Marc Trestman: Support from Bears 'outstanding'
By Rich Campbell
The Tribune's Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer on the Bears' first day back from their break.
Marc Trestman stood in the middle of the practice field Monday morning and watched over quarterback drills, same as any other day.
Consistency and emotional steadiness, two anchors of Trestman's coaching philosophy, showed as the Bears returned from a six-day break and began working to improve on their 3-5 record.
The remaining eight games, including Sunday night's trip to Lambeau Field to play the Packers, promise to challenge all facets of Trestman's stewardship. He began the test Monday confident he has the organization's full backing and assured that his staff's self-scouting last week yielded a significant foundation on which to improve.
"The support in this building has been outstanding," Trestman said. "Everybody upstairs has been extremely supportive of the way we're handling things.
"Our team has been unbelievably compliant in doing everything that we as coaches have asked them to do. That's evident on the field. It's evident in the locker room. It's evident in the meeting room that these guys are an amazing group of men that have been extremely compliant. And the support has been there."
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Several players trumpeted rejuvenation after returning from their Halas Hall hiatus. Following the team's padded practice, Trestman perceived players' strong commitment to his program and the goal of turning around a season that has failed to meet expectations.
"The only sense I have is how they respond to the things that we've asked them to do and the level of their work ethic and energy on the practice field," he said. "I haven't seen any of that dissipate at all. I haven't seen it in our coaches' ability to coach these guys.
"What we haven't seen is the production on Sundays. We felt very good, and we told our team when we did our analysis that we are practicing hard. We are practicing with a purpose. There are some things we've asked them to do in practice to get more out of them. But in terms of energy, effort and compliance, I couldn't ask any more of this team."
The Bears lost four of the five games that preceded their week off, including a 51-23 defeat to the Patriots on Oct. 26. The timing amplified questions about Trestman's ability to steer the entire team through the tempest, not just coach the quarterbacks and offense.
While Trestman gauges that by measuring players' energy and effort in practice, the spotlight will be as bright as ever on the second-year coach during the final eight-game stretch.
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He'll persist with the calmness that defines his persona.
"That is OK because when you have a thoughtful coach like that, he means exactly what he's saying," safety Ryan Mundy said. "So it's never a response out of emotion or anger or excitement. It's always well thought out and calculated. So you have to take that into account and realize that this is exactly what he means because he thought about it."
Trestman said he spent time during the week off connecting with players, gathering input on how coaches might more effectively help them. The response he encountered fostered confidence that players continue to follow him, remain engaged in his program and are determined to beat the Packers.
"I think there's a proactive attempt by a lot of guys here," Trestman said. "The way they came back today is evidence that guys have spent some time during their off weeks thinking about how they're going to respond."
Trestman believes the coaching staff's self-scouting analysis last week was a success, though he chose not to publicize results.
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He also explained to the team how the 2012 Redskins and 2013 Eagles overcame 3-5 records to win the NFC East. Those examples were not lost on a group of players who generally seemed upbeat as they waded back into their football responsibilities.
"You get a chance to re-collect yourself and put what's happened behind us and know that we can totally change things around this second half of the season," tight end Dante Rosario said. "I think that's the mindset."
"Rome wasn't built in one day," offensive lineman Jordan Mills added. "So we've got to take it brick by brick, step by step and start with ... Green Bay, Sunday night, prime time."
Marc Trestman
Ryan Mundy
Dante Rosario
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