Jay Cutler & The Voice Of Reason

If I put my hands over my ears, I can't hear the bad things you say about me.

If your initial reaction to Sunday night's loss was to find the receipt for your recently purchased Jay Cutler jersey and head to your local retailer for a refund, this blog is for you.
Before you continue to pile on Rex Grossman Cutler, consider this.  If No. 6 was not under center, that 68-yard completion to Johnny Knox would have never happened.  Neither would the 36-yard touchdown pass to Devin Hester.  Cutler's 277-yard passing performance represents the most yards thrown for a Bears QB since Kyle Orton threw for 283 yards in the team's 48-41 win against Minnesota.

With that said, the Grossman-esque, four picks were inexcusable.  Even the one on the 3rd-and-Goal screen pass.  More on that later.

Bears fans looking for a good sign should take note of the following sentence.  The last time a Chicago quarterback threw four interceptions in a game was in 2006, when Grossman thought he played for the Arizona Cardinals.  Despite Grossman's horrific game, the Bears won 24-23, which led to one of the greatest post-game rants ever ... and the Bears' last Super Bowl appearance.

The most troubling thing about the loss might not be the four-INT game by the savior.

First, there's Ron Turner and his play calling.  First, I am convinced Turner is the only offensive coordinator at any level that would call for a screen pass on 3rd-and-Goal ... and then later on 3rd and 22.  At what point does Lovie Smith stop Turner and say, 'Hey, that might not be the best call for this situation.'  Or, at what point does Cutler die of laughter upon hearing said play being called.  And while Devin Hester emerged as a No. 1 target this week, I cannot be the only person wondering what happened to last season's best pass catcher.  While Matt Forte struggled to move the ball (24 carries, 55 yards) on the ground, I'm still trying to figure out how the team's leading receiver last year did not come up with any receptions last night. 

Here's hoping that Jerry Angelo has los juevos to give Turner the axe and call Mike Shanahan and see what his plans are for next Sunday.  I'm sure Cutler has got him on speed dial.

On the other side of the ball, the Bears didn't completely suck.  In fact, for about 57 minutes, it looked like the Monsters of the Midway.  Adawale Ogunleye played like a man looking for a contract extension possessed, picking up a sack and harassing Aaron Rodgers as if he owed him child support money.  Then came Nathan Vasher's slip as Greg Jennings slid right past him for an easy touchdown.

It's the same play the Bears were burned on last year against Minnesota.  And the same play the Colts were able to smoke the Bears on in the Super Bowl.  If legit offenses run that play against the Bears, I can almost guarantee a scoring play on at least 9 of 10 attempts.  The other attempt comes one-yard short of a touchdown, as the open receiver takes a knee at the one so his teammate can get the one-yard touchdown run to preserve his fantasy football team's win.

Oh yeah, and Brian Urlacher is going under the knife Monday.

Did I mention the defending world champion Steelers come to Chicago in Week 2.

It could be worse, Bears fans, you could have been born a Lions fan.