CrackerDog

I found the terms used a little insulting. To suggest Jay hasn't bought into the system when there's no way of knowing that but to ask him. He's bought into it while still continuing to believe in his abilities. You can't expect that to change. To say Jay needs to show some moxy, the dude is all MOXY. Listen, Joe Montana threw low to mid teen picks a season and never had to overcome this shitty a D. Cutler averages about .5 of a pick more than that while being in his fourth system in four years. Sorry, that's not outrageously bad. Jay will see his payday.

Turns everything I've ever believed about an outdoor team in a bad weather location on it's head. I never thought an O could produce this well under those circumstances.

I understand what you're saying but to be honest, most of this is insulting BS. Yes, Jay has some proving to do but only because the backup did a fine job. Which makes many question whether anyone could do what the two Bears QB's have accomplished this year. Putting up huge points to overcome a D that blows ass isn't easy no matter what the system. Jay has proven himself. He's on a full season pace to throw for over 4,000 yards and it's my opinion that we'd be even better than our 8-6 record if jay had stayed perfectly healthy. Sure, he can improve! But let's not get arrogant about the results the Bears have seen this year despite some huge challenges. In short, I think Jay just needs to do exactly what he's already done to get that big contract. He's shown plenty of "moxy". He's a talented QB and will commmand huge money in the open market. The Bears will have to compete for his services with a market deal. All this crap about Jay needing to take a cut, give us a deal... All bullshit. Like you, I'll be satisfied with whatever Emery and Trestman decide but unlike you, I don't think it'll have a lot to do with Jay growing up and buying into the system. He's clearly still learning the system and while learning he's been putting up big numbers and scoring lots of offensive points. That'll only get better as he gains more experience with Trestman.

Me too. But I'm not holding my breath. Cutler haters aren't swayed by results or logic.

So much fun to see the dirtiest team in the league get shot down like this. Hopefully the Bears can close the deal these next two weeks.

LOL!

Funny, this dovetails with a comment I made this weekend, I think. I told someone (who didn't really give a shit) that it was almost like Jay was a rookie and the coaches were throwing him out there to learn. Now, obviously Jay is far from a rookie but as to this particular offense and the discipline Trestman desires, this is all new to Jay. And I couldn't agree with you more on your comments. Trestman is "all knowing" when it comes to each and every play. So if they put out the big bucks for Jay this winter, it's because Trestman and Emery agree Jay can be as good, or better, than Rodgers. And with the WR/TE/RB talent (not to mention the young OL) on the Bears, that's not a stretch at all.

Really? I don't find it difficult to be optimistic at all. And if it turns out I'm wrong and they lose both games and end up 8-8, it won't kill me given all that's happened this year. In the meantime, I'm living a happier life not feeling like I have to get down on the team I love when they've grown so much this season. Does it make me some sort of chump that I choose to be positive? By the way, in the post game interviews, Marshall took the blame for the first pick. Said he didn't jockey his way in front of the defender the way they practiced. I already know your answer to this. I realize Cutler's a risk taker but more often than not those chances pay off. We lost a few games with Josh out there, everyone seems to forget. Maybe with someone out there "winging it" we wouldn't have had to worry about OT against the ferkin' Vikings! Regardless of our shitty D. And don't take this as me blaming Josh for the loss, he played well. I just wonder if things would've been different with Jay out there. The Clowns are better than the Queens. So, everyone, for your own good, chill out a little bit, enjoy the holidays, your family and put this football season in perspective. If we get into the playoffs it's the cherry on top of the Sundae. Cutler isn't a "Useless Asshole", he's our QB and more than likely will be for the foreseeable future. If you hate that idea, maybe you should go root for the Cowboys or something. As for me, I'm looking at the miraculous offense we have on the field and smiling because I know that with an even moderately good D, we're destined for great things.

So what? First off, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the dude calling Cutler a "Useless Asshole" for throwing a pick after being out for four weeks. When he threw that pick, truth be told, I yelled something like "GOD DAMN IT CUTLER, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS!" But what I didn't do was wet my pants in public about it. People on this board, and this tool in particular, need to get a friggen grip. This team's D is abysmal and we're still hopeful of making the playoffs. Our coach has quite possibly lost us a game or two this season by his decisions alone. If someone called either of those folks useless I'd defend them too. It's all part of a process and to expect perfection in season one under Trestman is idiotic. I'll tell you this, if we get lucky and win our last two games while Detroit loses tonight or in the next two weeks, there won't be a playoff team that wants to face these Bears in the first round of the playoffs. And I hope like hell I can cheer them on with Cutler making a fool of his detractors all the way. Tell me one post of Terra's that's been even moderately insightful. This one was meant to inflame and frankly that's what this dude does. He's a troll here as far as I'm concerned. I'm direct and sometimes I'm an asshole too, but at least I have something better to say than "Useless Asshole" about our starting QB. So if you want to take his side, so be it. I'm just going to continue to call 'em like I see 'em.

Anyone who thinks there's a QB out there who makes no mistakes is a fool and knows literally nothing about this game. The measure of a great player is how they respond. Today Jay showed us all what that means. I hope it continues into the playoffs.

That's rich.

Amen brother.

Ha, yeah, he sucks. Typical overreactive bullshit from TerraTor. All he did was lead us to victory on the road against an excellent defense. Sure he forced that one to Marshall in the end zone but unless you don't care to give the guy a chance to prove himself (half this board) you have to forgive rust after a god damn month off. And his boy is Marshall so suck it. The other pick sailed on him in the wind. Period. Some here would obviously rather root for their own petty interests than the good of the team.

Probably true given that the Bears have spent the last decade overcoming the "Cheap" label. I'm sure they don't want Jay walking away mad thinking he got shafted and telling everyone the Bears did this based on money alone. With that said, if it's a football decision alone and Trestman really believes in Josh, it wouldn't surprise me to see them let Jay walk.

We should be smarter and judge Jay based on his career as a Bear. And that's what makes it difficult because by any measure he's been a disappointment. He's had outstanding games and horrible games. He's been expected to be a top 5 QB and has delivered average results, year after year. Now, there are plenty of reasons for that in Jay's defense, but it's understandable to question him THIS YEAR based on the fact that a literal nobody in the QB world has, quite simply put, outperformed him. I'm a "Jay guy" in these parts and even I'm left scratching my head as to what I've seen unfold out there this season. But you're 100% right as to the fact that Jay should be given a little bit of a pass for some rust this week. Then again, ol' Josh didn't show any when he was forced to step in this year under even worse circumstances. Hell dude, I don't even know what to say at this point. Josh has shut me up.

Amen to that. But let's not forget, there are early Round 1 busts just like there are middle and end of Round 1 busts every season. I think it may make sense to target an early pick when there's a "can't miss" player projected at a position like QB or RB and you're looking for a 10 year guy at that position to plug in for the next decade. But just saying lose to better your position in the draft is an oversimplification and often has just as many negative impacts as positive. Playing second string guys could get your first stringers injured, for example. It could also hurt team morale and/or send the wrong message to free agents you're intending to chase in the following off season. Winning is contagious, etc. There are obviously two sides to this argument, just like whether a team should "rest" their starters once they have their playoff positioning settled. I'm not a fan of that either.

Could be bullshit, I have no idea. But this is the first indication that the Bears might be thinking about going the cheap route and using the cap dollars on positions other than QB. We've debated that extensively elsewhere and I'm officially on the fence. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Bears-...-offseason.html Take it for what it's worth...

Besides having the luxury on D, his offense typically sucked. If you have a 7 point lead, the ball and there's 3 minutes left in the game, in his defense, it might make sense for you to run it 3 times and punt rather than having your O give the game away. Dude, I know what you're saying and I prefer that stomp your opponent philosophy myself. I'm just saying, if you put yourself in Lovie's shoes it's pretty easy to understand why he did what he did, much of the time.

You made a lot of good points but this last one... As to age, you may have a point but to say he doesn't have the pedigree, dude, he ain't anywhere near the same ballpark. His play this year is an absolute anomaly for his career whereas the others do (or have done) this type of thing regularly (with the exception of Palmer who's better days may have come and gone.) I love what he's done but it still feels wrong to me to say he can be "the guy" going into next season.

I guess that's a compliment but damn it, I'd much rather watch my team play on Sunday afternoon. And I hate Bob Costas!

That aggressiveness is why I give him a break on the few busts this season. I can tolerate errors related to "going for it" much more than those that are commited by being too passive. And while I agree with you he needs to improve his decisions at times, you have to take the good with the bad when a coach is prone to being aggressive. I wonder if he's "setting the tone" this year with his team. Making them feel he believes in them. Not saying he won't be that way next year, just wondering if this is partially the result of his nature, partially due to his needing to learn the NFL and somewhat also due to his telling his team he has high expectations and he believe they'll make him look good when he asks them to make that fourth and one. Maybe I'm giving him too much credit for being philosophical but after watching Phil Jackson and other good coaches over the years, it wouldn't surprise me if this "winners attitude" is something he's cultivating.

Lovie always had the luxury of knowing he could win a game once he had a 2 TD lead. Trestman doesn't with this injured bunch. While I'd love to give him 100% credit, I'm not sure he wouldn't have eased off the gas a little to burn clock. I didn't feel comfortable we were going to win until 2 minutes left in the game. You can't trust this D. Whatever, I've been wrong for decades about the Bears needing to be a Defense based running team due to weather, apparently. So what the hell do I know?

It might be OK in this case as you'd let Cutler know right up front that his agent would be free to negotiate a long term deal with other teams outside the division. If they get a deal, you make the trade. If not, you pay him. I'm not a fan of pulling the tag because as you say, it's uncool. I'm still not sure this is the right thing to do given McCown's age and unproven history but damn if it isn't hard to argue with the results. And as you previously mentioned, it leaves a lot of money to get creative with in rebuilding the D.

Insane game for J Mac tonight!

I don't think so dude. I don't think a team is allowed to say "We're going to be going after Player X hard in the off season." I could be wrong but let's face it, there's nothing in the article to suggest Tennessee really said anything. This is probably just the opinion of the writer.