Well, it wasn't a barrage of Jay Cutler interceptions that led to Chicago's loss to Philadelphia at Soldier Field Sunday night. Instead of tossing red zone picks, Cutler played smart and checked down to his receivers, setting up four Robbie Gould field goals. Thing about field goals is, a touchdown's better than two of them. That simple math led to the demise of Lovie Smith's team and the deflation of their playoff hopes as they fall to 4-6.
In this frustrating loss, we saw the Bears make play after play on defense, especially Charles Tillman, whom I've rewarded the moniker of "Master of the Ball-Punch." His forced fumbles kept the Bears alive, but the offense could not generate the points to overcome Donovan McNabb, DeSean Jackson and the Philly offense. I look to Ron Turner's play-calling, with plenty of backwards passes and wide receivier screens as a reason for the offense's ineptitude. That play should just be ripped out the playbook and removed from Turner's memory banks.
Sticking with the coaching staff, they're not promoting the same level of discipline I've seen in recent seasons. This team is sloppy, unfocused and constantly out of position on both sides of the ball. The players are poorly selected, especially on both lines. This game starts up front and Jerry Angelo has either failed to bring in the right kind of players or the coaches have failed to motivate them properly, despite three sacks of McNabb on Sunday night. Oh, and letting Michael Vick scamper for 34 yards on his only carry of the night? Unforgivable.
Chicago managed only one first down in the fourth quarter, which is a surefire recipe for a loss. Their most exciting play came from fresh-off the practice squad Kahlil Bell, who broke off a 72-yard run on his first carry. Second most exciting? Seeing Devin Hester's backside in the fourth quarter. Classic accidental network nudity. Otherwise, it was a forgetful outing for my Bears. Unfortunately, someone is getting too much of the blame.
I've heard plenty of railing on my quarterback today, and I have to tell you I'm sick of it. Plain freaking sick. For a city that hasn't had this kind of talent at quarterback in DECADES, I can't believe that after only ten games some people have already jumping off the Cutler train and bad-mouth him at a moment's notice. You know what I say to them? Stop watching! Stay away from my quarterback with your negativity and complaining. We need to be propping Jay up, not tearing him down. He's made bad decisions and poor throws, sure. Who hasn't? He needs some actual coaching from a competent staff, an offensive line that can give him a pocket to throw from and a number one wide receiver.
I would make that trade again and again every day of my life. You would too, even if you're too busy kvetching to realize it. Now its even clearer to see that the front office hasn't brought enough talent to support any QB during their YEARS of futility at the position. I'm keeping my quarterback.
Happy Jay Cutler Day dammit.
