Opening Statement

"Let me just start by saying congratulations to the Saints. They came in here and found a way to win a game. They deserved to win it. On our side of it, certainly disappointed in the way we started this game offensively and that starts with me and accountability to get our guys going and going the right direction. The first three series really hurt our tempo, our rhythm. Our defense stepped up early and held the Saints to field goals, but the residual is they were on the field too long. Because of our starts from the first three series they held the ball for 34 minutes. There is a residual effect; there is a connection how things go during the course of a game and made it much more difficult on our defense as we worked into the third and fourth quarters. But I thought they really stepped-up and allowed the Saints to go the distance, but try to minimize the big plays, which they did. Disappointed, offensively, in our Red Zone today. We had a couple of opportunities to convert and we didn't do that. And again, that starts with me. We have to do a better job. The last two weeks we haven't been efficient like we were the first three games. And on the fourth down; you always go back and forth. We ran the ball all the way down; 'why didn't we run it on third down and three?' made the decision to throw it for two downs. I thought we had a good plan, we didn't finish with the catch. We have to execute, get that part of it down. So as I told the players it's always tough, these games are never easy. We're paid to win games and win at Soldier Field. It's disappointing that we didn't give our fans what they came to see and that was a good start. I think our guys played hard throughout, though. That's something we can hang our hat on. I think we can hang our hat on the moments we were very efficient offensively and moved the ball, running it and throwing it. Certainly, to continue forward we have to be more consistent. The last thing I'll say is, I reminded our team that we have to put this one behind us very quickly. We have to do what every team in the National Football League does and that's play a Thursday night game and they count just like the Sunday games do, so the big thing now is to take the emotion out of it. The guys will have 24 hours to do that and the coaches will move on quickly to the [New York] Giants."   

On why the Saint's blitzes worked early in the game

"I think they were problematic. We hadn't really seen them. I thought Rob (Ryan) did a good job. We had answers for them early, we just didn't get it communicated it to the guys. Once we did, I think you see we efficiently moved the football up and down the field. Our guys did a good job of making that transition. I don't know if all of them were the same ones. I think two of them were the same, one was a little different. So they got us early. But I was pleased we were able to make the adjustments. I would have liked to make them sooner.

On the inability to communicate offensive line adjustments earlier

"It's not really an inability to communicate, it's just seeing a front we hadn't worked on. As a young line, as a new line, just being able to make the conversion into delineating who the line blocks and who the backs block in that particular play. We got it cleaned up and did well throughout the rest of the game. I thought the guys kept Jay very clean during the course of the game."

On whether the offensive issues reside with Bears or opposing defenses

"I think it's all about us, quite frankly. And it usually is. Last week it was the turnovers, this week we did a terrific job of taking care of the football; minus one with Jay getting the ball knocked out from blind-side pursuit from a blitzer that should have been picked up. He knows he has to take care of the football there. Overall, when we look at the tape and we ask ourselves was it the play or the player, was it us or them, we found it's on us, to clean our football and become more efficient doing it on a play-by-play basis. I think we're close. But we certainly haven't arrived. We have a lot of work to do and get after it really quickly for Thursday night."

On getting Brandon Marshall the ball

"You know, I think that, I'm not discouraged by I want to get Brandon the ball. We want to get Brandon the ball. There were a couple shots early and Jay looked back and he was open a couple of times then protection got in his face and he was forced to move, which was disappointing. I thought there were a couple early things he would have had a chance to make a play. Obviously, we've targeted him frequently. He's the most targeted guy the first month of the season. And when we don't, again, that starts with me. I've got to do a better job of getting him involved. He's always designated to get involved early. When he doesn't, it's not by design.  Things happen, they take him away and we've got to throw the ball to somebody else. We're doing everything we can to move it around we did an efficient job of that the first three or four weeks, we have to do better. It's disappointing that we didn't get him to the flow of the game a little bit more, obviously."

On Brandon's comments regarding his play and offensive involvement

"I don't remember that, I really don't. I can probably answer that better the next time we speak. I'm going to stay away from that one. As I've said, on the fourth down play we had Brandon over there for single coverage. If we had gotten blitzed, which certainly was a possibility, Brandon would have gotten the ball in single coverage. It was also built for all the different combination coverages they play, plus giving Jay protection and he was well protected. They played over the top on Brandon. The left Alshon in man-to-man, with a safety deep, and one-on-on with Earl and Jay did what he had to do, he threw the ball out there to Earl. As I said, when you look at his productivity we don't want that kind of productivity, it just worked out that way today."

On Nate Collinson's condition

"I don't know how he's doing. We'll know more tomorrow. You know it's next man up, again. You know the situation. We'll see where Stephen [Paea] is going into Wednesday. Tuesday and Wednesday we'll see where he is and pick that up again. We'll see where Nate is tomorrow."

On Stephen Paea's condition

"He was here. I don't know where he was health-wise. But he wasn't able-- but he wasn't quite ready to play and that's when we made the change."

On the play of the Saint's Jimmy Graham

"You know, I don't know what his productivity was. He was targeted. He's a tough guy to stop. You can see how they use him. They use him as a wide receiver out on the perimeter. They use him inside. Right now, with Lance Moore, one of the go-to guys certainly on their team and he stepped up today and made significant plays obviously, in this game."

On the Saint's touchdown screen play near the end of the first half

"They did a good job. They had built a wall right down the left side of the numbers. The got the block on, they got our corner covered up. Just a really well executed play on their part."

On the defense's play

"Yeah again, our defense was packaged around playing against a quarterback that is very difficult to defend and an offense that's difficult to defend. We thought if we gave them a long field it would make it much more difficult for them to score. We did that. You saw what Drew [Brees] did, he checked the ball down a ton today. We tried to keep everything underneath. Again, I think as I said from the start, the continuity part of the football is that our offense can't be on the field for 23 minutes, or 24 minutes, and allow our defense to be on the field that long. That's really what led to them moving the ball a little bit better in the second half, for some of the second half, because they had been on the field too long early in the game."

On Alshon Jeffery's play

"We just called plays, against the coverages we were getting. We felt like we had a bead on the coverages and what they were doing. I thought Jay did a good job of just going to the open guys. We build plays for everybody in this game to beat the coverages we'd seen. We were able to execute more to Alshon this particular day."

Brandon Marshall, WR

On how frustrating the Saint's coverage was

"It really has nothing to do with them. We've been seeing that coverage for the past few weeks. I can do a better job of getting myself open versus that coverage. We just have to make adjustments. We know teams are going to try to take me out of the game, but I have faith in the guys in this locker room and the coaches upstairs that we're going to do what's best for the team. We just have to bounce back."

*On how confusing the Saint's defense was, particularly for the offensive line    *

"It took the first quarter for our offensive line to settle in. Once they did, they made the adjustments and we started seeing things better. As far as in back end, we knew exactly what they were going to do. For the most part, each team coming in, they're going to make the other guy beat us."

On where the offense can improve

"We have to do a better job of starting fast. That was sloppy, those first couple of drives. We've got to make plays. Like I always say, and I have to start with myself, 'I put myself in position to be double covered'. I've got to do a better job of making myself quarterback friendly so I can try and make a play for our offense. We're struggling a little bit. As a receiver, you always want the ball because you think you can help the offense or the team move the ball down the field. The past few weeks have been frustrating, but it's part of the game. Each year is different."

On dealing with the frustration of not being able to contribute the way he'd like to

"It's tough. It's really tough. I'm not going to lie to you. Like I said last week after the game, my number one goal going into the work week was to work on my body language when I'm not in the game. It's been like that the first few weeks. I kind of let myself down and the guys around me with my body language. I got better at that today."

"That's one positive for myself, just trying to keep my head up and keep myself ready and be available whenever they call my number. I just try to be there [for them] because if you beat yourself up too much or get too down or too frustrated at the play calling or the coverage, the ball comes your way and you drop it. I'm proud of myself today for that. Sorry for patting myself on the back, but there's not too much I can hang my hat on today. We lost, I got shut out, but Alshon Jeffrey, he's coming. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to bring him down to south Florida with me, because of times like this. I didn't think the season was going to be like this where it was going to be hard to get me the ball, but at times we need another guy on the other side and this guy had a career day. Over 200 yards, it's just awesome to see this guy mature right before our eyes. I've always said this guy could be the best to ever do it. He's probably going to shatter all the Bear's records by the time he's done at the receiver position. That's one of the only positives from our offense today."

On an explanation for why he's on the field and why he's not

"You've got to ask coach Trestman that. I try to just focus on what I can control. There's times where it might be third down where I'm doing some chip blocking to help out the offensive line. I just have to hang my hat on that I'm doing what's best for the team. There's some times I'm running routes to pull coverage to get other guys open. Those guys are making plays. I've just got to continue to do what I'm supposed to do and be where I'm supposed to be and have faith that our offense is going to mature and continue to make some plays. Alshon [Jeffrey] made some big plays today and Jay [Cutler] made plays with his feet. It was good."

On if the offense is better with him as a decoy

"I don't know. We've just been struggling the past few weeks. In the games we've won, the defense is scoring and they played lights out. You take away some of those plays and we might not be in those games. As a receiver, you always want the ball, your mentality is you always think it's always better when you're getting it [the ball]. Coach Trestman is an offensive guru and Jay's a good quarterback, we're going to do what's best for the team."

On if the Bears are a team somewhere in the middle

"It's a new offense. The defense has been playing together for some years. It's going to take some time for us to really put this thing together. We want to look like the New Orleans Saint's offense. You can see those guys are machines out there. It's going to take some time to get there, but I think we've got the guys in the room to get the job done today. There's going to be some growing pains with that."

On if he makes suggestions during games

"The first couple weeks I tried to, but it got me out of my game. Mentally it was too much for me. Moving forward, I'm going to do my job and be a wide receiver. I believe in coach Trestman, Jay, the offensive line and the guys around me are going to make the plays and do what's best for the team. I found myself communicating too much. I was too frustrated. There were times the ball came my way and I dropped it because I'm so frustrated. I think what's best for the team is for me to stay where I'm supposed to be and that's at wide receiver. If I try to be a coach, or try to discuss things, I may get us in trouble."

On where the frustration comes from

"The frustration comes when we're not winning and the offense isn't moving the ball. It has nothing to do with me. It's about I want to win. I've always said, I have a nice contract, been to Pro Bowls, made All-Pro. I want to win. Sometimes the formula may go to me, sometimes it doesn't. Whatever's best for the team to win, that's what we need to do. I'm always going to be frustrated when our offense isn't No. 1 in the league. I'm always going to be frustrated when we're losing. I'm frustrated. We just lost. We lost two in a row. We have a short turn around, that's the good thing about playing on Thursday night. We're going to do what's best to bounce back from a physical standpoint. We don't have a whole week to dwell on these past two games."

Jay Cutler, QB

On any issues with pass protection early

"I'd have to take a look at the film. I've got to do a better job of getting us where we need to be protection-wise and pointing things out, shoring us up. They got us three times. It was a big three plays."

*On if the Bears saw the Saints' blitz package on film before the game  *

"It's tough coming from a different team. He [Rob Ryan] played differently with the Saints than he did with Dallas so there were some different [things]. It was nothing that we haven't seen or practiced against that happened today. There were just some miscommunications out there. Three plays in this game are significant and it hurts."

On what the Saints did to disguise the safety blitz

"They were just doing a good job. They were playing a 3-4 and bringing two off an edge and cutting the coverage. We've seen it before." 

*On if he felt pressure from behind on the fumble  *

"No, I thought we were shored up on that side. I was just kind of drifting that way because they cut underneath Alshon [Jeffrey]. I was just trying to get an angle to throw it. I knew he was coming, I just thought we had him."

On Alshon Jeffery's performance

"He did a great job today. We moved the guys around a lot today. He just happened to be in a position to catch some balls. That last long one, he's not usually there. He's usually on the other side. It's usually Brandon [Marshall] and Earl [Bennett]. Pieces just kind of fell that way for him. He's making some big plays for us whenever his number gets called."

On how difficult it is to recover from some bad plays

"The guys did a good job. We kept calling plays, got it worked out on the sideline and talked about it some more at halftime. We came out and moved the ball well. There were a few third downs that we missed. There was a big fourth down going in that we missed. We weren't as efficient in the red zone. We had three or four cracks at it one time and couldn't punch it in, they were dropping seven or eight guys. A few plays here and there against a team like that - the way they played offensively and ate up the clock, it's hard to rebound if you miss three or four plays."

On Brandon Marshall having a quiet day offensively

"They [Saints defense] weren't going to let him have a good day. They were doubling him in the slot. In the red zone they were doubling him up over the top. They decided hey, it's not going to happen. They were going to take him out of the ball game. He still made some plays for us. He might be frustrated, but we just have to keep getting better and better and he understands that."

On if they wanted to get to Marshall earlier in the game

"We're designing plays for a lot of guys. We kind of want to mix it up, especially with Brandon getting so much double coverage so early on in the season, putting him in different spots."

On if his comfort level was shaken after the first series

"No. It wasn't that we had breakdowns physically. A point here and a point there we would have been good to go. Those guys, if we get everything sorted out, we're going to block them. It's not something I'm worried about. Whenever you get a situation where you get the right mike point and get everything shored up and a guy gets beat, then you have problems. That's not happening with those guys. Whenever we get everything lined up the way we want it, they're blocking their butts off."

On if it would've been more of a run-heavy day if the Bears established a rhythm early

"Not being very efficient on first down hurt us. Second and longs, third and longs, it's hard to play that football game against a team like that. We got the run going later on in the game. That was just because of the coverages they we playing. They were up 13, 16 points, whatever it was. They were just protecting their lead and the run was there."

On what the challenge is of a short week after a loss

"Moving on. I think just moving on. We're not going to be able to get a look with the coaches on this game so players have to take responsibility; be hard on yourself and figure out what you did wrong and improve on. We're off tomorrow, then [in on] Tuesday and Wednesday - it's a short week. We just have to keep getting better. Guys are going to be little bit sore but we just have to pound through it."

On sensing Marshall's frustration "I don't know what he said. I don't know what he said to you guys. I thought he's been a real pro with the guys in the locker room with Alshon [Jeffrey], Martellus [Bennett], Earl [Bennett], all those guys. He comes to work every day. He was a little banged up last week. Those other guys got a few more reps. We know we're going to get his best effort on Sundays. It's going to come. You can't keep doubling him and letting another receiver go for 200 yards. It's silly to keep doing that. He's going to get his. He's going to have to keep trusting us and he's been great to work