Rozner: Season's over. Now what for imploding Bears?
At halftime of Super Bowl XX, NBC analyst Pete Axthelm succinctly summed up the first half of action between the Bears and Patriots.
"We are looking," he said, "at men against boys."
The same could have been said of Sunday's game in New England, where the Patriots walked up and down the field against the Bears in the first half, embarrassing the visitors in every facet of the game, and then continuing the beating in the second half to the tune of a 51-23 final in Foxboro.
If it will take 10 victories to make the playoffs, the Bears' season is over at 3-5 and now it's time to question everything about the franchise, which will face a serious challenge in trying to finish .500.
The Bears knew they had to have this game or face an impossible uphill climb, and their answer was to get smoked in the first half, a team totally unprepared to play against a team completely prepared to destroy an inferior opponent.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady offered an appropriate reminder of what genuine coaching and quarterback play look like, while Marc Trestman and Jay Cutler offered yet another example of why they hardly look like they belong in the NFL.
In a battle of wits, the Bears brought paper airplanes, while the Patriots had an aircraft carrier filled with modern fighter jets.
So now what?
George McCaskey will have to speak to the fans sometime while the team is off the next 14 days, and he'll undoubtedly express confidence in Phil Emery, Trestman and Cutler.
That will not go over well as no one appears to know what they're doing at the moment.
Great coaches and great quarterbacks figure out a way to overcome injuries and poor performance, and elevate those around them, while Trestman and Cutler only get worse by the week.
"We have to find a way to get better," said tackle Jermon Bushrod, shaking his head. "We just have to be better. We just have to find a way to go out and get better."
Better, yes. Got it. Good luck with that.
The Bears face a game with Green Bay after the bye, two with 6-2 Detroit in the second half and one with Dallas, meaning a 4-4 second half is about as optimistic as anyone could be - and even that seems unrealistic based on the last five weeks of Bears football.
It will be a long and painful final two months as Trestman and Cutler face questions about their futures and their ability to win in the NFL.
Cutler has demonstrated over nine years - yes, nine years - that he is a physically talented player without the ability to translate that skill into a winning NFL QB.
Trestman has demonstrated over two years as NFL head coach that he can't match play calling or preparation with average head coaches, let alone someone like Belichick.
He has also lost complete control of the team, as evidenced by a petulant Brandon Marshall telling waiting reporters after the game to put their "ears up to the door." That's an unchecked diva's mindset after a brutal, blowout defeat.
As for Emery, the Bears have now self-destructed the last two seasons after injuries took a heavy toll, but every NFL team suffers injuries and the job of the GM is to make certain they can survive 16 games.
One place the Bears did have depth was on the defensive line, but that took a hit when Lamarr Houston hurt his knee celebrating his first sack - of the backup QB down 25 points with 3:01 left in the game.
It was the perfect ending to a perfectly miserable day in a perfectly miserable season.
Adding insult to injury, the Arlington Heights kid - Jimmy Garoppolo - finished the game for New England at quarterback, the heir apparent to Tom Brady after being drafted in the second round.
It's fair to wonder if Emery ever looked at him, if Trestman could have developed him and if Cutler would have accepted him in the locker room.
That's the 2014 Chicago Bears in a nutshell.
•Hear Barry Rozner on WSCR 670-AM and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.