Imrem: A little fire and passion from Bears' Trestman wouldn't hurt
Sorry, but cerebral doesn't work in this town unless it's wildly successful.
Occasional craziness does.
The Bears haven't exactly been wildly successful under head coach — egghead coach — Marc Trestman.
Consider what Chicago native, two-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots and current TV analyst Rodney Harrison had to say Sunday night.
“I'm not used to seeing a soft Chicago Bears defense get pushed and bullied around,” Harrison said on NBC's “Football Night in America.”
This was shortly after the Bears began their season by losing to the not-so-formidable Buffalo Bills.
“They've got to play with some heart,” Harrison added of the Bears.
He must have just watched Bears safety Chris Conte get stiff-armed down the field for 15 yards by Buffalo running back Fred Jackson.
Conte gave the excuse that he was trying to strip the ball away, but, come on, this was a manhandling of the highest degree. “I'm old, but I can still play,” Jackson said afterward.
Seriously, that was a 33-year-old ball carrier using his free arm to push and bully a 25-year-old safety.
During that play, Bears alums invited to the game and introduced on the field must have wondered what stadium they wandered into.
This subject is nothing new. It has been a recurring theme for a couple of decades: The Bears hire head coaches with mild personalities and proceed to play mild football.
If that's harsh it isn't harsh to say that for a long time the Bears haven't resembled the Bears that you, I and Rodney Harrison grew up with.
That doesn't mean the Bears need another Mike Ditka, but there has to be someone between him and the last three or four head coaches here.
A pulse has been difficult to find among Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith and now Marc Trestman. Dave Wannstedt had one, but it was difficult to tell in which direction it was pulsating.
Maybe it would be wrong to expect Trestman to throw his clipboard on the sideline during games and pound the table during postgame media sessions.
But oh how refreshing it would be if a vein popped out of Trestman's neck once in awhile and occasionally he raised his voice at an accusatory question.
Instead the Bears coach disarms by answering critics with “that's a fair question” and saying that “responsibility starts with me.”
Trestman said that Sunday. On Monday, in his customary measured tone, he added that “everyone has their own perspective and are entitled to that.”
OK, then, the perspective here is that players are emotionally sturdy enough to deal with their head coach publicly, demonstrably and definitively mentioning their play in negative terms.
Coach, trust me, it's all right to be visibly disturbed and disgusted that Jay Cutler threw 2 interceptions. He's a big boy with a big contract and should be able to deal with criticism.
Trestman might be right that responsibility starts with him, but it ends with his players, so they should be called out when they don't live up to their responsibilities.
The Bills game was only the opener and better teams than the Bears often aren't ready to begin a new season. Players have to play together for a while before knowing each other, being comfortable with each other and trusting each other.
Which begs the question of why the Bears' starters played so little during the preseason and not at all during the final exhibition game. The only conceivable answer is that the front office and coaching staff were afraid that Bears' keys to the team's 2014 aspirations could be injured.
You know, talented or not, win or lose, the Bears that I like to recall weren't afraid of anything or anybody.