Brett Favre Is Not the Stop-Gap Solution to Save the Bears' Momentum

Skip Bayless went on record this morning suggesting that the Chicago Bears would be wise to bring in the ageless gunslinger, Brett Favre.

Once thought of by NFC Northerners outside of Green Bay as he-who-cannot-be-considered-to-play-for-my-team-lest-I-be-considered-a-traitor, it now seems that Green Bay is the only team he has no chance to play for. By spending two years with the Minnesota Vikings, Favre broke that long-standing taboo.

Now, with quarterback Jay Cutler's untimely injury that will keep him out at least through the end of the regular season, a whole slew of questions arise as to where the Bears go from here.

Can they rely on fan favorite and backup Caleb Hanie? Do they look for a veteran filler? And if so, then whose number do they dial?

The topic was promptly addressed this morning on ESPN First Take. The ever controversial Bayless wants to see Favre in Chicago. He did happen to cite several reasons in support of such a move that some hold merit: Cutler and Favre share the same agent, Cutler idolizes Favre and would most likely avoid any competitive distractions down the road and if there is one quarterback available who can learn from Cutler on the fly, it's Favre.

If the Bears' front office wants to maintain an air of confidence in the locker room, it will delete this option from memory like Favre should have done with "the pictures".

Bringing in Favre would dismantle all the work this team has done this year to get where it is today, in solid position for a wild card berth.

Hanie may not have much of a resume to work with, only his stellar half of play in the NFC championship game last year and a handful of preseason games over four years, but he has a lot less to learn than would Favre.

In that discussion on First Take, former Jets coach Eric Mangini (who coached Favre) pointed out that the Bears run a different offense than Favre is used to, a big reason why he was able to step into the situation in Minnesota and take the Vikings one win from a Super Bowl appearance in his first year.

Favre might be the G.O.A.T. at his position and a wizard when it comes to improvising. But he is still human and would not have the luxury of an entire offseason to jell with his new coaching staff and teammates and become intimately familiar with the offensive scheme. These have been Hanie's sole responsibilities over the last four years.

"But, Micky, you just said yourself that Favre is the best quarterback of all time. Wouldn't you take a 50-year-old Michael Jordan over Keith Bogans any day of the week?"

While this is a valid point, you have to look at the circumstances. The Bears' remaining schedule features the three remaining AFC West teams in consecutive weeks, the Seahawks, Packers and the Vikings in the season finale.

With Cutler, the Bears would be expected to finish 12-4, winning all of their remaining six games except against the Packers at Lambeau Field.

Substituting Cutler with Hanie changes the landscape of this picture, but not as much as most would think.

Keep in mind that the Bears are now concerned only with making the playoffs, not winning the NFC North crown.

The wild card race currently features the Bears and Lions (both 7-3), the Cowboys and Giants (both 6-4), and the Saints (7-3) and Falcons (6-4). You could also make the case for the Eagles and Seahawks (both 4-6), but neither team is playing at a high enough level to actually be considered.

One of the two NFC East and NFC South teams will win their division, so the competition really comes down to four teams vying for two spots.

The Bears own the tiebreaker with Atlanta and are a game ahead.

The Lions still play Green Bay twice and New Orleans on the road.

Both Dallas and New York face difficult schedules, including their two annual meetings against one another.

It is not far-fetched to imagine the Bears making the playoffs, even while splitting their last six games to finish with a 10-6 record.

Neither is it far-fetched to believe the Bears can do better than 3-3 even with Caleb under center.

• The Raiders are a tough team, but also an inconsistent one that doesn't win at home.
• While no game in the NFL is a foregone conclusion, the Chiefs are about as close as you can get to a disaster.
• I personally think Caleb Hanie is a better football quarterback than Tim Tebow, and the Bears are a better team. As a fellow Bears enthusiast said, I refuse to live in a world where Chicago loses to Tebow.
• The Vikings are the Vikings.

I hesitate to put the Seahawks on the list of winnable games because they have beaten some good teams (Baltimore, NY Giants) and hung tough in a handful of other close losses (San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas). They were only blown out by Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and I see this as a trap game.

Regardless, an 11-5 record should guarantee Chicago a wild card spot and possibly give Cutler a chance to return and continue playing the best football of his career.

Hanie gives the Bears an element of surprise in that nobody really knows who he is and what he is capable of, aside from that NFC championship game and second-string action in the preseason. But as Mangini pointed out, his decision-making skills were sharp against the Packers when the stakes were high.

With Matt Forte, an improving offensive line and a defense that has found ways to set up its offense with short fields all year long, Hanie will certainly not be backed by a talentless roster.

Chicago needs to believe that he can get the Bears across the finish line and into the playoffs.

Brett Favre looks really comfortable in those Wrangler's. Let's help him keep them on.