M.I.A: Bears News And Notes

By Rob Winn in News on Oct 10, 2014 4:40PM

What a season this turned out to be. The high-powered offense isn't scoring, the crappy defense is causing turnovers, dogs and cats are living together. It's a state of mass hysteria. After letting an easy win in Carolina slip through their fingers, the Bears now face the Atlanta Falcons on the road. The Falcons have been up and down all year, only their offense has been unstoppable at home. For the Bears, there's been some bluster about a return to form on offense, but for the second time this year the team has been dragged into off-the field drama. As the team heads to Atlanta, here are the stories coming out of Halas Hall:

Jerry Angelo's Bombshell

In an interview with USA Today, former general manager Jerry Angelo admitted to covering up incidents of domestic violence and said during his time in the league, the NFL swept hundreds of cases under the rug. This story is extremely damning for both the NFL and the Bears and is too far reaching to cover in-depth here. Angelo walked back his comments today, but expect a few of the specific cases he is talking about to be discovered. Once again, it's obvious the NFL doesn't care about anything or anyone that gets in the way of making money.

Injury Updates

The Bears got a little good news on the injury front this week when center Roberto Garza and defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff practiced all week. However, Jermon Bushrod still looks like he's going to miss significant time with a knee and ankle injury. Plus, the entire Bears starting linebacker core of Lance Briggs, D.J. Williams and Jon Bostic all missed practice or were limited this week. The linebackers haven't been particularly good this season, and injuries will only complicate matters.

Bunker Down

There's been a lot talk this week coming from the offense about getting back to business. So far this year, the point production has been lackluster even though Jay Cutler and company have consistently out-gained their opponents in yards. At this point in the year, and with a 2-3 record, it's time for the offense to put up points or risk watching the season slip through their fingers. Considering the Falcons have struggled on defense, this may be the perfect time for a touchdown outburst. Whether or not they can keep up with Atlanta's offense is up for debate.

True to form, the Bears have experienced more than enough drama on and off the field this week. The players can't control what goes on off the field (other than refraining from abusing their significant other) but they can control what happens on it. And for a team that expected to contend this season, now is the time right the ship.