Chicago Bears' Fox won't place blame on Trubisky
Coach John Fox was asked if playing most of the season with rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky excuses his team's 4-10 record, but he declined to single anyone out for blame.
"I wouldn't put it on the quarterback," Fox said. "I think it's just the overall execution in the passing game. It's not one guy. I think that's a misconception a lot of people have. You'd like to avoid … having a 46-pass game (vs. the Lions), regardless of who's playing quarterback.
"But when the game unfolds that way, you're doing what it takes to win. Even the 3 picks, it's not all on one guy. There's some execution (issues), whether it's protection, whether it's depth of routes, whether it's the adjustment based on the leverage of the coverage. There's a lot that goes into it that I think a lot of people don't see and understand."
Because of season-ending injuries to wide receivers Cam Meredith and Kevin White and tight end Zach Miller, the Bears lack a go-to receiver. They have just one pass catcher with more than 327 yards, wide receiver Kendall Wright, who leads the team with 50 receptions and 558 yards (11.2-yard average). But he has just 1 touchdown, and his longest reception is 22 yards.
Numbers don't lie:
The Bears have four of the top 11 rushing games in the league this year - 232 yards against the Bengals, 231 against the Ravens and 222 vs. the Steelers and in the first game against the Lions.
They also have the two lowest - 6 yards against the Eagles and 20 against the Buccaneers.
Coach John Fox said a better aerial attack would prevent opponents from crowding the line of scrimmage to shut down the ground game.
"We have to be more efficient passing the ball," Fox said. "If you look at it statistically we're ninth in the league in defense (total yards allowed) and 12th in points. That should win you more games than what we're at.
"When you look at our offense, we're 28th in points, 30th overall (in total yards). We're (10th) in rushing but (31st) in passing, so I'll just leave it at that."
Don't mention it:
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky is from Mentor, Ohio, so he was asked about the ignominious possibility Sunday of becoming the only team this season to lose to the Cleveland Browns.
"Is that another jinx?" Trubisky said. "Oh my gosh. I'm excited to get back on the field this week, no matter who it's against. Just ready to get back for another win."
Last week Trubisky was asked about being the only qualifying quarterback to have not thrown a single interception on third down. He was picked off on third-and-goal at the Lions' five-yard line Saturday.
In good company:
Safety Eddie Jackson has 55 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 fumble recoveries this season after he tied linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski for the team lead with 8 tackles against the Lions and recovered a fumble.
Jackson, a fourth-round draft pick (112th overall) out of Alabama, is the first rookie with 50-plus tackles, 2 or more interceptions, and 3 or more fumble recoveries since Luke Kuechly did it in 2012, when he won the NFL defensive rookie of the year award with the Carolina Panthers.
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