Chicago Bears' Trubisky still thinking positive as losses pile up
The 3-9 Bears have already lost more games this season than Mentor (Ohio) High School did during Mitch Trubisky's three years as the starting quarterback, when they went 30-8.
They've also lost more games than North Carolina did in Trubisky's final two seasons, when the Tar Heels went 19-8.
"Just having that unwavering faith, that no matter what happens, you can be successful," said Trubisky, who is 2-6 as the Bears' starter, including five straight losses. "People have gone through a lot worse and come out on the other side. You try to look at those success stories. You just always believe you'll beat the odds. "I've done things throughout my life that (doubters) said couldn't be done, and I'm standing here today as a rookie in the NFL. Anything's possible with hard work and dedication. If you love the game you're playing, which we do, it can only get better from here. It's one day at a time."
Great expectations:
With defensive lineman Mitch Unrein (knee) on injured reserve, first-year player Roy Robertson-Harris is slated for increased playing time in the final four games.
Undrafted out of Texas-El Paso in 2016, Robertson-Harris was stashed on the non-football injury list last season and was hobbled by a hamstring injury earlier this season. But Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is anxious to see what the 6-foot-7, 294-pound former outside linebacker can accomplish.
"It's hard to say what his ceiling is," Fangio said. "But his ceiling has definitely got more floors to it than his bottom level. I think the guy has a bright future, (but) I'm not sure yet. But definitely intrigued and definitely see good things for him. He was set back with that injury, but I'm very hopeful for him in the future."
Getting creative:
Before he embarked on his 61-yard, punt-return touchdown last week, rookie Tarik Cohen retreated 15 yards to find running room.
"I hope he goes forward at some point," special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers said he was thinking. "(But) honestly, I've been around this league for 15 years. I've seen Dante Hall. I've seen (Darren) Sproles. I've seen (Adam) Pacman Jones; Devin Hester. Guys who have done things that are a little bit unorthodox, but they have ultimate confidence in what they're doing and they're tremendously fast and they have tremendous ability to make people miss.
"You've got to be careful about taking that creativity away from a player like that. Those guys are just different. You try and give them some guidance in how you want them to return, but at the end of the day, their instincts are going to take over, and you hope they make more good decisions than bad."
Coming and going:
In a move that seems to indicate nose tackle Eddie Goldman (hip, doubtful) will not play vs. the Bengals, the Bears signed 6-foot-6, 320-pound Rashaad Coward from their practice squad.
Linebacker Jonathan Anderson was waived in a corresponding move.
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