Bears Twitter Q&A: On John Fox’s value, Floyd’s coverage and IR

The Sun-Times’ experts can answer your Bears questions all week on Twitter. Here’s a sampling of Tuesday’s queries sent to @patrickfinley, who responds with more than 140 characters:

Per Spotrac.com, which tracks contracts, no team has lost more than the Bears, who have had 22 players miss time this season either on IR or the physically unable to perform list.

According to ManGamesLost.com, the Bears are No. 4 among teams in total games lost to injuries, behind the Chargers, Saints and Ravens. They’re ranked second in the web site’s measurement of the quality of injured players. They trail only the Vikings, whose top two injuries — they’ve played all season without quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and most of the year without running back Adrian Peterson — are tough to top.

So the Bears have been hurt a lot, yes, and those players have been good.

He’s considered a motivator and “players’ coach.” Say what you will about the Bears’ 3-11 record this season — and there’s plenty to say — but Fox’s locker room has yet to splinter. On the field, his players still appear motivated.

“We coulda thrown it in the tank a couple weeks ago, once we knew we wasn’t going to the playoffs,” outside linebacker Willie Young said Sunday. “That’s not what we did. We got a lot of guys on this team that take a lot of pride in what they do.

“Regardless of what happened and what the situation is, guys are going to fight for each other. As long as we’re walking on our own two feet, we’re going to continue to battle for each other.”

I asked defensive coordinator Vic Fangio about that Tuesday, and he said the rookie outside linebacker dropped into coverage “not a lot” during the game.

On the decisive play, Aaron Rodgers’ 60-yard completion, Floyd ran a late stunt. Because the Bears were in man coverage, Fangio wanted to have a player on the second level to make sure Rodgers couldn’t scramble. The stunt left Floyd as a de facto spy.

Vic Fangio questioning Kyle Fuller’s availability — heck, his heart — was the surest sign yet that there’s a disconnect between the Bears and their former first-round pick.

The cornerback had preseason arthroscopic knee surgery and should have been back by now; the team is frustrated that he’s not.

The defensive coordinator said that, typically, players who feel better when they return to practice are “champing at the bit to go play.” Fuller is not there yet, and he’s running out of time. If the Bears don’t activate him by 3 p.m. Wednesday, he won’t be able to play for the rest of the season — and his Bears career might be over.