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LeGere: Win or lose in Green Bay, Bears on right track

No one expected this Chicago Bears team to make the playoffs, and they won't.

But the expectation was that veteran coach John Fox and his talented staff would right a ship that sprung multiple leaks and finally sank last year.

So, are these 4-6 Bears better than last year's 5-11 shipwreck? Are they headed in the right direction? Have they grown?

Yes, yes and yes appear to be the correct answers. Especially if growth is measured in part by replacing older players with younger ones without any decrease in performance.

The Bears' 2015 record is almost guaranteed to be better than 2014 regardless of how Thanksgiving night in Green Bay turns out. Fox's team has three extremely winnable home games remaining against 3-7 San Francisco, 4-6 Washington and 3-7 Detroit. After the Packers, there are are road games against the 7-3 Vikings and Lovie Smith's 5-5 Buccaneers.

Improvement can't always be measured by wins and losses, but there are other positive signs as well.

Quarterback Jay Cutler, whose performance has more to do with any improvement than anyone else, has the best numbers of his career, although there's still plenty of time for a meltdown. Some of his worst disasters have come against the Packers, against whom he's thrown 22 interceptions in 12 games with just 15 TD passes for a 67.2 passer rating.

But Cutler seems to have finally found a system and an offensive coordinator under which he can thrive.

"I'm sure he feels a lot more comfortable as far as what we are doing," offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. "He's grown, at least from my aspect, in terms of what we are trying to accomplish going into a game and what he's doing with what we have on the field."

What the Bears have had on the field offensively for much of the season is a patchwork group.

Cutler's best season has been achieved with starting wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal on the field together in just three games. That has allowed 23-year-old Marquess Wilson to take another big step in his development. His career-best numbers include a team-high 17.5-yard average per catch.

Change has been a constant on the offensive line, but there hasn't been a drop-off in performance, and the group has gotten younger and more athletic.

At left tackle, 24-year-old Charles Leno has replaced 31-year-old Jermon Bushrod. At center, 24-year-old Hroniss Grasu is the starter with 32-year-old Will Montgomery on injured reserve. Patrick Omameh, 25, is starting at guard instead of 28-year-old Vlad Ducasse.

The glue holding the whole thing together has been Cutler, although Gase's play-calling has certainly helped.

"We're getting better as far as him controlling the line of scrimmage and fixing some things," Gase said. "If I don't call a great play, and he sees the defense doing something, he kind of gets me out of it. Those are big steps. And I constantly think he is making those strides. We have a little ways to go, and I just see him progressing very quickly."

The defense has had its share of turnover as well, which led to a major infusion of youth. Nevertheless, it has held five of its last seven opponents to 20 points or fewer.

"It's been a little bit of a revolving door," defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "We've been able to maintain some competitiveness and get better as we go. We've had our moments that weren't good, but I think they're in a good state of mind."

Gone is 34-year-old nose tackle Jeremiah Ratliff, which has created more playing time for 21-year-old second-round pick Eddie Goldman and 23-year-old free agent Bruce Gaston, not to mention a safer work environment.

"They've done OK," said Fangio, who isn't given to effusive praise. "Obviously we had our problems (against the Broncos in Week 11) defending the run. Sometimes it hasn't been good enough; other times it has been. I would say 'inconsistent' but those guys are playing hard and doing everything they can to do their jobs."

Goldman and Gaston both had sacks last week, as did 22-year-old rookie safety Adrian Amos, who has started every game. So has 23-year-old cornerback Kyle Fuller, whose play has improved in Fangio's defense. The trade of 33-year-old Jared Allen created more playing time for 27-year-old Sam Acho and 24-year-old undrafted rookie Jonathan Anderson.

The growing process isn't over, but the arrow on this Bears team is pointing up.

"Anytime you're with new coaches, new system, it's going to be a growing process going through the whole season," Cutler said. "Hopefully, we're not done yet growing."

• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter at @BobLeGere.

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