Jay Cutler Injury: Is Marc Bulger the Perfect Replacement for Chicago Bears QB?

If you haven't heard the utterly heart-wrenching news, Jay Cutler appears to be out for the rest of the season with a broken thumb. He'll be gone for about six weeks. (This article will now pause for 60 seconds for you to walk around and punch things.) Now the question is whether Marc Bulger would be a good replacement. 

Needless to say, this is devastating news. The Bears are on a five game winning streak and have been looking sensational in their last three games, with their line, running game, passing game, special teams and defense all gelling together.

Lovie Smith even said it is the best team he's ever coached, and that includes the team that went to the Super Bowl. 

So now Caleb Hanie is set to step into the starter's role. The man with 14 regular season pass attempts and an arm that justifies it. He made some waves when he played reasonably well against the Packers pitching in relief of the injured (yes injured!) Cutler last year in the NFC Championship Game.

There's really no point in giving a statistical breakdown of Hanie because 14 attempts just doesn't give you anything to go on. 

The problem is that he's still inexperienced. He still doesn't have a very strong arm, or a very accurate one. He'll make us long for the days of Kyle Orton. He could shock the world and play well, but it's going to be hard to pin a lot of playoff hopes on him. 

If the rumors are to be believed, offensive coordinator Mike Martz sure isn't. 

That's why some have the brought up the name of Bulger who previously played under Martz for the St. Louis Rams. Bulger is a competent replacement. When Bulger and Martz were paired together they actually were pretty doggone good. 

If you discount the 2005 season where Martz had illness issues which kept him out for most of the year, and just look at Bulger's first three years under Martz, he had 9,635 yards in just 36 games, or 267 yards a game. He had 57 TDs to 42 picks. He had a passer rating of 89.7.

In the course of his career, he has only ever played one game at Soldier Field. He went 29-of-46, passing for 240 yards with a pair of TDs and interceptions.

He hasn't thrown a pass in the NFL since 2009 when he was—for lack of a better word—bad. It's hard to lay that all on him, though, as it was largely a product of playing for a really bad team. 

The thing is that the Bears don't need a great quarterback, they just need a capable one, and I'm not sure that Hanie is that.

Of course, it's possible that given the chance to prove himself, Hanie would. Marc Bulger wasn't expected to light the world on fire when he was drafted by the Saints with the 168th overall pick.

The one edge that Hanie offers over Bulger is his legs. He can scramble and that's a part of making the Bears offense succeed. 

In my opinion, the Bears should sign Bulger, but let Hanie take the next start. Give Bulger a chance to learn the offense and get used to the receivers. If Hanie succeeds, they have an upgrade at backup. If he doesn't, they have a QB who can step in and take over. 

If the Bears can split their final six, which is very feasible, and Cutler can heal, the Bears will be set for the postseason. For now it's just about getting three more wins. Keeping all their options open is the best way to do that.