The Chicago Bears: The Perfect Chaotic Football Family

By Jason Fryer

There are a number of NFL franchises that feature different types of personalities, but only offense that have become the dysfunctional family that works…the Chicago Bears. Don't believe me, look at the people involved and then you will see why this team should make the cast of characters from the 1985 Bears proud.

Coach:

Marc Trestman: Ok, this is the complete opposite of Mike Ditka, but the backstory to Trestman is perfect for the Bears environment. Prior to being named head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, Trestman was a member of ten different NCAA and NFL coaching staff's and didn't last longer than two years on any of these teams. Trestman has changed the tone in the locker-room from a defensive to an offensive mindset. Former head coach Lovie Smith has did an excellent job with the Bears from 2004-2012 but was never able to fix the offensive problems as the defense was always held back.

In addition to his offensive first mindset, Trestman has already earned two nicknames Mad Scientist and Willy Wonka and it seems through only a few months has taken control of the locker-room. Chicago has a number of characters (mentioned below) but Marc has done an excellent job at controlling the different personalities and having everyone working in unison.

Quarterback:

Jay Cutler: The Chicago Bears quarterback has had a complete transformation in his personality from his first three year in Chicago to the following two seasons. When Cutler was first traded to the Bears, he was seen as a quarterback that would have problems with his teammates and was terrible with the media. With that said, the last two seasons has seen Jay change off and on the field. Off the field, Cutler has become open to being involved with the media (has his own radio show/appeared on an episode of "The League") and isn't as surly when he meets the media.

On the field, it seems Cutler finally has a quality relationship with his playmakers (Bennett (Earl and Martellus), Forte, and Marshall), offensive line, and coaches (which he's had communication problems with in the past). Chicago has finally surrounded Jay Cutler with the players he's wanted to be surrounded with since becoming a Bear in 2009 and if he is able to move on after something goes wrong on the field, Cutler will be the next 100 million dollar quarterback this offseason.

Running Back:

Sorry, both Matt Forte and Michael Bush are both quality players that bring an excellent dimension to the Bears rushing, passing, and blocking game but not significant personalities. Although Forte don't have a "noteworthy" personality, he has become one of the best running backs in the league and is a perfect fit for the Marc Trestman offense. Forte even went out of his way to praise the Trestman offense which has done a tremendous job of showing off the variety of talents from Matt Forte. There's not much else I can say about Forte and Bush besides they come in and do there job week after week.

Wide Receiver/Tight End:

The Bears might not have any off the wall personalities at running back, but the personalities they lack in the backfield are more than made up for at wide receiver/tight end. Brandon Marshall has been one of the best wideouts since entering the league in 2006 but has had a number of off the field problems in the past. Fortunately for Marshall and the Bears, since joining Chicago in March of 2012, he's proven to be a model citizen, excellent teammate, and has only had comical noteworthy events since joining Chicago. In addition to Marshall, the Bears have two Bennett's on their roster (Earl and Martellus), which has added to the madness on offense.

Although Earl's role has diminished the past two years, he still adds a great personality to this offense. This was put on full display when Jay Cutler's former number one wide receiver at Vanderbilt decided to wear orange cleats during a game even though he knew he would be fined because of the NFL dress code. The other Bennett (Martellus) brings the most nicknames and biggest personality of anyone on the team (and maybe the NFL). Nicknamed "The Black Unicorn" and "Orange Dinosaur," Bennett has proven to be the first quality tight end Chicago has had in over 25 years and has a great connection with Jay Cutler and Marc Trestman which was on display in the Bears week two game winning pass with 10 seconds remaining.

Offensive Line:

Four of the five members of the 2013 Chicago Bears offensive line are new (Jordan Mills, Kyle Long, Matt Slauson, JermonBushrod), but through a training camp and two weeks in the NFL season, it seems that only two have an off the field noteworthy personalities. Last year, Jay Cutler decided to do an entertaining commercial with the lone returning member of the 2012 offensive line, Roberto Garza. The other offensive lineman who has a noteworthy personality is 2013 first round rookie (yes a rookie) Kyle Long. The son of Hall-of-Fame great Howie, Kyle has added an energetic personality on and off the field. On the field, it was Kyle who said:

If that wasn't enough, Long let the public see him off the field when he invited NFL Network to see the furniture he bought for his house. The other three members have had a terrific start to their season and although they don't have as big of personalities, there still just as good as the other players who have been in the public eye.

The Bears have a number of personalities on their offense but it just might be the perfect fit for Jay Cutler. Through the early going, head coach Marc Trestman has been the perfect person to take on all these personalities on the offensive side of the ball. Chicago offense has gotten off to a solid start in 2013 and will only improve, as Cutler and Trestman get comfortable with the different options on offense.

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