LeGere: Plenty of motivation for Bears, Cutler says
Players and coaches are hoping for any kind of spark Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings to pull them out of a 1-5 tailspin - and the earlier the better.
"I've got to help with that," quarterback Jay Cutler said. "We talked about that … just getting some energy out there. If things aren't going well on Sunday, someone's going to have to say something.
"If we have to say something in the huddle and get some guys going (we will) because we've got some good guys in our huddle. We like our group, we feel like we should be able to move the ball better, so whatever we need to do."
Cutler refuted the notion that motivation was in short supply last week at Halas Hall.
"I think most of the guys in the locker room, if not all the guys, like the their teammates, love football, and that's what kind of propels you through it," he said.
"I love playing with the guys in my huddle, so that's what gets me through it; not letting those guys down and each day coming to work and knowing that they're doing everything possible for us trying to win a ballgame.
"So I need to do the same."
Numbers game:
Wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who came to the Bears with a reputation for being a distraction, was waived Tuesday. But it had nothing to do with his behavior, according to offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer.
Holmes was the MVP of Super Bowl XLIII and has 389 career receptions for 6,030 yards, but he was a street free agent when the Bears signed him Aug. 16. In nine games with the Bears, Holmes had 8 receptions for 67 yards and returned 9 punts for 50 yards.
With second-year wide receiver Marquess Wilson activated Friday from injured reserve/designated to return, Holmes was deemed expendable.
"Santonio Holmes has been a very, very good football player over the years," Kromer said. "We needed him as a punt returner, and we needed him as a backup wide receiver, and we got out of Santonio Holmes what we wanted to get out of Santonio Holmes.
"Marquess Wilson is back, and so we needed a roster spot. Santonio Holmes was an upstanding citizen here; he was a joy to be around; he was a model teammate. It's just we needed a roster spot for Marquess Wilson and we felt like that was the person to do it with."
No excuses:
The Bears are expected to start their sixth different offensive line combination Sunday in as many weeks and their seventh different combo this season.
With right tackle Jordan Mills (ribs) not expected to play, Michael Ola should start in his place, with Brian de la Puente at left guard, where Ola started last week.
De la Puente started Games 2-5 at center when Roberto Garza was out with a sprained ankle. Ola already has started games at right tackle, left guard and left tackle. Right guard Kyle Long is the only O-lineman to start all nine games.
Last year all five starting offensive linemen started all 16 games, but coach Marc Trestman said the shuffling of bodies up front isn't an excuse.
"There are no excuses," Trestman said. "We're not going to make any excuses for that. We feel we have six or eight guys who are very good offensive linemen.
"Injuries are part of the National Football League. That's never going to change. They've hit us in this area a little bit, but we're not using any of this as an excuse."
No place like home:
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception the Bears (3-6) get Sunday in their fourth attempt to win their first game this season at Soldier Field.
"The only way we can address that is by playing good solid football, and we expect to go in there and have to prove that we're able to do that," coach Marc Trestman said. "Hopefully we'll get our fans on our side.
"We hope that they'll be on our side from start to finish. But at the end of the day we've got to go out and play good, solid, fundamentally sound, passionate, relentless football."