March 25--PHOENIX -- Now that John Fox has decided to proceed with Jay Cutler as the Chicago Bears starting quarterback, there's the task of getting him past the deficiencies that have helped prevent the Bears from becoming a perennial playoff team.
Fox has studied Cutler's rocky 2014 campaign and identified a starting point.
"I think maybe he got to the point where he lacked confidence a year ago," Fox said Wednesday at the NFL owners' meetings. "To build that back up, it's going to take time, daily. It takes trust, like any relationship."
Fox expects new offensive coordinator Adam Gase to foster that, and it extends from there to other parts of the team. On Wednesday, Fox preached the importance of the offense, defense and special teams helping each other, something former coach Marc Trestman used to speak of often under the term "continuity football."
Fox also envisions a strong running game to ease some of Cutler's burden throwing the ball, similar to how the Dallas Cowboys handled Tony Romo during last season's NFC East title run.
"Football-wise, there are things you can do in coaching to minimize some of the exposure," Fox said. "Playing defense. Playing complementary football is going to be something that helps. I liken it a little bit, not being critical, to Tony Romo. I think there had been different things said. I know Tony personally. He's a tremendous competitor. I thought he had one of his better seasons a year ago with that same kind of build-up. With success comes confidence."
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