Focus will be on QB Glennon as Steelers come to town
It might be too soon to label Sunday's matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field as a must-win game for the Bears, but it could be for their quarterback, Mike Glennon, whose every move will be scrutinized.
Glennon doesn't have to win the game by himself, but he cannot afford to lose it, as critics contend he did last week vs. the Bucs, when he had three turnovers.
"In this league, you can't beat yourself and expect to win games," Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. "You have to find a way not to lose them first, and so we're going to keep emphasizing taking care of the football and playing smart."
Glennon needs a bounce-back game to quash the idea that the Bears might be better off with rookie Mitch Trubisky running the offense. Bears coach John Fox is sticking with Glennon - for now - because he believes he can turn it around.
"He's a competitor," Fox said. "We all deal with adversity, and what's critical is how you respond. You're going to get hit. You're going to have bad days. It's how you respond to that. It's not his first time (responding to a bad outing), and I'm sure it's not going to be his last time. We have confidence in him."
That's an opinion not shared by many outside Halas Hall, and that's fine with to Fox, who is well aware that everything about the game is over-analyzed, especially the quarterback position.
"Too much is made about everything," Fox said. "It's just the way of the world in the NFL."
There will always be doubters on the outside looking in, but if Glennon stumbles for a second straight week, that doubt could creep into a locker room that he needs to command.
And how long will Fox, whose 9-25 record is the worst of any head coach in Bears history, stick with Glennon when he knows his own job is on the line?
Glennon says he has already moved on after throwing a pair of interceptions in Week Two, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and losing a fumble.
"It's part of the NFL," he said. "It's a week-to-week league. You can never get too high, never get too low. All the games count the same.
"It's so competitive in this league that you can't worry about the past, you can't worry about the future, you've just got to stay right in the present."
But what happens if Glennon struggles through another error-filled first half on Sunday? Other than the inevitable booing from the home fans, will the coaching staff decide it's Trubisky time? It's difficult enough to play quarterback without looking over your shoulder at your eventual successor.
"That's just part of playing quarterback in the NFL," Glennon said. "Some days are better than others. You've just got to stay even-keeled, focus on the upcoming series and just go out and execute."
Turnovers aside, other statistics say Glennon has played well at times. His 329 combined passing yards in back-to-back fourth quarters lead the NFL. He helped the Bears convert an impressive 50 percent (7 of 14) of their third-down opportunities against a Bucs defense that was the NFL's best in that category (34.4 percent) last season. Glennon has a 95.8 fourth-quarter passer rating.
Impressive statistics, but indicative of a team that has spent a lot of time in the fourth quarter playing catch up.
Glennon says he's approaching the Steelers game the same way he does every game.
"My goal every week is the same - it's to win that week," he said. "Right now, we're trying to get our first win, and that's where my focus is."
Everyone else's focus will be on Glennon.
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