Nov. 11--Chicago Bears coach Marc Trestman is not mulling whether to bench quarterback Jay Cutler in the wake of Sunday night's 55-14 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Cutler's third consecutive game with multiple turnovers.
"Certainly, we know that Jay's not comfortable with the way he played yesterday," Trestman said Monday. "No doubt about it. And I think it's on an individual basis. I think that we all have to do better. And I say that -- I know it starts with the quarterback. It always does. But there are a lot of things that have to get done before something like that would be a consideration."
Benching the NFL's highest-paid player this season would qualify as a seismic event for an organization that hired Trestman to get the most out of Cutler a year before guaranteeing the quarterback $54 million through the 2016 season.
But the Bears' offense is sputtering and hasn't lived up to expectations established for a unit that returned four Pro Bowlers from last season's consistent group.
Cutler's 15 turnovers are tied for most in the league with Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles.
Trestman on Monday was asked several times about benching the ninth-year veteran.
"I think the biggest thing is that Jay has got to play better," he said. "He didn't play well enough yesterday, and we didn't play well enough, and I'm certain that he'd take accountability for that. But it's very clear he did not play well enough yesterday. We can't sugarcoat that."
Trestman acknowledged a disconnect between what he perceivers to be Cutler's clean, promising practices and his repeated mistakes in games.
"That's what has been the most disturbing thing, is that those things are not showing up in practice," Trestman said. "They certainly didn't last week. I think anybody on this team who watched practice would tell you that.
"I think it's focusing and just getting back into recognizing that this is where we've been deficient and continue to work our way out of this slump that we're in, because we're certainly in one."
