Time to end the Cutler era in Chicago?

In a season that could easily be classified as the biggest disappointment in the NFL this season, the Chicago Bears will mercifully end their season Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium.

A game that means nothing for the Bears in terms of playoffs, but everything for head coach Marc Trestman and seemingly moreso for quarterback Jay Cutler. It's been something that hard for me to fathom after the huge contract he signed at the end of last season that guaranteed him $54 million the next three years.

The fact of the matter is, Cutler's goose may alreadty be cooked, but talk of his demise has been greatly exaggerated. in reality 2014 has been one of his best years statistically in terms of touchdowns (28 is a career best), completion percentage (66.1 is a career best) and yards (He needs 57 yards to have his best season since 2008, his final season in Denver).

Of course the number that sticks out are the 18 interceptions are what everyone is talking about. It is a number that leads the NFL and is his most since his first season in Chicago, when he appeared to be trying to do too much.

Numbers will say what they will. His say, the offense has not been consistent all year. Every Trestman postgame presser starts with him saying the game was "disappointing." Most all of that falls back on the head coach and the preparation. The quarterback has to wear that, as well, and for the second half of the season it is clear the coach has lost the team, mainly because he didn't have the answers to solve the problems on either side of the ball.

As many characterized it after Cutler signed his contract, Trestman and Cutler became married at that point. They were tied to each other in success and failure and with the contract, the Bears were hoping and banking on success.

That put a ton of expectations on Cutler's 2014, and from the first game of the season he has failed to deliver. I've been one of his biggest supporters throughout the years and after a 2013 that saw the potential start to come out of him, finally, he appeared ready to take the next step. 

Give him the tools in standout wide receivers in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, a tight end in Martelus Bennett that catches anything in his vacinity and a running back in Matt Forte that is one of the best in the business and the offense was poised for greatness.

Somewhere along the way, Cutler and Trestman got their signals crossed and seemed out of sync from the first game of the season. Things have spiraled out of control the last four games and opened up on Jay, leading to his benching in the Week 16 loss to the Lions. 

All of the talk this week has been that no one at Halas Hall is safe from the CEO Ted Philips to General Manager Phil Emery, Trestman and Cutler. I have called for a house cleaning myself, but to see them all go would be unprecidented and while Cutler is the highest paid player in the league this season, he wasn't the only problem on the team, so seeing him sent packing would be far fetched.

A coaching change and a chance for Emery to take one more shot at it seems more likely. Regardless, we shall see come Monday if Trestman makes it through Black Monday.

Marshall, Jeffery will benefit most from Cutler signing

Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall joined the crew on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown Sunday afternoon and flashed his smile when asked about the Bears signing of Jay Cutler last week through the 2020. He's excited to know he will be catching passes from Cutler for as long as he is in Chicago. 

Marshall already knows the importance of Cutler to his career. The two started their careers together in Denver and Marshall shined. Then when Cutler got traded to the Bears, Marshall never saw the same success in Denver or Miami. When the Bears traded to reunite him with Cutler, the two rekindled their great partnership prior to the 2012 season.

Marshall has been an all-pro both years he has been with the Bears and seven more years of Cutler speaks to the connection and chemistry to the two of them have on the field.

Marshall has 218 catches in his two seasons with the Bears for 2,803 yards and 23 touchdowns, according to Pro Football Reference. He became the first Bears receiver with 10 touchdowns in back to back seasons in team history and his 23 TDs already have him ranked in the top 10 in team history. 

Pair him with the breakout Alshon Jeffery had this season with his 89 catches for 1,421 yards and seven touchdown and the Bears have one of the top duos in the NFL as weapons for the quarterback they have secured for the next seven years.

Jeffery set team records for yards in a game twice this season, breaking his own record he set against the Saints, against the Vikings December 1 with 248 yards. His arrival made he and Marshall just the second receiving duo in Bears history to go over 1,000 yards each, beating out the 1995 tandem of Jeff Graham and Cutis Conway.

The complaint I heard from most people was that Josh McCown had an equal part in pushing the Bears offense to the next level. That very fact may have been the same one that pushed General Manager Phil Emery and coach Marc Trestman to bring Cutler back. Seeing the success McCown had and seeing the potential in Cutler with more tools to get the job done makes it appealing to see how Cutler can lead this offense.

Marshall will turn 30 this offseason and has one year remaining on his contract. You have to think it's a slam dunk he stays with the Bears beyond that. With Jeffery in just his second year in the NFL is coming into his own. Matt Forte had career highs for rushing yards this season and made another Pro Bowl. Add in Martelus Bennet's production as a tight end in this offense and Trestman has weapons all around the field for Cutler to deliver to.

As is seen around the NFL, you can have weapons and with no quarterback, they are useless. The opposite was seen in Chicago in the first years of the "Cutler era" where he had no weapons and seemed to take the entire offense on himself. Now they are together and the sky seems to be the limit in their production going forward.

Bears-Packers Round 3 should be one for ages

Some won't call it a domination because of the tack on points at the end, but for all intensive purposes, the Bears dominated the Seahawks Sunday at Soldier Field. Jay Cutler was the second QB in playoff history to run and throw for two touchdowns. Greg Olsen had a TD and had a career high for receiving yards. The offense racked up 437 yards of offense, the most by a Bears team in franchise history. Of that, 176 yards were on the ground. It may be the most telling number of any stat, really. For an offensive line that has been suspect all year, they may finally be pulling it together enough to get this team where it wants to go. Both Matt Forte and Chester Taylor showed some flashes Sunday afternoon. I know it was the Seahawks, but they didn't just barely win. They did it in convincing fashion.
The defense was on point like none other until, they went into the prevent defense and then had to recover a couple onside kicks. I'm not worried about them at all. In fact, while Julius Peppers was pretty quiet in the pass rush, Tommie Harris re emerged as a possible threat in the middle of that line. something the Bears had been waiting for all season. If he can return to anywhere near the form he was in four years ago, this team could have something with its front four.
And the special teams. What didn't they do well. Devin Hester had a couple solid returns and when he wasn't returning the ball, he was goating the Seahawks into kicking out of bounds. Most impressive though was the punting by Brad Maynard in the snow and wind on the Lake.
That performance sets up a showdown with the Packers for the NFC Championship. If the two meetings during the season were good, this one should be that much better. Put your 18 penalties excuses to bed. Don't count much on that Week 17 victory when the Bears' hearts were clearly not in it. Get ready for the mother of all show downs. There will be no smack talk from either side during the week. Both sides respect each other and this rivalry too much to degrade it like that. It's all respect and football.

What the teams are playing for is the Halas Trophy, named for the owner and founder of the Bears back in 1910. It has a new look this year.



I have a few things planned for this week and before you think I'm going I"m going to paint this solely in Bears love, just know I've reached out to a few of my friends in the media game and have some great stuff panned for later in the week that should show some great perspective on both sides.
Here's a look at the main pieces the rest of the week:
Wednesday: Media Day will give us another chance to hear what some of the key parties involved have to say about the game.
Thursday: Mail bag. I've reached out to a number of friends on both sides of the aisle who will make their prediction. These are from key media friends I have. So these should be good.
Friday: Wilber's Way Official Preview of the showdown. I already have received the five keys from a Packers fan explaining why his team will win the game. I'll pen the 5 reasons why the Bears win. Both will have score predictions.

Off to the Nussie Hunter feature of the day. I'm pretty sure if you've watched an NFL game during the playoffs, you've seen the commercial for the new Adam Sandler movie "Just Go With It" and had your jaw drop when Brooklyn Decker comes up. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. Here she is, just because you can't get enough!