Chicago Bears: 7 Ways Bears Can Keep Jay Cutler Alive For Remainder of Season

Regardless of how you feel about Bears QB Jay Cutler, you must admit that protecting him is one of the keys to turning this season around. But how do they do that?

Forget for a minute that Cutler may hold onto the ball too long—his coordinator, Mike Martz actually encourages that to allow the routes to develop—no QB in history could be successful without blocking in front of him.

Meanwhile, Cutler has been placed in a very difficult place. He's trying to make things happen while down early in a football game without a running game and without enough protection.

Cutler got sacked 52 times during the regular season last year, and has already been sacked 14 times this year, the most of any QB in the league.

Heck, even "Da Coach" Mike Ditka feels sorry for him.

So what can the Bears do to keep Cutler from getting killed? Allow me to explore that question.

Run the Ball More Often

This one is actually not fair, since I can't really blame the Bears for not rushing the ball more often against the Packers on Sunday.

As much as I believe that Martz isn't right for the personnel, I have to admit that there really wasn't a whole lot he could do to balance the offense last Sunday, given how poorly the running attempts were.

Matt Forte is a solid, if unspectacular running back. Perhaps running up the middle when everyone in the building knew the Bears were going to run the ball was a bit stupid in hindsight?

Still, the run blocking has to be there to make this a reality. And, in the second game, I do think they Bears could have run the ball more often.

It's the age-old "chicken or the egg" question here: Does the run set up the pass or does a strong passing game open up the running lanes?

All I know is that whenever the Bears run the ball, that is a time when Cutler can't get sacked. And that is a good thing.

Throw More Screens to Forte

Even if the Bears can't run the ball effectively, they could force the opposing defense to respect the short game by having Cutler dump the ball off to Forte on the screen more often.

Forte has already proven he is a reliable receiver coming out of the backfield. Heck, he has led or tied the Bears in receptions in 2009 and 2010 and he leads the team in receiving yards this year.

Look, you have to take what the defense gives you. Plus, when you lack the receivers like the Bears do, you can't rely on the home run ball to materialize.

The outside linebackers would widen out and the corners might move up, while the safety cheats over when the offense proves it can complete enough short passes to keep the chains moving.

Roll Cutler out

I know that Martz hates this, but as the head coach, Lovie should tell him that the Bears need to take advantage of one of Cutler's strengths and allow him to roll out more.

In doing so, the offensive line should move the pocket with him, allowing Cutler to either pass or run the ball.

We saw more of this after the Giants debacle last year and it worked. Sure, Cutler can get hurt while running, but if he is careful it can be a great weapon and one that he used in Denver.

Tell Cutler to Throw the Ball Away and to Slide

When Cutler does run, he should slide at the end of the play to avoid getting hit by the opposing defense.

Cutler is tough, so he has a tendency to go in head first to try and get the extra yardage when he takes off. While that is admirable, it is not advisable if a QB wants to have a long career in the NFL.

Also, Cutler has not liked to throw the ball away when forced out of the pocket in the past.

Cynics say that is to preserve his completion percentage, but I say that, regardless of the reason, learning to throw it away when all of the receivers are covered is a way to stay alive in the NFL.

The other advantage is that it might reduce interceptions. Instead of forcing the ball into tight coverage, throwing the ball out of bounds is the smarter choice.

Move Frank Omiyale to Left Tackle

I know, this has been tried and it has failed in the past. But this year, Omiyale seems to be playing with a renewed enthusiasm and aggression. At least so far.

Meanwhile, J'Marcus Webb has been terrible protecting Cutler's blind side.

If Gabe Carimi wasn't injured, I would recommend that he try the left side. After all, that's where he played at Wisconsin.

Since Carimi is hurt, however, why not move Omiyale to tackle and see if he can protect better than Webb?

Sure, it might weaken the right guard position, but with Lance Louis getting healthier, perhaps he could move there or the Bears could have Chris Spencer move to that spot.

Fire Mike Martz

Martz traditionally has always had an offensive scheme that led the league in getting his QB killed. So, by eliminating Martz, and bringing in a coordinator who is more willing to balance the play-calling, Cutler may benefit.

I realize this is not likely to happen, at least this soon, but what has been happening to Cutler certainly isn't anything new to Martz-led offenses.

Martz’s offense uses a lot of deep routes and so the quarterback is supposed to hang in there for a beating even if the receiver doesn’t get open or if the blocking breaks down.

According to pro-football-refence.com, since 2005 all Martz-led offenses have been well above average in allowing sacks.

Before that, Martz had the benefit of a Hall-of-Fame QB like Kurt Warner, and his offense was slightly below average in allowing sacks.

Memo to Martz: Cutler is certainly not Warner. Yet it isn't his fault, since he did well, sack-wise, in Denver.

Bubble Suit

Look, if all else fails, perhaps the Bears could wrap Cutler in a bubble suit.

Similar to that lottery commercial where the guy tries to stay alive in order to keep collecting his cash-for-life, maybe the Bears could develop a uniform that prevents him from feeling the full impact of a sack.