Stephen A. Smith Goes Bonkers On Jay Cutler
Kyle Long said he found out via Twitter on Wednesday night that Jay Cutler would be benched for Sunday"s game against the Lions.
"Not ideal," Long said succinctly on Thursday.
Bears tight end teammate Martellus Bennett said he learned of the change via text message.
"My (tight ends) coach texted me," the laid-back Bennett said. "So I"m not really tripping."
In the impersonal, what-have-you-done-lately world of professional sports, good and bad news can travel fast.
With Jimmy Clausen getting the starting nod Sunday, his teammates profess to stand by their new man under center.
"We all stand behind Jimmy," Bennett said. "He has been improving since the day he got here. I am excited for him to get a chance to show the world what he can do. He will make some plays, and we still have guys around here who can make plays. Jimmy has to show up and do what Jimmy does and not worry about anything else but performing on the field."
Long has compassion for both Clausen and Cutler.
"Obviously it is not the ideal situation to be in when you are the No. 1 quarterback," Long said. "Jay"s a great guy. He"s a great teammate and he is somebody we"ve all leaned on when we"ve had some tough times. He has been able to pick us up.
"So we are here for Jay if need be. Jay"s a tough guy mentally, so I really feel like he is going to be as supportive for Jimmy right now."
Third-string rookie quarterback David Fales said he was told about the Cutler benching during a position meeting Wednesday.
"That"s the coach"s decision," Fales said. "The rest of the guys were all supportive of Jimmy and supportive of Jay."
Hush, hush: Asked Cutler"s reaction when told of his demotion, offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer said it was coach Marc Trestman"s decision.
"There is never a right time to change a quarterback," Kromer said. "It is an uncomfortable situation no matter what you do when you are changing anybody."
All aboard? If there is dissension in the Bears locker room with regard to coaches" personnel decisions, the players have yet to express it publicly.
"I don"t think there is a divided locker room here in regards to who we think should be playing," safety Ryan Mundy said. "We are still onboard with our coaching staff and the decisions they make are in the best interests of our football team."
Oh, brother: Bears rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller will face his brother, Lions receiver Corey Fuller, for the second time in less than a month on Sunday.
"Just like the first one (on Thanksgiving), we weren"t talking too much about it, "Kyle said. "We were definitely looking forward to it, but we were focused on what we had to do."
Injury list: Safety Chris Conte returned to practice Thursday after missing the Saints game Monday night. Meanwhile defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff (knee) did not practice. Also sitting out practice were kicker Robbie Gould (right quad); wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (not injury related), cornerback Tim Jennings (ankle) and defensive tackle Will Sutton (illness).
fmitchell@tribpub.com
Twitter @kicker34
Copyright 2014, Chicago TribuneSource: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-bits-bears-spt-1219-20141218-story.html
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