Some please alert head coach Lovie Smith that the Bears are out of the playoffs. Sure, there is some Good Will Hunting mathematical formula by which the Bears can still qualify, but it’s time to call this season what it is – a total and complete collapse. Now the Bears insist on compounding the problem by screwing up the starting quarterback for their Christmas night game with the Green Bay Packers.
I’ll be the first to admit that I was advocating for Jay Cutler’s return if the Bears had won last week and the Packers game was do or die. That time had passed about the time that Red Bryant was crossing the goal line with the first of Caleb Hanie’s two Pick-6’s against the Seahawks. In hindsight, maybe the season was over the Sunday before Thanksgiving when Jay Cutler broke his thumb. Either way, it would take a miracle of Tebow-esque proportions for the Bears to be playing meaningful January football.
It’s clear that the Bears could not re-live the Caleb Hanie Project against the Packers in front of a national audience. We don’t want every
The Bears have fouled up this quarterback position for years and now even with a “franchise” signal caller like Cutler, they can’t get out of their own way. This goes back to last season with the Todd Collins fiasco. The Bears knew he was no damn good in Week 5 against the Panthers but they did nothing. When they needed a capable backup quarterback the most – in the NFC Championship game – they got nothing out of Collins.
Out of pure desperation, they called on Caleb Hanie and he showed some flashes last January. Maybe it was because no one had any film on him or he was running on pure instinct and adrenaline but Hanie looked to be serviceable. He provided a bit of a spark. Fast forward to this season and that spark has been extinguished. All he has proven is that he is the best quarterback in NFL history for throwing the ball to the fattest guy on the field. Hanie has gotten worse with every start. With another decision in front of them, the Bears are making the wrong choice again, opting for journey Josh McCown rather that rookie Nathan Enderle.
McCown was sitting around coaching high school football until the Bears came a-calling. Why did the Bears choose McCown? Because he knew Mike Martz’s offense. It’s like the old Brady Bunch episode when the record producers picked Greg to be the next Johnny Bravo. Why? Because he fit the suit. Groovy decision.
McCown should be firmly planted at the end of the bench and rookie Nathan Enderle should get the call. Yes, it would be a baptism by fire, but how better to judge another Jerry Angelo draft pick than to put him in in a mop up role the final two games of the season. Could he do worse than Hanie?
The Bears need to start facing the harsh reality that is the 2012 season. They need to figure out what they have on this roster and it should start with evaluating a backup quarterback who has a chance to be on the team in 2012 or decide how many backup quarterbacks they need to get in the offseason.