Emma: Bears Vow Their Resilience Will Show In Season's Stretch Run
By Chris Emma--
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) -- The Bears haven't shown quit this 2015 season, and they vow it won't happen now.
Entering the year, expectations were miserably low in Chicago, worsened by an 0-3 start. Then the Bears rallied to win five of their next eight games. On Sunday, they had a chance to reach .500 at 6-6 and let that slip away in a 26-20 overtime defeat against the 49ers. It was a crushing loss to their previously slim playoff hopes.
"We've been a resilient, hard-playing group," Bears coach John Fox said Monday. "We compete for 60 minutes. Sometimes, we just got to be better as far as our performance."
Added Bears tackle Kyle Long: "Gosh, we're in every game, but it's not good enough. We need to get better."
Don't expect the Bears (5-7) to let up now -- not with the words that rang through Halas Hall on Monday following a devastating loss.
After a difficult film session Monday -- "There will be honesty," Long said -- the Bears will put their awful defeat in the past and move on to what's next, a Week 14 contest with Washington at Soldier Field.
"We have a group of guys in there that are definitely going to stay together," said Bears defensive end Jarvis Jenkins, who was let go from Washington after last season.
Last season, the Bears checked out early. Their locker room began to fall apart after a tough loss to the Dolphins on Oct. 19, 2014, then it was reflected in back-to-back blowouts at the hands of the Patriots and Packers, both of which saw the defense allow more than 50 points. It was an embarrassing mark for the franchise, one that led to a change in regime during the offseason.
Former coach Marc Trestman, fired last December, spoke of building values within his team. As Long explained on Monday, it didn't work as the Bears unraveled.
"We had a staff that emphasized family, all that stuff," Long said of the 2014 Bears. "There was a lot of talk about that. What you see here, it's materializing into 'I have a family here.' No matter if the sky is falling around me, I know that I got the guys there in that locker room. When I walk onto the field with that group of men, there's nothing I'd rather do. There's no other people I'd rather go out there with."
Speaking with conviction, Long said his teammates feel the same, that there won't be any quit. Fox, too, insists the pride of playing will carry the team ahead toward the goal of reaching 9-7 this season.
Character is tested when players must give their absolute best in every practice rep and film study, knowing the motivation of the playoffs is all but out of reach. If all the Bears feel as Long does, they will truly be playing for each other.
"I love this team," Long said. "They love the game. We want to win. I promise you we'll get better."
Chris Emma covers the Chicago sports scene and more for CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670 and like his Facebook page.
