Imrem: Toughest thing about Bears is watching them

The guy's name tells you everything you need to know about the Patriots' 51-23 victory over the Bears on Sunday.

Gronkowski.

As in Growwwlkowski.

Remember when the Bears' roster consisted of names like that and with players like that? Remember when a certain Bears coach noted with a grunt that his roster consisted of Grabowskis rather than Smiths?

The Bears were comprised of players that dock, construction and factory workers could relate to. They had Monsters of the Midway players like Rob Gronkowski.

Back in the day the Bears were nothing if not physical, aggressive, angry. They were easily irritated by opponents and annoyed by officials.

Now, no, the Bears aren't soft because nobody in the NFL is soft. But, yes, they too often play like they were conditioned to be soft. No wonder they have a 3-5 record and are all but eliminated from playoff consideration.

The stimulus for this rant you're reading is that at one point Gronkowski, the Patriots' tight end, shook aside Ryan Mundy like the Bears' strong safety was a weak 145-pound sports writer.

Sorry, that's a cheap shot because Gronkowski does that to a lot of tacklers. But even Mundy conceded, "My job as a safety is to get him down."

Mundy and other Bears talked about having to execute better. Better execution with a touch of nastiness would be even better.

The current problem is magnified by the Bears' tradition having been built on the broad shoulders of bruisers with names like Butkus, Ditka and Nagurski.

What's in a name anyway? Well, this season - and in too many recent seasons, for that matter - the Bears too often have resembled a bunch of Smiths in a room full of Grabowskis.

The Bears have a pretty good tight end of their own in Martellus Bennett, but he's a Bennett rather than a Gronkowski.

No offense to Bennett any more than to Mundy, but this isn't a team that longtime Bears fans can take pride in.

And usually that's win or lose.

There was one inkling of fight in the Bears at New England: Offensive guard Kyle Long roughed up a Patriots linebacker for roughing up quarterback Jay Cutler.

The unnecessary roughness penalty was worth taking. A good guess is that Bears fans would have been pleased if a punch would have landed on the smug snout of a New England player.

It's one thing for Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall to express in a postgame roar that losing to the Dolphins last week was "unacceptable!" It would be more encouraging if Marshall took it out on opponents on the field before taking it out on teammates in the locker room.

This isn't a civil sentiment, but there's a place in sports for baseball purpose pitches, basketball hard fouls and hockey retaliation.

Easy to say sitting in a soft chair at room temperature, but the Bears are playing a man's man's game with high stakes. Being a bad loser might not be admirable, but it is understandable.

What did the Bears do late in the game?

Lamarr Houston injured himself celebrating a sack with the Bears losing 48-23. All head coach Marc Trestman would say was, "He's got a knee and I'm very disappointed for him."

How about being disappointed for the way Houston represented you and the Bears?

As for Marshall, he backed up his tirade with an ordinary performance. The Bears overall responded to his criticism by allowing the most first-half points in franchise history.

Ever … in … franchise … history … and the Bears didn't punch a single Patriots in the face just for the fun of it.

Please, don't bring up that the Bears kept playing in the second half. Not quitting doesn't matter if you don't start until the outcome is decided.

Every Grabowski and Gronkowski knows that.

mimrem@dailyherald.com