He’s no “Quitler”

The Chicago Bears suffered a rough season-ending loss on Sunday versus the Green Bay Packers for the NFC Championship. This loss, despite popular belief, was not because of Jay Cutler leaving the game early  due to injury, butrather  the offensive line’s lack of discipline.

The Packers gave the Bears too many chances to give them this game, and the Bears did not take care of business. While some may say Rodgers had a great game, his 55.4 passer rating was lower than Caleb Hanie’s 65.2 rating.  But with a lack of leadership from Cutler, it was very tough for the Bears to pull off a win.

Cutler has been a great addition to the team and has brought the team to new heights. He has been the best Bears quarterback in a long time and can be trusted with the ball. The Bears’ problem is the lack of a good offensive line and receivers. Defense is rarely a problem for the Bears any year, and they could have held up through the Super Bowl if they made it there.

The Bears’ offensive line has given Cutler hell the past two seasons. The Bears led the NFL in sacks allowed, with a grueling 56 takedowns. It’s amazing he only had one concussion through the regular season, while Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers suffered two this season and look where Rodgers team is now.

The O-line also lacks in giving Matt Forte room to run the football. The team sits at the bottom of the pit for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Despite the weak line, Forte was able to break 1,000 yards this season. Imagine the damage he can do if he had a good line and the pressure he would take off of Jay Cutler.    

Despite his limited time for passing, Cutler was able to sit at a 86.3 passer rating for the season, which stacks in the top half of all quarterbacks in the NFL. He also finished in the top 20 for passing yards. While dealing with a group of average wide receivers, their lack of experience and overall skill also limits Cutler’s potential. There was not one Bear receiver that broke the 1,000 yard mark or over 6 touchdowns. It’s hard to rely on such young receivers to pull through with big plays that big names like Miles Austin or Reggie Wayne do regularly.

Overall, Cutler is a great quarterback for the Chicago Bears and we cannot blame him for one injury. He brought our team to the NFC championship game with a bye, a result we did not expect at the beginning of the season at all. If we inprove our offensive line and touch up on our receivers, the Bears will be a Super Bowl contender for years to come.

Time to believe in the Bears

The Chicago Bears increased their winning streak to five games after defeating the Detroit Lions 24-20. Sitting on top of the NFC North for the second consecutive week, the Bears are proving they are the powerhouse of the Midwest.

As for the rest of the division, the Green Bay Packers still sit at one game back and have an easier schedule coming up. The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions can be pushed away from the playoff picture, as their records and upcoming games will not be make it possible for them to make a challenge for the division title this season.

It is hard to remember what the Bears were previewed as in the preseason. The Bears had a humble 0-4 record. But that is past them now and they are on a four-game winning streak. This has raised some eyebrows within the conference, as well as throughout the league.

A major factor in the Bears stampede is their defense. The “Monsters of the Midway” are back. The Bears have managed to surrender only eight passing touchdowns this season and force sixteen interceptions. The ground game is up to par with nine allowed touchdowns and ten forced fumbles. These turnovers help turn the game around and when the offense can take advantage; it gives the Bears a big push to pulling off a victory in any game.

As of this week, the Bears have pulled into the top ten power rankings on ESPN.com, the first time they have been in that list since week six when they sat at a 4-1 record and Jay Cutler was in injury trouble.

Julius Peppers has been earning his paycheck, and was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November. Peppers is in the top five for sacks in the NFL and has been contributing every week to gives the opposing quarterbacks a reason to panic. Jay Cutler has also been doing well, becoming NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He has come off his best week of his career, boasting 247 passing yards, four touchdowns with no interceptions, and a dazzling 146.2 passer rating versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bears next game is against New England Patriots who should be their ultimate test of the season to see if they are worthy of taking the division and becoming the team to beat in the NFC North. This game should be a great matchup and you can expect a close result, and hopefully the Bears can come away with a win.

Lovie, Bears are underachieving

It seems like just yesterday that the Chicago Bears got Jay Cutler and seemed poised to make a playoff run. It is now week 14 in the NFL and the Bears are 5-8, third in the NFC North because the dreadful Lions are still in their division. Cutler has not even been close to what Bears fans expected when they traded Kyle Orton and first round draft picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. Instead, the Bears got a gunslinger who has a laser arm, but takes too many chances with the football. This is why Cutler leads the NFL with 22 interceptions.

After the Bears beat the Steelers in week two for the first win and won the next two games, it appeared as if the Bears were in good shape. Then they went on to lose seven of their next nine games. They lost big (45-10 to the Bengals and 41-21 to the Cardinals), they lost close (21-14 to the Falcons and 10-6 to the 49ers), and they lost to their division rivals in the Packers and Vikings. The two wins during this span came against teams just as bad or worse as the Lions: Rams (1-12) and Browns (2-11).

When a team is struggling and has as much talent as the Bears do, the head coach is always going to be on the hot seat. For the Bears, that coach is Lovie Smith. After this stretch of poor plays by the Bears, fans have begun calling for his job.

Like all head coaches, he has had his share of ups and downs. In 2006, he led the Bears to their first Super Bowl since they won it in 1985. After that, it has not been so pleasant for Smith and the Bears. They finished 7-9 and 9-7 since the Super Bowl lost to the Colts, though they were expected to do a lot better with the dominant defense they had. After another year in which they underachieved, there is a good chance that Smith will not be back for another year.

Since Jay Cutler was the big signing during the offseason, most of the blame has been centered towards him for the Bears. Though he has not played well, the defense is also a big reason why the Bears are just 5-8. No longer the menacing defense that they were in the past, the Bears have been hurting since the loss of Brian Urlacher for the year. Three times this year Chicago has given up over 35 points and they have given up 291 points already this year. Consider the dominant defense the Bears had during their Super bowl year when they allowed 209 points the entire season.

The Bears have tried to change their identity as a team this year. Rather than rely on running and defense as they had in the past, they put their squad in the hands of a gun-slinger-Jay Cutler. This has not worked well at all and maybe next year they will go back to their past identity.