It is 11 weeks into the NFL season and there is little doubt that the Most Valuable Player in the league is Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But perhaps just as valuable to his team is, or rather was, Jay Cutler of the 7-3 Chicago Bears. Cutler was having a remarkable campaign, but now his season is in jeopardy because of a broken thumb suffered during Sunday’s win over the Chargers. Ironically, this injury could prove how valuable Cutler really is to the Bears.
Sunday against his AFC foe, Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers, Cutler showed everyone that he is the jam in Chicago jelly doughnut. Matt Forte is terrific and deserves to be paid after all that the running back has done, but Cutler has raised his level of play which, in turn, increased the Bears’ chances of competing with the best teams, most notably the Packers. While Forte is valuable to the Bears, Cutler is the most valuable.
The Bears’ offensive line is still a major work in progress. Cutler’s accuracy on every level has been remarkable considering he rarely gets a clean pocket or the time to let the route develop. He usually has to move left or right and ends up throwing the ball from an awkward position. Yet, when the ball is released, it comes out with tremendous velocity. Pressure does not seem to bother him, and when the protection breaks down, it allows Cutler and his receivers more time, which they often need.
The Bears have always excelled at controlling field position due to a great defense and extraordinary returner in Devin Hester, but the way Cutler was playing, the Bears no longer needed a short field to score. During their current five-game winning streak, the Bears scored more than 30 points four times, as they have become explosive offensively. Without household names at receiver, Cutler spread the ball around, favoring only the open target. Where will the Bears get those wow plays without him?
Without Cutler, the Bears will be forced to win with their defense and kicking game. I am not diminishing the ability of Caleb Hanie, but he will have his work cut out for him. Even though Chicago’s defense has improved, it has not improved enough to win on its own. Since Cutler played so well of late, the offense has been able to get the lead, thus allowing the defense to play from ahead. Don’t minimize the value of this. In the past, having a great defense made winning on the road easier, but in today’s game, great offenses make winning on the road much easier.
Without Cutler’s movement and rocket arm, the problems on the offensive line will be magnified. The Bears cannot win with Forte alone as they do not have great skill players who put fear into their opponents. Cutler’s arm, accuracy, movement in the pocket and ability to keep plays alive is what teams fear. Forte will face nothing but eight-man fronts, and run blitzes will force Hanie to make plays to win.
Hanie faces a difficult trial next week in Oakland, and any setback at quarterback makes upcoming contests against Kansas City, Denver and Seattle into much dicier propositions. At full strength, the Bears might have been counting on three wins from this upcoming stretch of four games. Now, they might be lucky to get two.
Offensive coordinator and evil genius Mike Martz will be creative with his packages and will try to move Hanie around in the pocket, but defenses will adjust to that pretty quickly. Defenses will force Hanie to be consistent on every drive, which will be hard to do. Note to Matt Forte… wanna get paid? Now’s the time.
This is a huge loss for the Bears. Cutler was playing like an MVP and the team was getting better with each week in all three phases of the game. They looked like a team capable of beating the Packers because they could score, they could make plays in the kicking game and they could pressure the passer without having to blitz. Still, the main reason they had the essential ingredients to challenge the Packers was Cutler. Without him, securing a wild-card spot will be a challenge.
