Jay Cutler Needs More Than His Own Health for the Bears to Make the Playoffs
Published by Andrew Garda on May 9, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Jay Cutler‘s 2011 injury was unquestionably the big domino in the Chicago Bears‘ misfired season. Consequently, his healthy return should make Bears fans very pleased.
It’s no guarantee of a playoff appearance, though.
That’s no indictment of Cutler’s play. It’s reality. As much as a quarterback can carry an offense on his back at times, it’s hard to do to it every time, and he can’t make tackles for the defense either.
As it’s often said, a quarterback gets too much credit when a team wins and too much blame when it loses.
Cutler absolutely needs to be healthy for the Bears to be in the playoff hunt—I don’t trust Jason Campbell and company to make that run.
He needs help, though. Here’s what that help needs to look like.
Consistent Defense
The Bears defense was very good last season and just needs to keep it up. Really, this is almost always the least of any Bears fan’s concerns.
The defense almost always does a good job of keeping the team in games. I expect no less in 2012, but it bears pointing out that if for some reason they fall apart, this will make things much harder on the rest of the team.
I’m not worried.
New Receivers Need to Get Up to Speed Swiftly
I’ve watched the Jets a lot the last few years, and aside from having a real issue reading the field (in other words, he apparently can’t), quarterback Mark Sanchez has suffered from a revolving door of wide receivers.
Now, Cutler is a far better quarterback than Mr. Sanchez. However, any quarterback needs time to get in sync with new players, especially key ones like Brandon Marshall and potentially key ones like Alshon Jeffery.
Luckily, he has some previous experience with Marshall in Denver, so reigniting that shouldn’t be hard.
Shouldn’t be. But both Marshall and Jeffery need to get up to speed on the offense ASAP so they can spend time getting on the same page as Cutler and not learning the playbook.
The Backfield Needs to Get Along
Or really, Matt Forte will need to put his ego aside, swallow his pride and work with Michael Bush. I said in Monday’s video that together they will be the most fearsome backfield in the NFC North (and should be scary to the whole NFL), but they have to both be active to do it.
I get that Forte is angry—I would be too. Personally, this is why I wince when teams use the franchise tag, because players see it as disrespect and chaining them to a one-year deal while they should be worth much more.
He might get a deal, but the Bears really don’t want to pay (one might say over-pay) for a heavily-used back.
There is a shot that Forte will hold out, and while I get it, I hope he doesn’t.
I like Mike Bush, but if I had to take only one of the two, I would take Forte all week and twice on Sunday. Bush is good and could be great—Forte is an elite back.
They need him in the backfield, running hard and catching screens. He needs to work with Bush and the offense and put aside the money for a chance at the playoffs and a ring.
Improved Offensive Line Play
The draft was a perfect example of our priorities vs. their priorities. I spoke with numerous Bears fans at the draft, and most, if not all, of them said that offensive line was a big need. I was with them on that score.
Lovie Smith and Phil Emery respectfully disagree. They feel that with guys like Gabe Carimi getting healthy and the continued shift away from Mike Martz’s no-block scheme, the Bears’ line has the talent.
They’re all in on that, and frankly, the season could hinge on that fact.
So above all else, the Bears need to get that offensive line to play consistently and both keep Cutler on his feet and open holes for Forte and Bush.
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