LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears sought to come out of the bye week unified and taking aim at an NFC North division title they believe is still within their grasp.

The last thing they needed was more talk about the team coming apart at the seams during coach Marc Trestman’s second year, but that’s what they got in a report by Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com citing unnamed sources who said players and the organization are having doubts about their coach.

“The support in this building has been outstanding,” Trestman said. “That’s all I can say. Everybody upstairs has been extremely supportive of the way we’re handling things. Our team has been unbelievably compliant in doing everything that we, as coaches and myself, have asked them to do.

“That’s evident on the field, it’s evident in the locker room, it’s evident in the meeting room that these guys are an amazing group of men that have been extremely compliant. And the support has been there.”

What Trestman didn’t really address specifically was the reported nonsupport. The report described the Bears as a team in crisis only halfway through the year, with Trestman’s leadership being questioned within the organization.

Instead, Trestman described players who are standing up and taking responsibility for being last in the NFC North.

“I think one of the things that the players have said is they have a responsibility, too,” Trestman said. “They have a sense of accountability in this as well.”

The report described a locker room without leaders, which Trestman labeled completely false.

“I’ve spent time connecting with a lot of players on the team during the course of the week and asked them the things that we can do to help them,” he said. “I think there’s a proactive attempt by a lot of guys here. I think just the way they came back (Monday to practice) is evidence that guys have spent some time during their off weeks thinking about how they’re going to respond.

“These last two weeks have seemed like a much longer time. (The win over) Atlanta seems like a long, long time ago right now. We know that because of the way we played the last two weeks. But the evidence was clear today that there was energy in the building, there was energy in the room. Guys went out and worked today. That’s all we can ask them to do.”

Trestman said, “It’s been disappointing because we haven’t played at a consistent level. I think the biggest thing right now is we’re moving forward during our season to the next most-important thing, and that is to get ready for Green Bay. And that’s what we’re doing.

“It’s all part of the ebb and flow of being a coach at this level or any level. It’s all the same. You work through the adversities and the success along the way, and you try to manage it the best way you can and as consistently as you can, making sure that you’re providing the environment for your guys to succeed on a daily basis. And that’s really where my focus is. It’s not on myself. It’s on getting our guys and our coaches and putting them in a position that they can have success on a weekly basis and making sure that environment is consistent, being able to get it done.”

The Bears are drawing inspiration from some recent teams that finished the first half of their season 3-5 before going on to the playoffs.

“Coach Trestman pointed out two examples of teams who were at similar starts as us,” safety Ryan Mundy said. “In 2012, the Redskins, I believe, started out 3-6 and won their division. And then last year, the Eagles started out 3-5 and ended up winning their division. We have a lot of football left and every game is a critical game for us right now. They’re all NFC opponents and they’re all division games, so they’re all must-wins for us.”

Self-scouting done by the coaches during the bye week produced results Trestman thinks can make a difference. The Bears were 11th in passing heading into Monday night’s game and 13th in offense. It’s their lack of commitment to the run that has been a problem, at 23.5 attempts a game (27th in the league).

“It comes down to us doing the right things, being lined up in the right places,” he said. “As I said, part of it is a collective effort of making good decisions in play calling as well.

“It all goes hand in hand. One isn’t more important than the other.”

The defense — ranked 20th against the run but 12th overall — needs to get healthier and play as physically as it did in the win over Atlanta.

“We’ve got to outhit our opponents, there’s no question about it,” said defensive end Willie Young, who now takes over at left end for Lamarr Houston, who suffered a torn ACL during a sack celebration. “There’s nothing about what we’ve got to do that is going to be pretty. Not whatsoever.

“We’ve got to outhit our opponents, and we’ve got to do that for however long that game goes. As long as the defense is on the field, we’ve got to outhit our opponents and continue to bring the pain.”

NOTES: LB Lance Briggs’ return from a rib injury is anticipated this week.

… RT Jordan Mills took snaps at left guard Monday as the Bears seek to find a replacement for Matt Slauson, who is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle. Michael Ola took Mills’ normal spot at right tackle. “We haven’t locked in anything,” coach Marc Trestman said. … DE David Bass was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster due to DE Lamarr Houston’s injury.

REPORT CARD AT THE BYE

PASSING OFFENSE: D-plus — Jay Cutler’s inconsistency is not apparent from his 95.8 passer rating and 17 touchdown passes to eight interceptions. He has managed to pile up yards and completions while facing big deficits to improve his statistics. Heading into the weekend, only DeMarco Murray (5) had lost more fumbles than Cutler (4), who has fumbled a league-high nine times. The pass blocking hasn’t stood up to the pressure of trailing in the last two games, and Cutler has been sacked 20 times, tied for ninth most in the league.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C-minus — Matt Forte’s 562 yards look solid and had him fifth in the league starting the weekend, but his 4.3 yards a carry was 25th in the league and the run blocking has been spotty, particularly struggling on first downs as the offense hasn’t been able to set up more negotiable third-down situations. Forte also had the fumble that proved critical in finishing the Bears’ chances against Carolina.

PASS DEFENSE: D — The improved pass rush (20 sacks) through Willie Young’s seven sacks has been in spite of Jared Allen being almost a non-factor and Lamarr Houston being a run stopper only before his celebratory injury. The coverage has been lacking largely due to injuries to starters Charles Tillman, Kyle Fuller and Chris Conte, and the Bears rank 24th against the pass. Opposing passers have a 101.2 rating against them. Sometimes it’s way too easy, especially on early downs.

RUSH DEFENSE: C — They have managed to improve to 13th against the run after finishing last in 2013, and the improved play of Stephen Paea, as well as Jeremiah Ratliff’s stabilizing factor, have made a difference. Houston was a big reason they finally figured out how to stop the read option, except for one key breakdown against Miami. Whether they can continue doing this without Houston remains to be seen, but there aren’t as many read-option teams remaining on the schedule.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-minus — As with every aspect of this team, inconsistency has been the problem. While rookie punter Patrick O’Donnell has a 45.2-yard average and the net is a respectable 42.9 (ninth), they’ve allowed a few critical returns. Too many young players who’ve been shuffling in and out from the practice squad or other teams’ practice squads have been the problem. Kicker Robbie Gould had been consistent, but his one big miss came against Carolina on a chip shot that turned the game in the second quarter.

COACHING: D — Marc Trestman has admitted his game plans have been far too pass-oriented. In a few games, they’ve fallen too far behind for the running game to have much effect. In most games, they haven’t been patient enough with it. The run not only would have balanced the offense but could have taken some of the pressure off Cutler. Defensive game plans have fluctuated from clueless against Green Bay and New England to masterful against the Jets and Falcons. They’ve also made some solid in-game adjustments on defense, such as in the 49ers game, but in the loss to Carolina nothing they did in the second half seemed to work. GM Phil Emery called Jay Cutler a 3-5 quarterback for a 3-5 team, and the coaching staff has been a 3-5 staff as well.