Relevant games in mid-to-late December are the most fun time to operate this site for two reasons: (1) Traffic numbers go through the roof and (2) Fans barely need the final whistle of Sunday’s game to begin thinking about the following Sunday’s game. Once the Detroit Lions pulled a Detroit Lions and lost to Baltimore, Bears fans became ravenously obsessed with the Philadelphia Eagles in primetime. And it is the most difficult match-up as the Bears defense will face all season.

So…

Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

• Here is the statistic I think will tell the story Sunday: touchdown percentage. That’s not a stat, you say? Sure it is. Philadelphia will have every opportunity to keep the ball away from Chicago by merely handing the thing to LeSean McCoy over and over again. Whichever team scores more touchdowns per possession wins. (I think no less than 4 TDs wins game.)
• There are two possible approaches for Trestman Sunday night. (1) Spread the Eagles out and attack a terrible secondary. (2) Rely on the run game and boys up front to keep the ball away from Chip Kelly’s offense. I would put the ball in the hands of Marshall, Jeffery and the Bennetts quickly to force these weak tacklers to tackle. Once that approach finds some success the run lanes will be girthy.

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Always fun to join my friends in Des Moines and talk Bears. Listen to the end, where I get the hook! The played me off!

Today’s post is dedicated to the memory of Peter O’Toole. For theatre folk, the O’Toole Hamlet is lore. That performance we all wish we saw.

Strange game. Nonsensical game. But these were my thoughts watching it live.

• Jay Cutler was awful in the first half, prior to the final drive of the half. He made a poor decision on the first interception and a series of overthrows subsequently. But the way he regrouped and played late was a testament to his guts. It was impressive. And his honesty in the post-game presser was downright refreshing. I thought all week this was the most pressure-packed game of Cutler’s career. He played that way for thirty minutes. He was wonderful for the other thirty.

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Why do I like the Chicago Bears this week?

I always like the Chicago Bears.

• A lot of column space has been dedicated to Josh Gordon this week and rightfully so but Jordan Cameron should frighten Bears defenders far more this week. If the Bears don’t pressure Jason Campbell, Cameron will dominate the middle of the field.
• Who is the running back to beat the Bears for triple digits this week? Edwin Baker was signed Tuesday. Does he have a shot? Chris Ogbonnaya and Fozzy Whittaker are not good but that hasn’t stopped opposing backs yet. (Has Brandon Jacobs even played since running over the Bears?) Or might this be the week/circumstances that allow the Bears defense to make a few tackles?
• It’s difficult to assess just how good the Browns defense is but I watched their tape against Jacksonville and it was none-too-impressive. I don’t care about field position. Chad Henne’s Jags can’t put up 32 on you.
• Weather: Field was covered in snow Saturday and snow is expected all day Sunday. But unless there’s a howling wind in Cleveland, I don’t see conditions have much of an effect on play.
• So Jay Cutler is a human being and one would think he’ll attempt to showcase the distinct skill that separates he and Josh McCown: arm strength. I say Bears try to beat Browns over the top a few times, weather permitting.
• Jason Campbell wants to check the ball down. But he’ll only do so if the Bears manufacture pressure. Without it, they’re susceptible to Gordon/Cameron.
• Hester is breaking this record. And he’s doing it in the next three weeks.

Chicago Bears 27, Cleveland Browns 16

This is an absolutely classic. The best rant of 2013. I no longer discuss Haugh’s work on this site because in all honesty I haven’t read him since the season began. He’s a terrible writer with boring opinions. Why bother?

Also because JQ told me he’s a fan of the rants, you folks have to find your way to Chicago Shakespeare before December 22nd to see the Q Brothers Christmas Carol. It is one of the most fun nights I’ve had in the theatre in years and you should support these guys. They are one of Chicago’s great gifts to the modern theatre. For tickets and information, CLICK HERE.

If you’ve never been to a Broadway show, you’ve never experienced the dread, the utter dread, which accompanies a small square white piece of paper dropping from your Playbill after you’ve taken your seat. The square usually reads something like:

At tonight’s performance
the role of King Lear, usually played by Brian Dennehy
will be played by Bryan Adams

In the old days audience members would take the fall of the white paper as an opportunity to rush the box office and demand their lavish ticket price back. (Those rules have now been changed and understudies are posted on a board in the lobby before you enter the actual theatre. You miss the notice, it’s your fault.

But just as the name on the marquee has come to define the history of theatre (Lee Cobb in Death of a Salesman, Cherry Jones in Doubt, Carol Channing in Hello Dolly!) so have the names on the white paper defined and reinvigorated life for the avid theatregoer. On not-so-rare occasions audiences were rewarded for their patience with the gift of discovery. Some of the great names in theatre history stepped onto the stage for an ailing lead and seemed to never step off: Merman, Robards, Stritch…etc. Hell, Huffington Post did a top ten list on the subject a few years back.

But there are others elements to the understudy’s performance that should not be overlooked: the lowering of expectations coupled with the raising of compassion. Suddenly a dropped line or two from the understudy is tolerated because, you know, he or she is just out there doing their best. And the audience now celebrates a well-performed soliloquy or musical number with greater affection because that audience is now behind the performer. They are rooting for the little guy. This is his/her big moment!

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ESCALATING QUARTERBACK CAP NUMBERS

Phil Emery wants to build a championship contender in 2014 and he knows that tying up too much money in a single position can drastically effect his ability to plug needs, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. If Emery franchises Jay Cutler, the cap number for next season is thought to be between 16 and 17 million. That money is a directly assault on the salary cap. Here’s a bit from a NFP post from Brad Biggs on the Aaron Rodgers deal:

Now, Rodgers is on the books for seven seasons – through 2019 – at a total of $130.75 million, an average of $18,678,571 per season. Probably the best part of the contract for the team is the salary cap numbers never get out of whack. That is good for Rodgers too because those issues can lead to restructures and players getting cut. Here are his cap numbers through the life of the deal:

2013 $12 million
2014 $17.9 million
2015 $18.6 million
2016 $19.6 million
2017 $20.65 million
2018 $20.9 million
2019 $21.1 million

When Emery said he didn’t like the idea of using the tag on Jay Cutler in 2014 it was not because he didn’t want Jay Cutler on the roster for next season. Emery knows a long-term extension with Cutler affords him cap wiggle room and opens the door for mid-contract restructures to fit players when necessary. If the Bears franchise Cutler and pay Josh McCown the 2-3 million he’s earned this season, they would have a larger cap hit at quarterback than the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers in 2014.

I will reiterate what I’ve said since the Cutler/McCown conversation began. I believe both will be back next year and I think the Bears will have the league’s best quarterbacks room. Or as Potash wrote in his Sun-Times piece, “It’s a new era in Chicago. Krenzel/Hutchinson is a problem. Cutler/McCown is a luxury. The Bears have bigger issues with three games to go.”

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It was a cold, cold evening at the ballpark but the Bears did everything they could to warm the hearts of their loyal fans in attendance. I Tweeted the following Monday afternoon:

Tonight: Marc Trestman & Bears offense need to give season statement win in front of national audience while preserving meaningful December.

That is exactly what Trestman and the offense did last night. They out-gained the Cowboys by by 150 yards (and really more). They didn’t punt the football. When they grabbed a serious lead they dialed up the run and their offensive line put the game away. Dallas’ defense is a wretched group but the Bears did what they needed to do: they dominated at home.

More thoughts:

• I was going to write a full column on the Jay Cutler/Josh McCown scenario but I don’t have much to say that furthers the story. Nobody on earth would make the argument that McCown is a more talented player than Cutler. But Cutler isn’t out there. He isn’t playing. And sadly his inability to stay on the field is the biggest blight on his Bears tenure. If I’m Marc Trestman, I stick with the hot hand and McCown is announced my starter in Cleveland as soon as today. (We can debate Cutler’s long-term viability and worth in Chicago when that time comes. That time is not now.)

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The Chicago Bears allowed the Minnesota Vikings to thoroughly dominate them for the final fifteen minutes of Sunday’s pivotal NFC North match-up. Because of that dominance the Bears now find themselves needing to make up two games on Detroit in the standings over the final month of the season if they wish to play a postseason game, at home, against either the San Francisco 49ers or Carolina Panthers. The playoffs are now unlikely. More than unlikely. But with or without playoff implications, the final four games of this 2013 season are not without significant merit. But an overwhelming amount of that merit depends upon Jay Cutler playing quarterback.

Sunday’s numbers for Josh McCown probably looked thrilling to the fantasy-obsessed, casual NFL fan. 63.5% completion percentage. 355 yards. 2 touchdowns. Quarterback rating through the roof. But it doesn’t require Ron Jaworski holed up at NFL Films headquarters in New Jersey with five pots of coffee and a bag of the devil’s dandruff to see McCown’s limitations at quarterback cost the Bears the ability to sustain drives and in the fourth quarter cost them the ability to put the Vikings away. McCown’s success had less to do with McCown and more to do with a superhuman performance from Alshon Jeffery.

McCown is a wonderful backup quarterback and I expect him to be a tremendous presence in the Bears quarterback room for the next few years. But every game he plays, every snap he takes, every throw he attempts hinders the development of the Trestman offense in Chicago.

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I love what Marc Trestman has done to the Bears offense in only nine months. He has turned one of the worst units in the sport into one of the best units in the sport with a combination of creative play-calling and gusto. But Sunday, at Soldier Field, against the Detroit Lions, Trestman delivered the kind of head coaching performance reserved for rookie head coaches. And the Bears lost because of it.

Don’t agree? Of course you don’t! You probably think Jay Cutler was healthy for the duration of Sunday’s contest, despite his inability to walk and complete unwillingness to drift from the pocket for any reason. You probably think the strange decision to take underneath, no-chance-at-first-down throws was just Jay’s ways of throwing off the Lions secondary.

Jay Cutler should not have played a single snap Sunday. Read More …