Chicago Bears: What You Need to Know Heading into Week 12

Those in charge at Halas Hall must be feeling a small sense of relief after the Chicago Bears’ win Sunday over the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears now sit at 4-6 with six games to play. Next up for the Marc Trestman-coached Bears is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by former longtime Bears coach Lovie Smith and one-year wonder quarterback Josh McCown.

While one would think that losing to the archrival Green Bay Packers by a bajillion points on national television would be rock bottom for the Bears, there is one thing that could be much worse—losing to Lovie at Soldier Field.

With general manager Phil Emery, Trestman and defensive coordinator Mel Tucker all sitting on seats that sometimes turn from hot to cold to mild to hotter in the matter of a few drives, who knows what an embarrassing loss to Lovie would do to one’s career.

Imagine the outrage if the Bears go out and lay an egg Sunday in front of the home crowd. Now that would be rock bottom—the rockiest bottom since the days of the mustachioed one, Dave Wannstedt.

So, before we dive into game topics, let’s take a few moments to catch up on a few other noteworthy items.

Welcome to Chicago, Marc Mariani

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In an attempt to change up the flow of the struggling special teams unit, the Bears announced Tuesday they had signed receiver/returner Marc Mariani to a two-year contract. Safety Ahmad Dixon was waived in a corresponding move.

You might remember Mariani from his days with the Tennessee Titans, when he was named to the Pro Bowl in 2010 as a return man. Mariani’s career took a downturn in the next few years, as he missed the entirety of the 2012 and 2013 seasons due to various injuries.

During his four-year career in Tennessee, Mariani returned 92 kickoffs for 2,278 yards and a touchdown, along with 73 punts for 819 yards and two touchdowns.

One guy who could be displaced by Mariani’s arrival is Chris Williams, who has been the leading man on kickoff returns. Against Minnesota, Williams even returned some punts, now that Santonio Holmes is no longer on the team.

Williams has struggled this season, often trying to return kicks after catching them eight yards deep in the end zone. The Bears’ kick return game ranks 18th in the NFL, a 22.8-yard average. But if you take away Williams’ 101-yard touchdown return, the Bears would rank 29th, a 20.4-yard average.

At a time during the season when the Bears coaching staff is talking about getting off to a good start, having a return man who consistently leaves the offense shy of the 20-yard line, which you can decipher from looking at his his yards per return average of 24.1, is not something you want to have.

Mariani is likely a much better returner than Williams, but he hasn’t appeared in a game in over two-plus seasons. So it’s really anyone’s guess as to what his production will look like.

1 Veteran NFL Writer Calls Michael Ola 1 of the Best FA Signings of 2014

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Michael Ola came to the Bears from the Canadian Football League, where he started five games in 2012 for then-head coach Trestman.

Emery and Trestman clearly did their research on the kid, because he’s contributed in more ways than two or three. Ola has started eight games this season for the Bears—four at left guard, two at left tackle and two at right tackle. He’s truly the Bears’ jack-of-all-trades on an offensive line that has seen its share of injuries, with left tackle Jermon Bushrod missing two games and left guard Matt Slauson being out for the season.

Longtime NFL columnist Dan Pompei, one of the most well-respected writers in the business, called Ola “one of the best free-agent signings of 2014.”

Ola has started at three different positions in the last four weeks, but he’s likely to remain at right tackle in place of Jordan Mills, who is a candidate, along with Brian de la Puente, to start full time at left guard in place of Slauson.

Here’s a quick breakdown of Ola’s stats (among players who have appeared in at least 25 percent of their team’s respective snaps):

Left guard: five starts, 335 snaps played, two sacks allowed, five QB hurries allowed

Left/right tackle: four starts, 291 snaps played, zero sacks allowed, 10 QB hurries allowed

Ola has been everything the Bears could have asked for when the big lineman signed on the dotted line.

Kyle Long Is Becoming the Voice of the Fans

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Just a few weeks ago, Bears second-year right guard Kyle Long got caught up criticizing the fans after an ugly loss to the Miami Dolphins. It took him less than 24 hours to apologize.

And now, it’s taken him less than a month to become the voice of reason. Long does multiple weekly radio appearances with ESPN Chicago, and lately, Long has gone on the offensive. Though, this time, Tuesday, he said something the fans want to hear, per the Carmen & Jurko Show:

"

We’ve had to circle the wagons just because we’re taking fire from everywhere. When you string together a few losses in that fashion, people want answers. People want change. What we need to realize is the only change that needs to happen is we need to change our attitude, and we need to figure out how to quit making mistakes and start playing to a higher level.

"

What Long said might have been said before, but there’s something about the kid that makes his words more meaningful than some of the rest—Trestman, Cutler and Emery, specifically.

When asked if he expected to be booed when the Bears took the field against the Vikings, Long replied:

"

… I was expecting to be met with some adversity when things would not go our way because throughout the course of a game, there’s ebb and flow. Things go well. Things go not so well. We were greeted with a few boos, and that’s understandable. That’s the kind of football we’ve put out for Bears fans in recent memory. But we’re trying to change that course and try to have them singing a different tune next time around.

"

Preach, Kyle.

Long quotes were transcribed from podcast audio, which is provided above.

Pro Bowl Voting Numbers Are Out

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Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery are not in the top 10 for receivers in early Pro Bowl voting, given they were widely viewed as the NFL’s best wide receiver tandem in 2013. But Marshall still is on pace for a career-worst season, while Jeffery is just now starting to look like the receiver he was one year ago.

NFL.com released the latest figures Monday, and the results still are somewhat surprising. Clearly, the fans have been paying attention to how bad this Bears team has been this season. Getting blown out in back-to-back weeks to the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers will do it to you, though.

Here’s a quick look at where the Bears stand in terms of Pro Bowl voting. Ten players are listed at each position, per NFL.com:

Running back

1. DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys

4. Matt Forte, Bears

Tight end

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

6. Martellus Bennett, Bears

Defensive end

1. J.J. Watt, Houston Texans

6. Willie Young, Bears

Defensive tackle

1. Marcell Dareus, Buffalo Bills

9. Stephen Paea, Bears

Cornerback

1. Darrelle Revis, New England Patriots

3. Kyle Fuller, Bears

Mariani's stats provided by the Chicago Bears media department; all advanced stats via Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Other stats pulled from ESPN.com unless otherwise noted. Long quotes were transcribed from podcast audio, which is provided above.