Chicago Bears |

Marc Trestman accepting of Bears’ anger, melodrama

A flurry of notable meltdowns occurred Sunday at Soldier Field, both during and after the Bears’ 27-14 loss to the Dolphins. And with each misstep came a new level of agitation that spread from the Bears’ locker room throughout Chicago.

But if you’ve been paying close attention to this team, this season, this league, nothing that transpired Sunday should register as even a little bit surprising.

Yes, quarterback Jay Cutler threw a bad interception and later lost a fumble, handing the Dolphins 10 free points. But that’s nothing new. Thirty-six percent of Cutler’s starts with the Bears have included multiple turnovers.

And sure, the Bears didn’t find a way to fluster Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill enough. But that’s no shock. In three home games, the defense has created only one takeaway, inconsistent enough to be picked apart by quarterbacks of all skill levels — from EJ Manuel to Aaron Rodgers to Tannehill.

So that brings us to the locker room flash point created by Brandon Marshall immediately after the loss, an emotional outburst in front of teammates followed quickly by a rant to the media.

With his passion gushing like he was a fire hydrant split open by a semitrailer, Marshall wanted everyone around him to know just how bothered he was by Sunday’s loss.

He seethed. He vented. He was heard, loud and clear.

But should that tirade from a mercurial playmaker with a history of emotional outbursts really register as remarkable?

Despite the predictability of it all, the Bears suddenly find themselves in damage control mode, a 3-4 team fading far too quickly from the playoff conversation and left spending excess energy to quell the perception of growing dysfunction.

So how did coach Marc Trestman process Marshall’s Sunday diatribe?

“I told our team after the game in the locker room that we have to always be accepting of how people express themselves after a game,” Trestman said Monday. “Because they’re coming down from a week of working hard and building their emotions and passions for the game. And I’m not reading any more into it than that. We have to be accepting and nonjudgmental and let it pass.”

Trestman’s yogi-like approach — tolerance over outrage — won’t resonate with a huge portion of a fan base that wants its head coach to breathe fire, eat raw meat off the bone and flip cars over when the team derails. Heck, Trestman’s philosophy may not even equate with all the players under his command. But his methodology remains consistent. So that leaves these Bears to compartmentalize Marshall’s behavior as a heat-of-the-moment fit that won’t be allowed to threaten the team’s cohesiveness.

“You lose a game and some guys kind of blow their top,” defensive end Willie Young said. “But it’s not about that. It’s about resiliency, bouncing back and taking advantage of every opportunity that you have and not forgetting about what’s at stake the next nine games.”

Left tackle Jermon Bushrod was asked when individual displays of emotion can become detrimental to the team as a whole.

“When locker room issues become public issues,” Bushrod said. “And that’s not going to happen here.”

Except that in many ways, they already have.

The vultures are circling now after Marshall stood in the locker room and blasted his offense, leading to questions about his harmony with Cutler. And this from a ninth-year veteran who two weeks ago handed out T-shirts to teammates with the message “No Noise” on them as reminders that the Bears had no time for unnecessary distractions.

Only two weeks ago, Marshall stood at Halas Hall asserting that everything in his world was hunky-dory and that his newfound positive approach to life and football couldn’t be shaken. In that same session, he wanted reporters to know about his savvy in shaping his own narrative.

“Everything I do is strategic,” Marshall proclaimed. “Everything. From when I’m frowning, it’s strategic. Strategy. When I’m talking to you guys, I’m not talking to you guys, I’m talking through you. I’m talking to my community.”

With that as context, Sunday’s emotional release might be seen from multiple vantage points.

Maybe Marshall was strategically posturing to show himself as an alpha in the locker room, wanting to see himself as a booming voice of authority at a time of distress.

Just as likely, he was simply fuming over another loss, agitated to the point of eruption.

“The Chicago Bears should not be 3-4 right now,” Marshall bellowed.

But they are what they are, an inconsistent team losing more often than they win and subsequently left to cope with the resulting aggravation. Each, apparently, allowed to freely do that his own way.

Process that as you see fit.

dwiederer@tribune.com

Twitter @danwiederer