Bears vs Panthers: What Experts Are Saying About Chicago

Through a quarter of the season, it's been an up and down roller coaster for the 2014 Bears. They now head into Carolina with a chance to right the ship against a depleted Panthers team. 

The loss to Green Bay was tough. The Bears are still winless at home and gave nobody confidence they can finally overtake Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. 

At this point, the Bears must move on and start the second quarter of the season on the right track. As you can imagine, many are down again on this defense and whether quarterback Jay Cutler is the right guy. 

Here are what experts are saying about the Bears heading into their Week 5 matchup with the Carolina Panthers. 

ESPNChicago.com's Jon Greenberg Doesn't Think Jay Cutler Can Measure Up

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We all know Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is one of the best in the game. Jay Cutler has had a hard time matching Rodgers' level and still comes up short. 

ESPNChicago.com's Jon Greenberg broke down the game from Sunday but also brought up some pretty telling statements overall about Cutler. He wrote: "Anyone who still thinks Cutler is ready to pass Rodgers in the NFC North quarterback derby, raise your hand. Here's my expert take: Rodgers is up here (reaches high) and Cutler is around here (waves hand around flabby midsection)."

Ok we get it. Cutler is no Rodgers but he doesn't have to be. If Cutler is going out every game trying to match Rodgers then he's making a huge mistake. 

Cutler just needs to protect the football, make big plays when they are given to him and trust the outstanding weapons around him. The coaching staff needs to do a better job of putting him in a position to win on both sides of the ball. That's how Cutler passes Rodgers in the NFC North. 

NFL.com's Marc Sessler Has Kyle Fuller in Line for Defensive Rookie of the Year

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First-round pick Kyle Fuller has been thrust into a starting role with the injury to Charles Tillman. He's played well to start the year but struggled against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. 

NFL.com's Marc Sessler broke down the rookies a quarter of the way through the season and loves what he has seen out of Fuller so far. He has Fuller No. 1 in line to win Defensive Rookie of the Year:

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Leading the league with three interceptions, Fuller has directly impacted both of Chicago's wins this season. The rookie openly struggled Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, but his sticky coverage against the 49ers and Jets should have Bears fans excited about the heir apparent to Charles Tillman. As the first player in 20 years to notch three picks and two forced fumbles in his first three NFL games, Fuller already hints at Peanut's ballhawking skills.

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While there's still a long way to go, you can't deny Fuller's early impact. He will continue to have his moments where he struggles but overall he certainly seems like a rock solid player who should be in line for the award at the end of the season. 

CBSSports.com's Chris Towers Likes the Bears Defense in Fantasy

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If you play fantasy football, then you know it's tough to hold on to a defense for an entire season. Unless you have Seattle, it's usually not worth stashing a group who's on a bye week at the risk of taking up a roster spot. 

CBSSports.com's Chris Towers thinks you should trust the Bears defense this week against a depleted Carolina team. 

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The Panthers have lacked a big-play element to their offense, and opposing defenses have taken advantage of that recently. Over the last two weeks, the Steelers and Ravens have combined for 27 Fantasy points against the Panthers, who will likely be without their top two running backs this Sunday as well. That should work out well for a Bears defense that has struggled against the run.

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Towers is right on the money here. The Panthers have no viable healthy running back and their offensive line has struggled to protect Cam Newton. This is a good week for the Bears to generate some sacks and turnovers. 

Bleacher Report's Bear Heiser Thinks Marc Trestman Is an Average Coach

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Former Bears head coach Lovie Smith took the fall because his team was underachieving and seemed out of tune with the offense. Current head coach Marc Trestman could face the same fate if he doesn't turn things around. 

B/R's own Bear Heiser pointed to Trestman's handling of the defense and other areas as deficiencies for Trestman:

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Last season, Mel Tucker, Trestman’s hand-picked defensive coordinator, led one of the worst units in the organization’s history. According to NFL.com, the Bears ranked last in the NFL against run, 15th against the pass and, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), 24th in pass coverage. But Tucker caught a break when he fired his defensive line coach and linebackers coach. The blame was placed elsewhere. It bought him another season.

Trestman would be best suited to find ways to help Tucker scheme better each week. And if it doesn't work out with Tucker, at least Trestman would be better prepared to help the next guy. There needs to be more cohesion.

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There's no doubt Trestman has a brilliant offensive mind but he will ultimately be judged on the entire team and whether this team can get back into the playoffs. He has to do what he can right now to help Tucker with this defense or let him go if it can't be done. The Bears cannot have a reverse Lovie Smith situation. 

Chicago Sun-Times' Rick Morrissey Says Don't Put It All on Mel Tucker

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Bring up the Bears to anybody and a critique of defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is certain to come up in the conversation. The second-year coordinator has been much maligned but is it all his fault? 

Chicago Sun-Times' Rick Morrissey wants you to place blame with general manager Phil Emery as well as Tucker. 

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Judging by the outrage and the massing in public squares, defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago. Should he be? No.

That distinction should belong to general manager Phil Emery, who brought you players devoid of the athletic skills necessary to make even the tiniest dent in ­Aaron Rodgers’ armor. Some of these guys seem to be better suited for careers as flowerpots.

Those of you blaming Tucker in lockstep are missing the point. Whether he’s a good defensive coordinator or a hopelessly inept defensive coordinator doesn’t much matter, seeing as how he’s playing with Division II talent. He can have all the chess pieces in the right places, but it won’t matter once the monster truck rumbles into gear.

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Morrissey is right on the money here. Yes, Tucker deserves some blame but this Bears defense is nonathletic, slow and old. They simply don't have the impact players to keep up with some of the more elite quarterbacks and offenses in this league and there's nothing Tucker can do about that.