Bears Blitz

Published by Jeff Chase on March 14, 2013
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears have been making all the right moves this offseason to improve their patchy offense, but there is still one major addition to be done—the backup role to quarterback Jay Cutler.

With the Arizona Cardinals set to release (via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport) Kevin Kolb, Phil Emery and his staff must be ready to jump on the opportunity to grab the former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.

The Bears had Jason Campbell backing up Cutler last season, but when called upon, he just didn’t prove to be the reliable guy the team sought after this past offseason. The Bears were looking like contenders all season long, but an ugly performance by Campbell in San Francisco threw the team off.

Cutler has had a pretty good track record of staying healthy over his career, but the Bears have seen solid seasons quickly fall apart because of critical injuries to the gunslinger down the stretch over the last three years.

The Bears need a backup who can fill in for Cutler. They need a guy who plays a similar style of play—insert interception joke here. Jokes aside, Kolb definitely still has that potential to be a solid contributor to any team, especially in a backup role.

It is no secret that Kolb’s time in Arizona was a massive failure, as he was unable to fulfill the high expectations he set in Philly. Still, there is no reason to give up on the 28-year-old just yet.

Kolb only played 15 games in his two seasons with the Cardinals, most of the time being derailed with lingering injuries. This past season wasn’t terrible either—Kolb managed to through for 1,169 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions in six games. To be fair, nobody had much success with Ken Whisenhunt’s offense last season, but still, fans expected much more from Kolb.

So why should the Bears give Kolb a chance? First of all, Kolb is most certainly an upgrade to Campbell and will come much cheaper considering he has much to prove.

Also, Bears new head coach Marc Trestman is known for his ability to develop quarterbacks. He will certainly have his hands full with getting Cutler to the level that is expected of him, but he may be able to work some of that magic on fixing Kolb as well.

Kolb wouldn’t be coming to Chicago to be the answer like he was in Arizona with the departure of Kurt Warner. He would be coming in to fill a critical hole in an offense that is going to be about the quarterback, which makes the backup role more important than ever.

There is no telling how long Cutler will last next season. The Bears seemed focused on improving their offensive line, but you can’t ignore the number of critical injuries and concussions No. 6 has been issued.

If Cutler goes down again next season, especially right before a critical game, the Bears need to have a guy ready to go who can keep the same style offense on the field.

Emery would be rolling the dice on this move, but when the situation calls upon a backup quarterback at a critical point in the season, the Bears could be looking like the real winners.

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