Bears' season continues to take on water

Anyone who thought the Bears' offense couldn't get more dysfunctional was in for a surprise Monday night in yet another absolute embarrassment on national television.

Disparaging comments that offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer made about quarterback Jay Cutler 11 days earlier turned Halas Hall into a circus last week.

But his words likely paled in comparison to what Soldier Field fans had to say during the latest failures by Cutler (3 interceptions) and the offense. The Bears' defense was better by comparison, but that only means it was horrible.

The 31-15 loss to a mediocre Saints team was the third straight and sixth in eight games for Marc Trestman's sad-sack squad and left it at 5-9. New Orleans moved to 6-8 and into first place in the weak NFC South.

Call the 2014 Bears season a laughingstock, a garbage dump or the impetus for a complete overhaul going forward. The only positive is that, mercifully, it will be over in two weeks, although this team quit playing competitive football a long time ago.

The Bears' last 6 losses have all been by double digits, and at no time were they competitive with the Saints, one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL.

That has been the case for three straight weeks, which was pointed out to Trestman, who replied: "Everyone has their opinion."

But Trestman admitted his offense was substandard.

"We had no passing game," he said. "We were very inconsistent. We gave up 7 sacks. We're not even close to being an offense that can compete for four quarters."

After the season the McCaskey family will have to determine if players outright quit on Trestman and his staff when they assess the wreckage of a season that began with so much optimism but has devolved into a punchline.

What was apparent in the first half Monday night was hammered home in the third quarter - that the Bears are so far from competing with Green Bay and Detroit that they need the Hubble telescope to see their NFC North opponents.

On the Saints' first possession of the second half they easily drove 80 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead.

After the Bears punted for the fifth time, Cutler threw his third interception of the night on the next possession.

"I felt like the offense didn't do enough to help the defense," tight end Martellus Bennett said. "It felt like we were walking around in the dark, stumbling over things, looking for the light switch."

Through three quarters, the Bears' offense managed just 119 yards and had punted five times. That left them trailing 24-0, and it left an overwhelmed defense on the field way too long, as it was trampled for 381 yards.

The most amazing development of another abominable first half by the Bears was that they trailed the Saints by only 14-0.

It looked as if the Bears might go to halftime trailing just 7-0, but Saints quarterback Drew Brees carved up the Bears' defense, driving his team the length of the field. Brees completed 16 of his final 17 passes in the first half.

The respective passer ratings told the story of the first half. Brees completed 18 of 20 passes for 226 yards and 2 TDs for a 147.1 rating. Cutler completed 6 of 14 for 56 yards with 2 interceptions and a 14.9 passer rating.

On his way to the locker room, the embattled Trestman told WBBM radio when asked about the offense: "We've been totally inept."

Afterward, Trestman accepted blame for the offense.

"I was off my game," he said. "Our entire group was off its game. We were 2-for-10 on third downs. We had no consistency."

Safety Ryan Mundy said he heard the boos throughout the game.

"It's hard not to (hear them), and they have every right to boo," Mundy said. "We're not playing good football right now."

As for any loss of focus caused by the Kromer-Cutler situation, players said it wasn't to blame.

"I don't get paid to worry about people's emotions," Bennett said. "I get paid to play football."

But a moment later Bennett said there are Bears who lack the emotion necessary to play at a competitive level.

"I feel like some positions on the team need to step up, like leadership and stuff like that," he said. "We need passion to come from certain places, and I don't think the passion is always there all the time."

Asked who was missing the passion, Bennett said, "Several people. They know who they are."

Asked about distractions, Trestman said he saw "none, based on everything I saw during the week."

But the carnage that Trestman saw Monday night might make him change his mind.

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