Cutler Returns For A Monday Night Showdown

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6)
(Credit: Pro Football Focus)

       The Chicago Bears (1-6) will face off against the Minnesota Vikings (5-1) on Monday night in what might be a devastating night for the Bears. Despite the encouraging return of Cutler (though most Bears fans would disagree), the Bears will be going up against a very good Vikings D that ranks first in points (14) allowed per game. This does not bode well for a team that ranks dead last in scoring (15.9).

       Chicago hopes to get some mojo back as they get their bullet passer back on the field. Although turnover prone, Cutler can make some of the craziest throws in the NFL. The offense needs a jump start after a game against the Packers in which they lost Brian Hoyer and couldn't manage to get anything going (their lone touchdown was on defense). Although Brian was able to rack up yardage while he replaced Jay, the Bears weren't able to get into the endzone nearly enough. Jay is seen more as a play-maker when compared to Hoyer and his teammates are excited to have him back.

"Brian did a great job when he was playing, but there's something about No. 6," said outside linebacker Pernell McPhee. "Brian played great—no disrespect—but it's like we got new life with '6' coming back."

"Anytime you get your starting quarterback back is good," added tight end Zach Miller.

       Even if these comments are simply words to show support in whoever is starting for the team, I think the words ring true. As I said, Cutler has the play-making ability that the offense needs and no matter how Hoyer performed, Jay Cutler is the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.

       Aside from the offense, a lot of this game depends on the Bears defense. The Vikings do not have a high octane offense, leaving much of the heavy lifting on the other side of the ball. The Vikings are in the bottom half of the league in scoring and second to worst in yards/game. So far this year that has not been an issue as the defense has produced more than enough to win games.

       Looking at this game from an unbiased stance, I don't think the Bears have much of a chance. But weirder things have happened in the NFL and hopefully Monday is just another one of those things.

Hoyer Suffers Broken Arm, Jay Medically Cleared

Brian Hoyer (2) injured in a game against the
Green Bay Packers on Oct. 20, 2016
  (Credit: AP / Matt Ludtke)

       Unfortunately I did not get to see much of Thursday's game against the Pack. But I was able to catch the 4th quarter right in time to see the Bears collapse in what was a close game through three.

       The Chicago Bears (1-6) and the Green Bay Packers (4-2) were locked in a battle for most of the game. Rodgers was unable to do much with his offense allowing the Bears to stay in a game against a team that is very good despite its recent struggles.

       It didn't seem the Bears would have much of a chance after Brian Hoyer left the game with a broken left arm giving Matt Barkley a chance to show what he could do. Despite a poor performance from Barkley, 6 of 15 for 81 yards and two interceptions, the defense kept it close through three quarters. Even with a solid defensive effort the Bears offense was held to just 189 total yards as they proved no match against the Packers without Hoyer. The Bears went on to lose the game 26-10 after entering the fourth trailing by 3.

       With another loss added to their record, Chicago has very little hope of making any sort of push for the playoffs. From here on out we will see if this is a team willing to battle despite a lost season. As a huge Bears fan, I want them to win as many games as they can. I do not believe in losing to get a better pick in the draft.

On Another Note: Jay Cutler was medically cleared to play on Monday and is supposed to return to practice on Tuesday. With Hoyer now out, Cutler gets his job back by default. But hey, I am in no way complaining.

UP NEXT: Chicago Bears (1-6) vs Minnesota Vikings (5-1)

Late Collapse Dooms Bears Against Jaguars

Willie Young (97) strips quarterback Blake Bortles (5)
in a game at Soldier Field on Oct. 16, 2016
Credit: AP / Jeff Roberson

       The Chicago Bears (1-5) managed to lose a game that should have been theirs against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) at Soldier Field on Sunday.

       The Jaguars started off hot, starting their first drive from their own ten and marching all the way down into the red zone. Fortunately for the Bears, a bobbled pass resulted in a Porter interception. Up until the second half, the game was all Bears (even though they did a lot to shoot themselves in the foot). Hoyer started the game 8 for 8, the Bears converted 70% of their third downs, and they doubled Jacksonville's yardage. Despite all of that the Bears only led by 10 at the end of the half. The small lead was a result of stupid penalties, Hoyer missing Jeffery on what should have been an easy touchdown pass, the lack of a rushing attack, and poor play calls at the end of the half (didn’t utilize two timeouts).

       Even though they didn’t lead by much, the Bears looked poised to handle Jacksonville throughout thankfully to the defense. But the Bears offense continued to let the Jaguars hang around despite multiple short drives in the third quarter. The Bears weren’t able to capitalize on Jacksonville’s inability to get down field until late in the third quarter when they settled for another field goal putting them up 13-0. The Bears went into the fourth quarter up 13, thinking that they would have the chance to get the win.

       However, the Jaguars were able to score very early into the fourth quarter as they drew to within one score. The Bears were predictably unable to answer on their next drive, leaving all of the momentum on the Jaguars side. That was until Willie Young stripped Blake Bortles on the ensuing drive, which was recovered by Hicks at the 28 yard line. Even with amazing field position, the Bears were unable to get anything going and had to settle for yet another field goal.

       With a little over 8 minutes left in the game, it seemed that Bears defense would be able to hold off Jacksonville just long enough to get the win. Unfortunately for the Bears, the defense allowed a field goal and a touchdown on the next two drives, giving Jacksonville the lead 17-16. The Bear were given the ball back, down by 1, with 2:49 seconds left but were unable to get close enough for a field goal due to an offensive holding penalty and a missed 4th down conversion.

       Brian Hoyer finished the day 30/49 for 302 yards, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. It is yet another game where Hoyer was able to pad his stats but not produce in crucial moments of the game. The Bears also finished with less than a hundred yards rushing as a collective unit, showing that this game was pretty one dimensional (49 pass attempts).

       The Bears are ranked 31st in points per game this season which makes sense given their record. This loss solely rests on the offenses inability to score touchdowns.

       Although the Bears will be playing the struggling Green Bay Packers (3-2) on Thursday night, I see no reason why this team doesn't get steam rolled into further NFL irrelevance.

Bears Falter Late In Tough Loss To Colts

       The Chicago Bears (1-4) came into the game against the Indianapolis Colts (2-3) with a lot of confidence after their win last week against the Lions. Despite over 500 yards of total offense, they were unable to come away with the victory.

Brian Hoyer (2) and Jordan Howard (24)
during a game against the Colts on Oct. 9, 2016
Photo Credit: Associated Press

      
       Brian Hoyer played a very effective game going 33-43 for 397 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jordan Howard put together another great game, rushing for 118 yards while catching 3 passes for 45 yards, one of them being a touchdown. The ability of the line and Howard's production once again allowed Hoyer to find anyone he wanted on the field. I am at the point where I realize Jay Cutler might never play another snap for the Chicago Bears and it sort of makes sense (I guess). Hoyer is playing well, not turning the ball over (which I think factors in most), and showing the poise you expect out of a veteran backup. But there are still issues.

       Although they scored 23 points, the Bears had to settle for 4 field goal attempts, one being missed by Barth. The inability of the Bears offense to get into the end zone more, especially when they get deep in opponents territory, is dooming this team time and time again. I have said it and I will keep saying it; we can get as many yards as we want but if we don't take advantage of field position it doesn't really matter. We need to find a way to come off the field with more than a field goal if we plan on beating anyone else this year.

       One of the most important plays on offense came at the end of the game. Jeffery was very upset after a failed 4th down and at first I was confused why. But after reading an article by Sean Wagner-McGough, it seems that Jeffery was wide open on the play which would have resulted in a touchdown had Hoyer looked his way. Sean said it best when he wrote "And really, that last play perfectly captures the difference between Hoyer and Cutler. Hoyer played well, took care of the football, and he certainly wasn't the reason why the Bears lost (and I'm guessing he'll hang onto the starting job for at least another week), but if the Bears are looking to play the quarterback who can make big-time throws in key moments, that quarterback isn't Hoyer -- it's Cutler. "

       But don't get me wrong, despite the deep threat differences, in no way is this loss on Hoyer for missing one play. Meredith also had a fumble late in the game while the Bears were trying to come back. The defense was another issue.

       Although the defense was really good at stopping the Colts on third down, the effort didn't translate to the rest of the game. They allowed almost 400 yards of total offense to a team that is able to do that regularly. They ended the game without a single takeaway, which doesn't necessarily lead to a loss but it definitely helps swing momentum. But the biggest blunder of the defense came in the fourth quarter while the Bears were leading 23-19. On 1st and 10 from the Bears 35 yard line, Luck hit T.Y. Hilton in stride for a touchdown. Hilton was able to blow past Glenn, and had plenty of room between him and Prosinski to make the catch and score untouched. The main issue with this drive is the fact that the Bears had scored on the drive right before. Although momentum was on our side the defense wasn't able to hold up it's end and allowed the Colts to march right down the field.

       The Bears would go on to lose the game by a score of 23-29.

       Going forward, it is going to be very tough for the Bears to make the playoffs. The offense needs to score more touchdowns when they get into the red zone. The defense needs to do better at bending and not breaking. And the penalties have got to be cut down. Penalties easily kill drives when you are on a roll.

       I can't say that the Bears are playing bad football. They are just sloppy at times which has ended up being very costly.

UP NEXT: Chicago Bears (1-4) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3)

Bears vs Colts Preview

     
       This week the Chicago Bears (1-3) travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. The Colts, who are also 1-3, are struggling to find the success they've grown used to since Luck arrived in 2012. The Bears are coming off their first win of the season while the Colts are coming off a loss to the Jaguars.

       The Bears offense comes into this game ranked in the bottom ten in the league while the Colts are ranked in the middle of the pack. The main issue with the Colts has not been their offense. Their defense hasn't been able to come up with quality games. The Colts defense is allowing 31.2 points/game which will not get it done if you want to win in the National Football League.

So can the Bears exploit this struggling defense?

In order for the Bears to win, there are two things they will need to do.

1. Get into the end-zone

       We have seen that Brian Hoyer can rack up the yards and protect the football, but the Bears need to do a better job of coming off the field with points and being successful on third downs. The Bears offense is averaging 15.5 points/game (tied for worst in the league). Brian Hoyer can throw for 500 yards, but if you can't score, it doesn't matter how many yards you throw for. 

2. Defense needs a repeat performance from last week

       The Bears defense played their best game of the season allowing the Lions offense to score just 6 points last week. They will need to have the same effort to stop a Colts offense that is more than capable of torching them if they fail to do so.

       Although the Colts have a very good offense going up against a Bears defense that wasn't really tested last week, I believe they carry the momentum over and actually score some points in the game.

Bears 27 Colts 20

Have We Seen The Last of Cutler In Chicago?

Zack Miller (86) celebrates touchdown in the third quarter
against the Lions, Sunday Oct. 2, 2016.
 (Credit: AP Charles Rex Arbogast)

      The Chicago Bears (1-3) finally got their first win on Sunday against the Detroit Lions (1-3) by a score of 17-14. It was a breath of fresh air for the Bears who hadn't beaten the Lions in their last 6 attempts.

      My praise goes out to the defense. They played like a complete unit coming up with huge stops almost every time we needed them to. They held the Lions to 263 yards, 7 points (special teams gave up the other touchdown), and a 33% success rate on third downs (all of which are below their season averages). This great performance might have come against a Lions team struggling to find a way to do much of anything, but we can't look past what this defense did. Coming into this game, the Bears defense seemed unable to stop any team in the National Football League, but that defense was nowhere to be found in this game. John Timu came up with a huge stop on a third and goal, forcing the Lions to settle for a field goal. Hicks and Washington both contributed sacks while Glenn and Hall had one interception each. The defense looked like a top ten unit in a game that absolutely needed to be won. The Bears defense will have to keep up their intensity after this win if they have any hope of making a push towards the playoffs (I know that's a long shot).

      Turning to the offensive side it is obvious that Brian Hoyer played a good game. With his performance comes the good ol QB controversy. Will Cutler start once healthy? Has Hoyer shown he can get it done just as much, or even better than Jay? John Fox might think so. Fox has not given any straight answers whether Jay gets his job back once he is healthy which isn't a good sign for Cutler. Then again Fox is as far from straight forward with answers as it gets when it comes to coaches in this league. Remember when Rex Grossman was our QB? Lovie Smith always said "Rex is our quarterback". But Hoyer has given Fox something to think about.

      On Sunday, Hoyer was 28-36 for 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He has thrown for more than 300 yards in two straight weeks and has not thrown an interception in both of his starts so far. I don't want to take away from his performance. He played really well with the plays that were called and produced just what we needed to win. But, let's not forget Jordan Howard. Howard rushed for 111 yards on 23 attempts (that's 4.8 yards/rush). The Bears haven't had a 100 yard rusher since Matt Forte the first game of the season in 2015. This simply cannot be overlooked. Loggains was able to call the game in a very productive way. He used the running game consistently and it worked well. That opened a lot of play action opportunities for Hoyer and the Bears. Hoyer was sacked twice in the game, but the line held up pretty well throughout (something Cutler hadn't seen prior to his injury). One play, Hoyer was able to hit Royal in stride in the middle of the field because the line held up perfectly (best throw I saw all game). But with the good also comes the things we need to work on.

      Like I said earlier, the Bears won 17-14. Despite Hoyer's numbers, I think this game goes to the defense. Although the Bears offense out-gained the Lions by 145 yards, their 38% success rate on third down will not cut it. If you gain 500 yards in a game but can't produce points, you will not win much. We also can't expect the defense to play so well against teams that have high octane offenses or simply better offenses than the Lions. This is where I believe Jay gives us a better chance to win. We have seen, even when Jay throws interceptions, we have the ability to to come out on top. Do we win a lot when he throws interceptions? Of course not (depending on the amount of course). I don't see Hoyer not making mistakes down the line. But if the line can play how they have been and the rushing game can be consistent, Jay most definitely gives the Bears a better chance to win. First of all, Cutler is more athletic than Hoyer. This might be completely opinion, but when you judge mobility, I believe Cutler has way more elusiveness. When he wants and when he needs to be, Jay can be really physical. Another thing that we don't get from Hoyer are big plays. As we saw in this last game, Loggains kept the plays very conservative which can explain why Jeffery ended the game with 3 receptions for 46 yards. The Bears weren't going to take many chances. I am not saying that they won't try big plays with Hoyer, but I do believe that the ability for those plays comes more naturally with Jay. The Bears are going to have to throw in the long pass in order to keep the defense on their toes. Sure, check downs and short passes are definitely a huge part of the game and Cutler has his fair share of those plays. But Cutler definitely gives the offense a little more power. You guys might be reading this thinking "wow, he really just can't let Cutler go" or "where is he getting these ideas". You wouldn't be wrong about my love for Jay, but that doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. I simply watch the games and call them how I seem them (most of the time).

      Hoyer did a wonderful job and in no way do I think he isn't a good QB. But we have a lot of people that are putting all their marbles on this guy and I just don't think that is wise. We saw what happened with McCown who thrived for a few games and has been nowhere to be seen lately (due to injury and average quarterback play). Remember when everyone was calling for Hanie? How'd that work out? Hoyer is a backup. That is just the reality. Yes, he is a VERY capable backup, but second string nonetheless.

      Once Cutler gets healthy I have no idea what Fox is going to do. I think a lot of it depends on how Hoyer plays while Cutler watches. It also comes down to whether or not Hoyer can lead the offense and get points when the defense doesn't play as well as they did this last game. Hoyer has started two games so far and has played better than we could have hoped for. Although against the Cowboys we were playing from behind the entire game allowing the Boys defense to simply fall back into zone and Hoyer also threw the ball 49 times. I think the game against the Lions plays more into whether or not he keeps the starting job. But then again..... it was the Lions.

UP NEXT: Chicago Bears (1-3) at Indianapolis Colts (1-3)