How will fans treat the Bears on Sunday?

The Bears are in the throes of a slump that has seen them lose five of six games, fall from the playoff race with seven weeks left in the season and challenge the all-time NFL record for defensive incompetence.

But they can count on support from the home crowd Sunday at Soldier Field against the Minnesota Vikings, right?

Yeah, sure, and right after that they can wait for Santa Claus to bring them a pass rush.

"Fans" have already begun burning Jay Cutler jerseys, which comes as no surprise to the Bears' quarterback.

"It's not the first time," said Cutler, who does his best to avoid the fallout from the team's toxic performance but receives periodic updates from the media relations department.

"It comes with the territory," Cutler said. "You're losing ballgames, rightfully so, that's what's going to happen. The only way to remedy that is to win and to play better, so that's all you can do.

"We're not making plays on offense when we should be making them. It starts with me. I've got to play better. I've got to put these guys in positions to make some of these plays."

It's possible the Bears can win back the fans who show up Sunday and make them forget they're watching a 3-6 team that has lost all three home games. But that probably requires a strong start, which has been a foreign concept during the three-game losing streak in which the Bears have been outscored 94-7 in the first half.

"We've got to start fast," said Cutler, who has an 81.7 passer rating at home. "We can't blame (the fans) if we don't start fast and we get some unfavorable ... some boos there. Guys understand that. We know we haven't played as well as we should play, especially at home, so we've got to do better for our fans."

Running back Matt Forte has 449 yards from scrimmage in the 3 home losses, including 253 rushing yards on 52 attempts (4.9-yard average) and 196 yards on 19 receptions (10.3 yards per catch). Other than Forte's performance, home fans haven't had much to applaud.

"We're looking forward to having some support," he said. "If they're (booing) against us, that's not going to help us out. We haven't given the fans much to cheer about this year. Hopefully, this home game, we do."

Normally that requires playing with some degree of confidence, which seems absent from recent Bears performances.

That lack of confidence has been a popular topic in recent weeks. It became a bigger issue after wide receiver Brandon Marshall's Tuesday appearance on Showtime's "Inside the NFL," when he dispensed a bit of his unique style of leadership.

"Confidence is everything," Marshall said. "And when you lose your confidence, it's over. You don't have a chance. And right now, that's where we are at."

When confidence doesn't come with winning, it needs to somehow be manufactured during the week in practice and meetings. Players and coaches believe a quick start Sunday could help the Bears regain lost momentum, but it helps going in with a positive attitude, which hasn't been apparent at Halas Hall.

"Whenever you're losing, your confidence is going to be a little bit lower," Cutler said. "Earlier in the week and throughout the week you've got to gain confidence for the game. If you go into the game with low confidence, you don't have a chance in this league.

"As an offense we have to get some plays going, get some drives going, and we can build on that."

No one player is in better position to do that than Cutler, and coach Marc Trestman says the quarterback is capable of rebounding.

"He's a tough guy," Trestman said. "We know that. He's a resilient guy. I expect him to bounce back. I feel that way in the meeting rooms. We need him to play well, just like we need everyone else to play well."

But it's not just players. Offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer says part of the responsibility to rebuild the shaken confidence level falls on the coaching staff.

"Coaching is teaching," Kromer said. "So we'll continue to teach. Coaching is motivating, so we'll continue to show them that they can (regain confidence). That's the approach we'll take, and we'll keep doing it."

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