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Baffoe: Really, Bears, We're Not Mad -- Just Continually Disappointed

By Tim Baffoe--

(CBS) You can't even have strong feelings about the Chicago Bears' 36-10 embarrassment at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We passed the point of our emotional needles moving the wrong way a while ago with this team. If you're genuinely bothered by what happened at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, you're probably that tearful guy who lies to himself about the fictionality of pro wrestling.

Sure, the Bears were coming off a bye week following a surprising win against the Minnesota Vikings and were finally pretty healthy with an outside chance of putting together a run to the postseason. Now that chance is way outside. Like "in Detroit" outside. But you didn't really think there was actual promise in this team.

Sunday was arguably worse than the game almost two years ago to the day when the Marc Trestman Bears came out of the bye week to just barely lose 55-14 to the Green Bay Packers. Trestman said afterward: "Based on what I saw this week, I was confounded to see the type of play we had (on Sunday night). Our coaches did an outstanding job of preparing our guys this week. And our guys did a tremendous job of preparing. But none of it, none of it translated to the game."

Bernstein: Bears fumble away any trust

At least we knew then that the Trestman era had entered the beginning of its end. But current head coach John Fox was supposed to restore competency here to the point where blowouts like that don't happen and postgame press conferences aren't fully of laughable gas-lighting.

"I didn't see this coming," Fox said Sunday after easily his worst loss as this team's coach.

(Rubs temples) How, man? (I'm not mad. I'm not. Mad.)

At least Trestman's signature castration came at the hands of a team that would go 12-4 that regular season. The Bucs were 3-5 before Sunday, had lost two in a row and are nothing respectable.

Awful person Jameis Winston had a triple-digit quarterback rating Sunday along with one of the plays of the year against a Bears defense that's trying its best but still isn't anything special.

And now you have former Bears goat and current Buc husk Chris effing Conte telling the Bears and their city this"It feels great. I don't want to say, '(Expletive) you, Chicago.' But, I want to say, '(Expletive) you, Chicago.'"

Not mad, though. Not me, nope. But why, of all people, do you throw an awful pick-six to Conte, Jay Cutler? Your other three turnovers -- fine. But now I got Chris "me die for the footballs" Conte laughing a wet middle finger into my ear?

Remember when fans and media felt inspired by Cutler giving a rowdy halftime speech a few weeks ago? On Sunday, he reminded you what an unreliable boyfriend he is. And, yeah, a lot of this loss is on the quarterback who played one of his worst games as a Bear. Cutler's performance Sunday managed to stand out in a tragicomedy of a career here. But what about coordinator Doyle -- Dwight? Doral? -- Loggains' offensive game plan looked anything but flammable out there? Why is veteran Eddie Royal fielding a punt inside the 5-yard line and almost getting safetied? How does a team go from "finally, pretty healthy" to "we're out of offensive linemen" in, like, five minutes?

I'm not mad, though. Seriously, stop asking.

Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long was carted off midgame after his own fullback whose name I'm not looking up rolled on Long's lower leg. Cross him off the list for the rest of the season probably. Bobby Massie is concussed, though I'm not sure how one can tell.

Jordan Howard was having a great game, then fumbled in the second quarter and was conspicuously absent most of the rest of the way despite 100 yards rushing and being the only thing working Sunday.

Fox said after the game that Howard had an ankle or Achilles thing. Or whatever. Howard -- who wasn't wearing any walking boot or showing much of a limp after the game -- referred to it as just tightness. We should all know better this far into Fox's second year in Chicago when we're being presumed idiots. I'm used to it, and I'm not bothered. I swear.

So the offense looks lost, the defense gave a noble effort that was still meh and the coach who was supposed to bring some sturdiness to the game plans and locker room can't explain a damn thing. We shouldn't be angry, though.

"It falls on all of us," Fox said.

Something -- or someone -- needs to fall, that's for sure.

Tim Baffoe is a columnist for CBSChicago.com. Follow Tim on Twitter @TimBaffoe. The views expressed on this page are those of the author, not CBS Local Chicago or our affiliated television and radio stations.

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