Bears Fans Should not Be Blaming Chris Conte

Sep 7, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears free safety Chris Conte (47) warms up prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

I know his play last year was poor. I know the Randall Cobb play will be etched in our minds for a long time. I know he was the Milk Carton Champion of 2013, but from what I saw of this first game of the season, Chris Conte played like a serviceable safety. He played with a high level of intensity.

Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman did not play well at all, but they’ve earned their stripes and are apparently above criticism. Conte should not be the subject of the Bears fans anger. The emotion should be sadness, and the subject should be the fact that Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman are shells of their former selves. We should be aggravated that the two supposedly great pass rushers the team signed in the offseason didn’t have an impact.

Being angry at Jay Cutler for that boneheaded throw across his body which cost the Bears the game is easily justified. But Chris Conte being shoved to the ground in his desperate attempt to try to get the game back (because at that point the game was basically lost) should not be the main area of concern for the fans. It was a good play by Jackson and a heads up attempt by Conte. Don’t criticize the guy until he makes a mistake as dumb as the Cutler interception.