UNSTOPPABLE FARCE
Reviewing the Bears’ goofiest plot twists in a season that will be remembered for them
When Brandon Marshall turned into Don King this past week to promote a boxing match between him and a Detroit Lions fan who insulted his mother on Twitter, no one should have been surprised.
The Bears’ crazy circus opened in training camp. This season hasn’t just been disappointing because of on-the-field struggles — it’s been bizarre overall because of everything else.
It appears as if some players have taken advantage of Marc Trestman’s coaching style, which has been thrown under the bus. It’s never good when headlinegrabbing interactions on social media outnumber wins. So, where does one even begin?
Tight end Martellus Bennett body-slams prized rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller in camp, says he can afford any fine (with general manager Phil Emery in earshot), then is fined and suspended.
Marshall becomes the first active player to join Showtime’s ‘‘Inside the NFL’’ panel, getting the OK from the Bears and flying on chartered planes to and from New York on his day off.
Linebacker Lance Briggs misses practice during Week 1 preparations so he can open his restaurant, Double Nickel Smokehouse, in California. Trestman declines to acknowledge Briggs’ restaurant opening.
Marshall calls a news conference at Halas Hall that goes 45 minutes, includes distributed paperwork and delves deep into his past after lawyer Gloria Allred brought up past domestic abuse allegations against him and ESPN aired a documentary that infuriated him.
After the Bears’ 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers, defensive end Lamarr Houston responds to fans critical of his play on Twitter by telling them to eat dirt.
Marshall hands out camouflaged T-shirts saying
‘‘Bunker Down’’ and ‘‘No Noise.’’
Marshall is overheard yelling at kicker Robbie Gould and others after a loss to the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.
Quarterback Jay Cutler abruptly misses his scheduled weekly appearance onWMVP-AM (1000), later saying he brought his son to the doctor. His story is refuted on air.
Houston tears his right anterior cruciate ligament celebrating a sack of New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in a 51-23 blowout loss.
Trestman’s daughters and Cutler’s wife, Kristin Cavallari, are attacked on social media by fans after the Green Bay Packers drub the Bears 55-14 at Lambeau Field.
Months later, Briggs says on ‘‘The Lance Briggs Show’’ on Comcast SportsNet that Trestman knew from the start he was missing practice for his restaurant opening.
Marshall offers a Lions fan on Twitter $25,000 to box him after the fan trolled Marshall, who wanted to make it an anti-bullying event.
Those are just the most notable cases, and there are still six weeks left this season.
While Trestman’s job security has come into question for the craziness and a 3-6 record, maybe it’s time to question whether he even wants to be here next year.
The Bears may be Trestman’s dream opportunity, but he didn’t sign up to answer questions about social media or how detrimental or distracting certain decisions by players have been seemingly every other week.
To his credit, Trestman tries to remain consistently positive.
‘‘We’re here to win games, and we’re focused on winning a game,’’ he said. ‘‘The messages that are being sent are consistent, whether we win or lose. The lessons we are teaching as coaches, that coaches do everywhere, are consistent, whether we win or lose. But behind it all, we’re here to win.’’