Bears cut Marshall some slack

Bears coach Marc Trestman didn't seem overly concerned Monday by Brandon Marshall's high-volume tirade behind closed locker-room doors a day earlier after the Bears 27-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.

"I told our team that we have to always be accepting of how people express themselves after a game because they're coming down from a week of working hard and building their emotions and passions for the game," Trestman said. "I'm not reading any more into it than that. We have to be accepting and nonjudgmental and let it pass.

"That's the way I've handled athletes who get into that state. It's not the first locker room it's ever happened in."

Two of Marshall's veteran teammates, defensive end Willie Young and offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, seemed willing to let it be.

"Those are issues that we deal with," Bushrod said. "Guys show emotion; everybody's not the same. Some guys handle things different, and that's OK. But, at the end of the day, we have to come together for the common cause. We have to stick together more than ever now because we lost another game."

The Bears are 3-4, two games behind the 5-2 Packers and Lions in the NFC North - two of eight NFC teams with records of .500 or better. Young said getting the necessary corrections made is a bigger deal than locker-room outbursts.

"Everyone handles situations differently," Young said. "I've been around guys that are very passionate about the game. I've been around guys who won't say one word after a win or after a loss. Everyone handles it differently, and everyone's entitled to their opinion."

Friendly fire:

Any rumored rift between wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler would be news to coach Marc Trestman.

"I have no sense for that at all," Trestman said. "I really don't. As I've said before, (from) the dialogue that they've had in meetings and on the field, I don't see that at all. They've been around each other a long time. I think there's a brotherly love involved in their relationship. That's how I see it."

The wide receiver and the quarterback were both drafted by the Broncos in 2006, Cutler in the first round and Marshall in the fourth. They played together for three seasons in Denver before being reunited with the Bears in 2012.

"They've been together for so long, and they've worked together," Trestman said. "They've been mutually responsible for each other's success."

In four full seasons together, Marshall has never had fewer than 1,265 receiving yards in a season with Cutler as his quarterback, but he's on pace for 798 this year.

Injury update:

Linebackers Lance Briggs (ribs) and Jon Bostic (back) and safety Chris Conte (shoulder) could all return this week.

"We'll look forward to it," coach Marc Trestman said. "We'll see."

Briggs and Bostic have both missed the previous two games. Conte missed his first start last week, but he has been unable to finish four of his six starts.

Slip and slide:

After a week of rainy weather, the notoriously bad Soldier Field grass was a deep green Sunday. But the footing was less than ideal, and it seemed to affect the Dolphins more - including noticeable early slips by quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Daniel Thomas.

"I'm not going to go into that long dissertation," coach Marc Trestman said. "We had players on both sides slipping yesterday; that was evident from the tape. Whether it was related to the field or the footwear is another issue."