Chicago Bears legend Mike Ditka has watched his former team through the first seven weeks of the season, and he doesn’t like what he sees. The Bears have lost three of their last four games — two of which were at home. Ditka believes a lack of leadership is the team’s biggest problem at the moment.
Head coach Marc Trestman has a policy where the Bears rotate captains. Rather than appointing captains or having the team decided by a vote, Trestman gives several players an opportunity to lead the way. According to Ditka, he only does that because the Bears lack a true leader.
“That’s because you don’t have (a captain),” Ditka told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday. “If you had one, he’d be the captain, and that would be it. That’s all there is to it. When you see a leader, you don’t have to look too much further. It is what it is. If he’s the guy, then he’s the guy they want to follow. I believe you should have a captain and a co-captain on offense and defense.”
Ditka said he understands what Trestman is trying to accomplish, but he feels having captains rotate rather than just allowing the players to decide who they want their leaders to be undermines the process.
“The thing about being a captain, it’s something you can’t give somebody,” he added. “It’s something they have to earn. And they earn it from the overall respect they get from everybody on that football team.”
The Bears certainly seem like they could use some leaders in the locker room. When Brandon Marshall decides to go off on a couple teammates after a loss, someone needs to be there to smooth things over. Veterans like Kyle Long do themselves no favors by ripping Bears fans for booing. Fans pay a lot of money to watch the team play, and they put out an awful product on Sunday. Poor play on defense and inconsistency on offense are two major issues. But Ditka’s right — so is a lack of leadership.
