Bears Fans Should be Skeptical of McCown’s Performance

Oct 20, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Josh McCown (12) scrambles as Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (91) chases during the second half at FedEX Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Josh McCown came in and raised a few eyebrows in relief of Jay Cutler in the Bears’ 45-41 loss to the Washington Redskins last week.  His 204 yard, 1 TD, 0 INT performance, good for a 119.6 passer rating, was enough to make some Bears fans write off Jay Cutler’s future as a Chicago Bear. Comments to sports radio ranged from “Save da $15 million you’ll spend on Cutler and go fix da defense” to  “Cutler sucks anyway.”  The Cutler haters rushed out from the shadows like cockroaches coming out when the lights get turned off.  I’ve got two words for the people who think the Bears should move on from Cutler based on McCown’s 2nd half performance – Caleb Hanie.

You don’t have to look further than our own backyard to find a reason that McCown’s performance, while encouraging, has a chance to quickly be derailed.  Caleb Hanie stepped in for the Bears in relief of an injured Jay Cutler and a miserable Todd Collins in the 2010 NFC Championship game and had himself a nice performance.  Hanie went 13 for 20 for 153 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT’s as he tried to bring the Bears back against the Packers for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.  The performance was enough for the Bears to send Todd Collins back to selling insurance and stick with Hanie as Cutler’s primary backup.  The results?  Miserable.