this season.  Coming into the year with knee injury, was the writing on the wall and we all were just too stupid to notice?  I hope I'm wrong by lumping him into the same breath and Rashann Salaam and Curtis Enis, but right now Matt Forte is the biggest disappointment on the Chicago Bears and I can't trust that.

The offensive line is just garbage and maybe Jerry Angelo's philosophy of getting bigger on the offensive line in the off season isn't going to fly in this Ron Turner offensive attack.  Orlando Pace should be working the sidelines for Fox while Frank Omiyale should be working at Target.  Olin Kreutz isn't getting any younger and Roberto Garza is still the greatest Mexican football player to play for the Chicago Bears.  He's also the only Mexican-American player to play for the Chicago Bears.  Then you have Chris Williams who has been the bright spot of the offensive in his first full season in the NFL after being drafted injured with the fourteenth overall pick in 2008.  So, when you break down the front five, and you look see that Jay Cutler is being sacked more than David Carr ever was in Houston....can you trust the offensive line?  No!

Name one wide receiver on this Bears team that is a difference maker and you can trust will be the go-to guy on the field?  Go ahead....name one? 

So the way I look at it, I can't trust anyone on the offensive side of the ball.  Not a good sign if you can't trust one guy out of eleven, that's a problem.

The defensive side of the ball is a little sketchy as well because there are some guys you don't have enough of a resume on them to gain trust.  The defensive backfield is a perfect example of this.  Zach Bowman doesn't have a resume and neither does Al Afalava.  Daniel Manning, although I love his kick return ability, is not/will not and never be a legit free safety.  Charles Tillman has had a nice year and I CAN trust him to cover the top receivers in the league on man coverage.  Sometimes I just wish he would concentrate more of getting the tackle as opposed to getting the strip.

The line-backing core is another story all together.  With the loss of Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoisamoa for the remainder of the season, Lance Briggs has had to take on a much bigger role on the defense.  I've seen him do it before and he's the rock of that defense.  He's the only guy you can count on when it comes to consistent positive play on the field.  That's why the Bears decided to lock up Briggs long term, and I personally believe his best football is yet to come. 

The defensive line I can't trust although they have already gotten halfway to their sack total from last year.  The hype of Rod Marinielli coming in and the overall tone of how an 0-16 head coach can teach a defensive line to be great again just isn't there.  When you're five games into your season and your teams' general manager is already thinking of next year by trading for replacements of guys currently on the roster, that's not a good sign of confidence.   I can't trust Tommie Harris will ever be the dominant force we once saw and Anthony Adams is never going to amount to anything.  Just a whole lot of nothing on that defensive line from these eyes and with the Tampa Two scheme based on getting pressure to the Quarterback, that's a big problem for the remaining nine games on the schedule. 

So overall on the defense, I can trust the Charles Tillman can cover the better receivers in the league and Lance Briggs can make tackles. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't trust this Bears team can turn this season around.  By the time of the year where you're six to seven games in, you start to get an idea of what this Bears team is and from my eyes only....it's not looking too good.  I can't trust that coaching will be leaders.  I can't trust the Bears offense will score consistently.  When I can only trust two starters on defense to perform at the highest level week in and week out. 

I guess I can trust once again that it will be another long winter in the city of Chicago.

-RoCK

Rock Mamola is the Associate Producer of The Mully And Hanley Morning Show and co-host of The Joe O And Rock Show on WSCR 670AM The Score