Bears' Jay Cutler amd Offensive Coordinator Mike Tice have made up. (US Presswire) |
Bears' Jay Cutler's snubbing of Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice on the sidelines Monday night against Dallas went beyond emotions and got physical.
That's not to say it involved Cutler shoving Tice or anyone, like he did to tackle J'Marcus Webb against Green Bay.
"It’s an emotional game and sometimes I am sure we all wish we would handle some things differently," Tice said Wednesday. "And I am not to say he should have handled that differently. But it’s an emotional game and Jay and I are fine. "I wish they (TV) would have got the clip at the end of the game when he smacked me on the rear end. They didn’t show that one. And I smacked him back. But they didn’t show that one. They showed the other one. So that’s the way it goes."
After a failed third-and-one play, Tice tried to sit down next to Cutler and his QB had gotten up and walked away, he said to get a drink of water.
By saying they've all kissed and made up -- or slapped butts and made up in this case -- the Bears hope the incident has been put to rest.
It isn't the only aspect of Monday's game the Bears offense sought to put in the past Wednesday. Tice also wants to put the success from the Dallas game in the rear view mirror immediately because he worries something similar to what happened after their 41-21 season-opening win over Indianapolis could happen again. The Bears went to Green Bay full of themselves and got handed a 23-10 pasting.
"We made some steps forward and I think it's very important to learn from the last time we had a solid game on offense and, myself included, got a little ahead of ourselves and probably got a little full of ourselves and we want to make sure that we caution on that this week and make sure that we stay focused on the areas that we can improve on."
Tice included himself in this because part of the problem in Green Bay was his approach. He didn't give enough help to tackle J'Marcus Webb while facing Clay Matthews, whether it came in the form of an extra blocker or by running the ball more to give Green Bay's pass rush more to consider.
He gave Webb help from tight end Matt Spaeth blocking Demarcus Ware against Dallas, and the running game accounted for 28 of the team's 54 offensive plays. It provided a template for future offensive success. Coming out and winging the ball around likely will be a game plan filed away in a waste can.
"We have to be sound and smart and then on a short week we can’t all of the sudden become penthouse geniuses because we had a solid game, and make sure that we don’t ask our guys to do too much in a short week," Tice said.
So Webb should get the help he needs and the running game won't be neglected against a Jaguars defense ranked 30th against the run and 20th against the pass.
And if they don't? The short season's history shows someone will probably be getting chewed out, pushed or snubbed.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter: @CBSBears.