Come To Think Of It: Bears' Unrealistic Hopes Can be Blamed on Jay Cutler Mania

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

When the Bears obtained QB Jay Cutler this offseason, it gave Bears fans cause for much excitement. And deservedly so, for Cutler has a big-time arm and is the first real QB the team has had since...well...ever.

Still, all of this Cutler hysteria has created unfair expectations that the team just can't live up to yet. That 3-1 start to the season only perpetrated the frenzy further.

Now that the Bears are sitting at 3-2 perhaps it is time to reevaluate this thing and look at it objectively, sans the emotion. For if you take a step back and really look hard at this, it is apparent that the Bears are probably about as good as they were last season.

Sure, they have a better QB, even if Kyle Orton is doing well for an undefeated Denver team. Orton is a game manager who won't lose many games for his team, while Cutler has big-time talent and can win games for you.

Unfortunately, with that reward comes risk,

Cutler can also lose games for you.

The reality is that the concerns the Bears had about their offensive line, receiving corps and secondary are still there. The defense misses Brian Urlacher. Heck, they even miss his backup, Hunter Hillenmeyer.

The O-line has been even worse than feared. Frank Omiyale is a train wreck. Orlando Pace is showing his age. Chris Williams is an unproven talent and seems to be on the wrong side of the line.

Meanwhile, perhaps in part because of that offensive line, the running game has been far worse than expected. It is thin behind Matt Forte, with Kevin Jones having been lost before the season even started.

And Forte, who fumbled twice in the same series against Atlanta, after having fumbled only two other times all of last season, isn't running like he did. He doesn't seem to hit the holes as hard or as quick as he used to.

Sure, the line is partly to blame. But the bottom line is that Forte isn't a special back. He can be good behind a strong line, but he doesn't have the talent to make things happen like a Frank Gore or an Adrian Peterson.

Look, this shouldn't be misconstrued as a 'woe is me' scenario. The Bears are a decent team, but anyone who thought that Cutler's arrival would automatically lead to a Super Bowl berth are probably drowning their sorrows right now.

And that's too bad, because those expectations were unsubstantiated. While we couldn't have foreseen the injury to Urlacher, we knew the secondary was suspect and we knew that the wideouts were bad.

Johnny Knox has been terrific, but Devin Hester isn't a true wide receiver. He doesn't react instinctively; he has to think too much out there which creates problems for him.

Still, you can expect the Bears to be about a 9-7 team again this year, though any delusions of grandeur should be shelved. I'm not pessimistic, just trying to help you avoid disappointment.

Having Cutler around even longer, now that he's signed that two-year extension, means we don't have to worry about the most critical position on the football field. That is a good thing. Not that Cutler doesn't need to improve, but at least we have talent at such a key position for years to come.

Meanwhile, Jerry Angelo and his team will have to get creative to figure out a way to improve the O-line going forward. Since the draft likely won't be of much help to the Bears, they may have to scour the waiver wire to find hidden diamonds in the rough.

With the Vikings running away with the division, the only question left is will the Bears be in contention for a wild card berth this season?

If the season were to end right now, the wild card would go to Atlanta. There are also plenty of other 3-2 teams in the NFC including Green Bay in our own division. Both Green Bay and Atlanta have a leg up on us in head-to-head competition, though the Bears play the Packers again.

So keep the faith, Bears fans. Just don't let that faith go over the top, come to think of it.       

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