Sept. 23--As Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller moves on from last Sunday's benching and tries to get his second NFL season untracked, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio sees a talented player with wounded confidence.
"It's just like Tiger Woods these past two years hasn't been the Tiger Woods we know, and everybody's overanalyzing him," Fangio said after practice Wednesday. "The fact is that he hasn't been able to take his game from the range to the course, and he's not been playing with confidence.
"Kyle's got to be able to take his game from the practice field to the game field and play with confidence. You're not going to have confidence until you do good things. You can't just say I'm whoever I am, and go out and play and have results."
How can Fangio and his assistants nurture that self-assurance?
"Just stay positive with him, keep coaching with him, show him the details, show him the techniques, just keep ... trying to help him," Fangio said. "Maybe I need to help him more."
Fuller, the 14th overall pick in last year's draft, was replaced by Terrance Mitchell for nine snaps late in Sunday's 48-23 loss to the Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald beat him for a pair of touchdowns -- one on a quick slant and another on a flea-flicker -- and Fuller also was flagged for a 42-yard pass-interference penalty.
Fuller did not make himself available to reporters Wednesday.
"He just needs to play better," Fangio said. "I know that's a vanilla answer. But execute his assignment and technique correctly, and the plays will come to him. Until he does that, he'll struggle a little bit. But he's capable, and hopefully he'll start doing that."
rcampbell@tribpub.com
