The Bears have made it official. Quarterback Jay Cutler won’t play Monday.(US Presswire) |
Quarterback Jay Cutler and DE Shea McClellin were officially listed Saturday as out for Monday night's game due to their concussions, but not all the Bears' injury news this week is bad.
WR Alshon Jeffery practiced again Saturday and is ready to return from a fractured right hand suffered in the game at Jacksonville Oct. 7. Jeffery had 14 catches, including two for TDs, before suffering the injury while making his second TD catch.
"Just helps, period, getting a guy like that," WR Brandon Marshall said. "Don’t know if he’s going to go or how long he’s going to go, but he’s a great talent and whenever you have a guy like that on the field it just opens it up for other guys."
The Bears will also be without NT Matt Toeaina. Coach Lovie Smith said the defensive line will have seven players active. This could include DT Amobi Okoye, who has been inactive three straight games. It also could mean the first playing time for DE Cheta Ozougwu, although with San Francisco so heavily reliant on the run, an extra DT would seem to be the likely option.
Real road game: The Bears are used to playing road games in stadiums with big Chicago fan followings. It happened in Dallas, Jacksonville and Nashville this season, but they will definitely face a huge disadvantage in Candlestick Park. "It’s loud," said former 49er Blake Costanzo. "Especially with the success they’ve had, people are rowdy up there."
It's the kind of noise that can lead to false starts, and this has been a sore spot with the Bears all year even though they haven't faced a lot of unbearable crowd noise situations.
The Bears have committed the third-most false start penalties in the league with 18. Former 49er Chilo Rachal, C Roberto Garza, and RT Gabe Carimi have had three each, G Lance Louis two and LT J'Marcus Webb one
Unveiling: Nine games into the season, Bears tight ends have a total of only 18 catches for 189 yards. So it's not surprising FB Evan Rodriguez could get involved this week for the first time as a tight end, or at least more as a receiving threat.
"We’re going to see if we can get someone else the ball besides Brandon (Marshall)," offensive coordinator Mike Tice said. "Hopefully he’s one of the guys,”
Rodriguez has been an H-back/fullback but is eager to get involved catching passes. He hasn't had one yet.
"That's what the plan was," he said, referring to why the team drafted him in fourth round out of Temple.
Feel the beat: Tice found the right term to describe his 30th-ranked offense. He said there doesn't seem to be a rhythm to the offense.
"It seems like we’re trying to get this thing going and play with some consistency," he said. "We haven’t achieved that yet. So it’s frustrating all the way around. But we have to maintain good energy. We have to maintain a positive approach to the fact that we’re working at it. We’re churning at it. We’re putting in the time and at some point we’re encouraged that it could, it should, it better break in our way and start playing with some rhythm.
"We’ve got to continue to work to get better and at some point, hopefully, we’ll put it all together and play an entire four quarters with some type of rhythm.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.