We would not be here without Jay Cutler.
This statement is as true as it is forgotten. The NFC Championship Game kicks off in less than two hours, and the Chicago Bears might not be participants – let alone hosts – if not for the prowess of #6.
The Bears’ de-fence comes close to matching the playoff units of 2005 and 2006, but the offense – with its hodgepodge o-line – was out-passed by the 2006 team and outrun by both. Cutler is the difference; not Rex nor Orton or Griese could have withstood the pounding delivered upon Big Jay’s noble frame, and a lasting injury at quarterback in 2010 meant Todd Collins or Caleb Hanie under center and ‘home’ for the Bears, watching from instead of playing at.
Cutler makes throws untried by his predecessors, and escapes would-be sackers with legs unseen by a Bears QB since McMahon (or, fine, Kordell Stewart). Just imagine the beatings Grossman or Orton would have taken with this line!
The line has gelled, though, over the past six weeks, and while the team’s use of eight starting linemen is a franchise-high for a post-merger Bears playoff team, all five men – Kreutz, Omiyale, Garza, Chris Williams, and the rookie Webb – started at least 12 games. The lineup has gone unchanged since the bye week, a stretch the Bears have mastered with an 8-2 record, including last week’s playoff win.
Jay Cutler gives the Bears a passing game that can hang with the best.
Meanwhile, the defensive line of Peppers, Idonije, Adams, Toeaina, Melton, and the recently rejuvenated Tommie Harris give the Bears an all-around strength up-front they have not seen since 2005. The team’s last tandem at end to notch at least eight sacks apiece was Richard Dent (12) and Trace Armstrong (10) in 1990, while the 1441 rushing yards allowed is, since 1990, second only to the 2001 team.
The pass catchers Knox, Hester, Bennett, Olsen, and Forte are a dynamic bunch; The Hustlin’ Johnny Knox is the team’s best deep-threat since Marcus Robinson, while the running back Forte is the team’s best receiver out of the backfield since Payton.
And the defensive leaders at linebacker and DB – Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, and Chris Harris – are a formidable foursome whose veteran resolve match their athletic feats.
Still, it is the arm, legs, and torso of Jay Cutler that has filled the gaps in the offense and given an aging defense room to breathe. The excitement of April 2, 2009 was tempered by redzone picks and a bounty of sacks, yet for the patient viewers truly paying attention, the trade that brought Cutler to Chicago has given the team and its fans something unusual: a quarterback to believe in. On the cusp of the Super Bowl, that’s something to celebrate.
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Jack M Silverstein is a freelance writer covering music, sports, and community in Chicago. He has written his opinion column "On the John" for 11 years. Say hey at 