CrackerDog

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.

I think it's called tampering when one team talks about another team's player while he's under contract.

I understand but can't bring myself to do it. I always root for a W despite it being "smarter" to root the other way, at times.

If it isn't us I'll root for whoever is playing the Lions or Packers. After that I'll just watch the games for enjoyment. I can't sleep until those two teams are eliminated.

Guess that's what losing to Jacksonville gets you...

They put in a cellular enhancement system this year. Not sure how well it works but it wasn't up and running until a few games into the season. http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/grizzly-de...-228979451.html

As to the O Line play, I have no idea how to measure it. I'd assume starting with two rookies at the beginning of the season was no picnic and Cutler's mobility, etc made a difference. Can't prove it. The experts comment wasn't meant as a dig. I disagree with many things they've done and stated that. But as to the decision on our QB going forward, I think they'll get it right. That's what I actually said.

A few you missed: Age: Jay Cutler - 4 years younger (an eternity in QB years) Wifes: Jay Cutler - Hot Josh McCown - Cute Career best passing yards in a season: Cutler 4,500 McCown 2,500 Passing yards in 2012: Cutler - 3,000+ McCown - Zero In short, Cutler, younger and not a fluke, McCown old for a QB and we're not sure if this is a fluke. But are you going to believe me or your lyin' eyes? PS. A lot of this is meant in jest. Don't get all pissy with me.

Accurate. But now also find a way to factor in that I believe the O Line steadily improved throughout the season and McCown had full benefit of that while Jay had to weather the early part of the year. Let's be honest, it's all subjective. I do think if Jay were a more likeable guy, there wouldn't be nearly as much desire to see someone else out there. I'm a Cutler fan and I don't really like the guy! It's undeniable McCown has been great. In comparison to some of the other turds we've had to endure over the last few years (in terms of backup) and even over the last few decades (in terms of "starters") I'd say I 100% understand why some think he'd be a better option given the money it would potentially free up elsewhere. I just don't agree with those folks based on all of the more tangible things I pointed out that you essentially agreed with. And I forgot one: Age. So, given the fact that this is all guesswork on our parts I'll leave it to our "experts" on the team. I may not agree with everything Trestman and Emery have done but I do think they'll get it right when it comes to QB.

I think this is unnecessarily harsh and overly dramatic. The report card on Emery is still full of incompletes with a few A's and a few C's (or worse) but I don't think you can or should translate his comments on SMC into what you did above. He's a professional and he isn't going to shit on one of our guys in the press. And he may honestly think he still sees something in SMC that we don't. I'm not saying he's right here but I am saying he isn't a liar or delusional either.

Did you read my post as defending SMC? If so, I did a poor job of communicating. I think SMC is either out of position and needs to be moved to OLB or put in on third and long only. Or he needs to bulk up some and learn a lot about run defense, contain, etc. He's still playing like a rookie out there and we should've seen more growth by this point.

I think there are several better arguments for Cutler but whatever, we're on the same side here. Just pointing out that you can't give Jay credit for the D scoring, etc. And to be completely fair you'd need to compare the relative strength of the defenses each played against. With that said, my arguments for Jay are: * His arm is an elite NFL arm. His deep ball is accurate and he can win games for us. We haven't had that QB in my lifetime. Jimmy Mac was as close as we've had and even he would admit Cutler's arm is better. * He's aggressive. This leads to mistakes but generally, when he's been given protection, he's overcome those errors. With time in this offense I think he'll grow such that he's making more big plays and fewer errors. * His mobility isn't top 5 in the league but he's pretty good at scrambling to pick up first downs, getting out of the pocket, etc. And his passes on the move are accurate. * Toughness and health. Despite Jay's run of health issues this year and that fabricated media bullshit a few years ago about how he quit on the team, I don't think he's fearless or impervious to injury but he's probably tougher than most QB's and has stayed reasonably healthy during his NFL career, despite some ridiculous OL's in front of him. * His rapport with his receivers is second to none in the NFL. I think he knows how to keep Marshall away from the abyss his personality disorder might otherwise lead him into. While Jeffrey's undoubtedly been stellar under McCown, there's nothing I've seen that says his production would drop markedly with Jay out there. I know Jay seemed to force the ball into Marshall more often earlier this year but that's more attributable to his personality and the level of trust he has in him more than anything else. And Alshon has had some excellent games under Jay as well. None of the above is meant in any way to slight McCown, his play has been incredible for a backup we picked up off the scrapheap. I want that guy back too!

Ha, another SMC fan! I was listening to the portion of the Bears game in the fourth quarter when we intercepted the ball and returned it to the 50 yard line. Thayer ripped SMC for not taking out the QB on that play claiming if he did, the return would've been a TD. I didn't see it so I can't say if I agree or not. Can anyone confirm? If so, that loss is on SMC!

Your analysis would need to exclude ST and D points to be 100% accurate. I don't want to do those calcs but know we were scoring D points with a higher frequency early in the year when Jay was out there.

You and I actually get along pretty well when you're not being dumb.

Just wish I'd seen some evidence of it here, that's all. I guess you could say he expected our current crop of D players to stay healthy and produce at a high level but that doesn't explain some of the bad picks he's made here on D. I'm not saying he can't do it, just that I haven't seen much evidence thus far with him being the "Man" here.

Amen. But we have a backup QB in the lineup and he's playing well. I'd expect Jay to take more chances and that could potentially have upside and/or downside, depending. But at least we'd be putting forth our best most in your face effort. I like agressive play and therefore would love to see Jay back this weekend.