Bears convinced at 2-4 that arrow still pointing clearly up

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Whether the glass is half-full or half-empty really doesn’t matter when the glass has 2-4 in it. But after a sagging attitude contributed to dooming the Bears last season – when they were 3-3 after six games but about to collapse – candid self-appraisal in the wake of a clumsy loss to the Detroit Lions was in order.

And whereas last year the glass was just plain cracked and leaking, the 2015 Bears head into an off week of refresher work convinced that their arrow is pointing up.

[MORE: Tackle-eligible to Kyle Long in new Bears offense? Right attitude is there]

Positive public pronouncements are more the norm but “I think we've been in most of the contests to this point and now it's just figuring out how to win consistently and we're not there yet by any stretch,” said coach John Fox. “But I think we're moving in the right direction.”

With only Oakland and Kansas City not ranked among the top 15 NFL yardage offenses, the Bears have decidedly similar totals of first downs (118-117), third-down conversion rate (43.7-45.6 percent), yardage (2,026-2,069) as their 2015 opponents. They have more rushing touchdowns (four) than their opponents (two) but less than half (seven) the passing touchdowns (15) of their rivals.

But the numbers are less important than the only ones that matter – wins (2) and losses (4). Still…

[SHOP: Gear up Bears fans!]

“I feel like for the most part of the season we’ve been doing the right things,” said linebacker Christian Jones, who assumed the duties of getting the defensive playcalling to the huddle and directing adjustments in the wake of Shea McClellin’s knee injury. “We just have to refine some of our techniques and things and just finish better.”

On offense the identity of the Bears, beyond that of fighters and finishers, was to become a unit capable of imposing its will with running the football. That has fallen off the past several weeks but is “very close, very close,” according to right tackle Kyle Long.

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