Proof the Bears Made the Right Decision Firing Trestman
As if the horrific results on the field weren’t enough, we now have some on field proof that firing Marc Trestman was the right decision for the Chicago Bears. Now only was John Fox and Adam Gase’s commitment to smash mouth run first offense a breath of fresh air, Marc Trestman’s supposedly great offense fell flat in the Baltimore Ravens game this past Sunday.
Just how bad was his offense?
Well Trestman, who was hired by Baltimore in the offseason to run their offense, watched the NFL’s worst offense perform on Sunday. That’s right, the NFL’s worst offense.
The Ravens, who had set franchise records for total yards and points scored in 2014, failed to crack the 200 yard mark in the game against the Denver Broncos. In fact they had the league’s worse passing yard output (100) and eighth fewest rushing yards (73). The Broncos should have a solid defense in 2015, but the performance says more about Trestman’s inability to lead an offense that works in the NFL than it says about the Broncos defenders.
Not only was the offense bad, it was historically bad. The showing was the worst debut for any Ravens offensive coordinator, ever. And adding insult to injury, the Ravens were one of only three NFL teams to not score a touchdown this weekend (Minnesota Vikings, and the Broncos were the others).
Trestman’s downfall in Chicago was his inability to commit to running the ball. He loved the passing game, and when it clicked it was prolific (Bears ranked as the 8th best offense in 2013), but when he abandons the run teams easily break his offense down like the 2014 Bears and Sunday’s Ravens. In the contest Sunday the Ravens threw the ball 32 times, while running only 24. The Ravens showcase an offense with the fifth best runner from 2014 (Justin Forsett) and his 1,266 yards. He added 8 TDs and a 5.4 yards per carry in ’14 as well on 235 attempts.
Want more proof? The Bears Matt Forte was extremely critical of Trestman last season, this offseason, and after his performance on Sunday against rival, the Green Bay Packers.
#Bears RB Matt Forte (24-141) on the commitment to the run game: "That's how it's supposed to be. Offensive line did a great job."
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015
Matt Forte: "The mentality of this offense, which I'm proud of, is nobody had that stupid look on their face [when down 31-16] like before."
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015
Matt Forte: "Before when something would happen, kind of saying that the game is lost already when there's time left. … We kept fighting."
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015
But Forte wasnt the only one salty. Bears lineman Matt Slauson had some interesting thoughts of his own.
Matt Slauson: "Had this been the past, we would have packed it in. That just goes to show the mentality this staff is instilling in us."
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015
#Bears G Matt Slauson added it's good "to have a coordinator that actually trusts us to run, because we have the best back in the game."
— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) September 13, 2015
Normally players don’t speak out about old coaches, they might find themselves playing for them again, and typically the players live in the system for such a long time they really buyin to what the coach was selling. Doesn’t appear that was the case in Chicago however, and perhaps it began when Trestman’s coaches threw players under the bus, specifically Jay Cutler.
If Trestman cannot find a way to run the ball in Baltimore, they will certainly be looking for a new coordinator in 2016, but there will be many more Bears fans pointing and laughing as it continues to solidify Trestman as being the wrong guy.
Trust man sucks plain and simple