John Fox Says Bears Must Rebuild Jay Cutler’s Confidence
Dec 28, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) looks at the clock in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Minnesota Vikings win 13-9. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
John Fox thinks he has it all figured out when it comes to the disaster of a season that Jay Cutler had in 2014 – he lost his confidence.
"“I think maybe he got to the point where he lacked confidence a year ago,” Fox said Wednesday at the NFL owners’ meetings. “To build that back up, it’s going to take time, daily. It takes trust, like any relationship.”"
Oh, that’s it. I thought he was just bad. I guess I didn’t notice he lost his confidence among his league-leading 21 turnovers.
Kidding aside, Fox has a plan to bolster Cutler and improve the offense – by taking the ball out of his hands like the Cowboys did with Tony Romo last season:
"“Football-wise, there are things you can do in coaching to minimize some of the exposure,” Fox said. “Playing defense. Playing complementary football is going to be something that helps. I liken it a little bit, not being critical, to Tony Romo. I think there had been different things said. I know Tony personally. He’s a tremendous competitor. I thought he had one of his better seasons a year ago with that same kind of build-up. With success comes confidence.”"
People have been comparing Cutler and Romo for years, so it’s no surprise that Fox made the leap. If you look at what the Cowboys did last season, they ran the wheels off DeMarco Murray. Could Fox have a similar plan for Matt Forte? The Bears will need to bolster their offensive line to do that, but Fox may have something cooking there too.
"Fox and Pace continue to hint they will give Long an extended look at tackle this offseason with the coach reiterating that “Kyle will play all over the place.”“We just know he’s a dominant lineman,” Fox said. “Regardless of where we line him up, he’s a tremendous young player. As good as there is in the league.”"
It would be interesting to see Long to move to left tackle and kick Bushrod over to right tackle. Long has the athleticism and feet to play left tackle while Bushrod could move to the right side where he’d be a big upgrade over Jordan Mills. That would give the Bears a pair of bookends at tackle. With Garza and Slauson coming back inside, the Bears could have the makings for a stout offensive line to power Fox and offensive coordinator Adam Gace’s ground and pound offense.
Don’t forget that even though the Broncos had Peyton Manning last season, they relied heavily on their running game down the stretch when Manning appeared to be fading due to injuries. If they want to go that route in Chicago, they’ll need to bolster the running back position alongside Matt Forte. I don’t think Ka’Deem Carey showed enough to be relied on as the #2 running back. Regardless, the Bears will have a new look in 2015.