Bears Blitz

Published by Alexander Crowe on August 23, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

It’s no secret that the Chicago Bears have a lot riding on this coming season. After getting free agents such as Jason Campbell and Michael Bush and trading for players like Brandon Marshall, it’s clear that the Bears are making a statement that the time to win is now.

But just how important is this coming season? Is it going to be a make-or-break season for Jay Cutler and his teammates? What about Lovie Smith and the coaching staff? Just what will happen if the Bears fail to win it all this season?

We’ll start with quarterback Jay Cutler.

It’s clear that the team has thrown its full support behind Cutler, and it has no intention of going in any other direction. But the team has been waiting quite a while for Cutler to break out and become the Pro Bowl quarterback that he was in Denver. Fans are getting tired of waiting.

Cutler needs to have a Pro Bowl year to keep the fans at bay and not keep making empty promises that he feels great and is going to have a great season.

That being said, there is no reason that this is a make-or-break year for Cutler. If he doesn’t perform well this season, yes, the fans will be upset, and understandably so. However, Cutler still has two years left on his five-year, $50 million deal that he signed in 2009.

There is just no way Cutler can or will be traded or let go if he doesn’t perform well. While everyone wants to see him do well, this is not a make-or-break season for him.

His coaches, however, are a different story.

Lovie Smith is the fourth-longest tenured head coach in the NFL and has a contract that runs through the 2013 season. However, his situation is different. 

Smith has been under fire every year he has been in Chicago, including 2006 when the team made the Super Bowl. While the fans like Lovie, they have no tie to him like they do to Cutler.

If the Bears don’t do well in 2012, it’s going to be do-or-die in 2013 for the coach, and that’s not all. With a new GM in town, Lovie really has to show what he can do, because you only get one chance to make a first impression. 

As for the offensive coordinator, the situation is different with the same end result. Mike Tice did wonders for the Bears as their offensive line coach, and from what we have seen so far, has done even better as the offensive coordinator.

But with great success comes tons of recognition and job offers from other teams. Just this past offseason, the Oakland Raiders requested permission to interview Tice for their head coaching vacancy. If the offense works for Chicago, Tice could quickly become the head coach somewhere else, like Joe Philbin did this past offseason, leaving Green Bay to become the head coach in Miami.

As a team, it certainly does seem like this has to be the year that the Bears win the Super Bowl. All of the pieces are in place, and the team hasn’t looked this good in quite some time.

However, to say that it is a make-or-break year for the team would be stretching it. Regardless of whether they win the Super Bowl or not, it would seem that Jay Cutler and Lovie Smith will still be back next season.With Brandon Marshall, Devin Hester and all of their weapons back in place, the Bears figure to try yet again to make a deep postseason run.

While this coming season is no doubt important, there is no way that it can be labeled as “make or break.”

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