On the sixth episode of the Weekend Show this season:

• Jeff breaks down why Brian Hoyer has made this season watchable in Jay Cutler’s absence
• Adam Jahns makes arguably his best appearance, breaking down Cutler/Hoyer, Cam Meredith’s emergence, Pernell McPhee, Kyle Fuller…etc. (One note on this: his words on Kevin White are not encouraging.)
• Jeff describes this season as “fascinatingly terrible”.
• Reverend discusses Missouri’s premier tourism destination.
• Jeff, while physically breaking down, still manages to pick the Bears.
• Elvis Costello tracks!

Well, now what?

The loss to the Colts may have been the most disappointing of the season to me because it ended any chance the Bears had of becoming relevant this season.

I didn’t think they’d make the playoffs but I expected the Bears to be relevant. I expected them to a be a team nobody wanted to play and I expected to see serious signs of growth. A win over Indianapolis would’ve put them at 2-3 with a  chance to go 3-3 next week before they played the Packers in a Thursday night game. At that point, anything would’ve been possible.

But they lost to the Colts, a bad team. Making the loss worse, they Colts are a bad team that was coming off of a trip to another country, while the Bears were coming off of their first win. It was a game the Bears had to win and didn’t.

There are still bright spots this season and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think the Bears have a very good GM and a lot of excellent young talent. They actually have a better record through Pace’s first 21 games than the Packers did with Ted Thompson. But that doesn’t make me feel better today.

There’s always next year, for most of us anyway. Depending on how the rest of this season goes, that could bring some very difficult questions.

The biggest question is the coach and there is no easy answer.

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After parading my son around the house while playing “Bear Dowwwwwnnn Chicago Bears…” my wife gave me a puzzled look and said: “The Bears won?”

“Of course they did,” I replied.

To which she asked one question: “Jay Cutler is going to get fired, isn’t he?”

I had to think for a second, but I could only come to one answer: “Probably.”

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Ask yourself two questions when evaluating the current state of the Chicago Bears “rebuild”.

Question #1. Are you confident in John Fox’s ability to oversee the development of young talent and take this team deep into the postseason?

Question #2. Who will the Bears quarterback be in September in 2017?

Adrian Amos can play. Eddie Goldman can too. The Bears have two terrific guards, a developing center and reason for hope when it comes to Howard, White and some other scattered young players.  But as much as we spend time discussing the importance of protecting and rushing the quarterback, sustained success in this sport still comes down to three principle elements: player acquisition, coach and quarterback.

How can your answer to Questions #1 be yes? John Fox is 6-13 as Bears head coach and has been significantly out-coached by Bill O’Brien, Doug Pederson and Jason Garrett. Sure the Bears are battling injuries but this team lacks fight. It lacks character. And, crazy for a Fox team, it lacks toughness.

How can your answer to Question #2 be rendered with any certainty? Cutler is still clearly the best option for the Bears but he’s never on the field anymore. And with his resume, the Bears won’t be breaking the bank for his services moving forward if another option presents itself on draft weekend.

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As I rewatched the Bears with my son in my arms, I looked down at him, he looked up at me and I knew he was thinking: “Why should I sign up for this?”

At this point, it’s a legitimate question: Why should anyone be optimistic about the Bears? And at this point, it’s hard to find an answer. I’d like to tell you it wasn’t as bad as it looked on Monday night, but that would be a lie. It was every bit that bad and probably a little worse.

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Admin Note: the five things I wish the Bears had columns will return Thursday & Friday.

John Fox made it very clear: Preseason games are just more practice and should be evaluated and valued as such. So why won’t people listen?

Like most people, I’m sure, my Twitter timeline was full of people freaking out over how the Bears were practicing on Saturday. Fox told the world before the game that it wasn’t crucial.

“It’s not the season. They call it preseason for a reason, it’s to evaluate, put your players in positions, take a look at players,” Fox said last week before the game. “We put a lot of stock in practice as well.”

After the game, his attitude was the same saying “we got a chance to look at some young guys and make some evaluations. That’s what preseason is for.” He later referenced preseason as “practice games” and spoke multiple times about playing players in different positions.

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#4 – A Young, Interesting Backup Quarterback

Based on history there is a strong probability Jay Cutler will miss a game or two this season. And when he does, Brian Hoyer will step into the starting role and lose. Just like Clausen and Hanie and Quinn before him. Losing with the backup quarterback in today’s NFL is nothing to be overly upset about. There are very few teams, if any, that can survive losing their top talent at the most important position in professional sport. But the disappointing and disheartening part of losing with a Hoyer or Clausen is there’s nothing to be gained from the experience. It’s empty calories.

Losing with a young quarterback, a quarterback with the potential to start in the future, a quarterback who brings some excitement to the field, can actually be fun. The Dallas Cowboys didn’t want to play a single offensive snap without Tony Romo under center this season. But now playing those snaps with Dak Prescott will at least give Cowboys fans an opportunity to glimpse their possible future. (Dak’s preseason has been ridiculously over-celebrated but at least that celebration gives fans hope.) If Dallas had to go through the next two months watching Luke McCown throw footballs to the other team, they’d be checked out of the campaign by the first of October.

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Panic! Season over! Death! Cancel your Sunday Ticket subscription out-of-towners because Bears football will be scrap heap sport in 2016.

Here are some actual football thoughts.

(1) Whether it’s a smart move or not, the Bears clearly had no interest in showing Kevin White this preseason. I expected 3-4 bubble screens to the “rookie” just to get his feet wet in game action but Fox and Loggains didn’t see a need.

(2) Barely using White. No Eddie Royal or Zach Miller or Kyle Long, the Bears best offensive player. Not sure why anyone thinks what they saw Saturday after was the Bears offense.

(3) I didn’t notice Cornelius Edison. And that’s a good thing with the center position. And if you think I’m rewatching a preseason game, you sir are wrong.

(4)  You know where fans are going to notice Freeman and Trevathan most? The red zone.

(5) Cutler just wasn’t good Saturday. Looked completely out of sorts and inaccurate. But there were also several plays Jay would normally look to extend with his legs that he didn’t because, well, there is no earthly reason to expose yourself to hits in a practice game.

(6) If Tracy Porter misses time, I don’t know what the Bears do at corner. They don’t have the bodies. Some solid, young prospects but nobody ready to compete today. They’ll need to get to the quarterback.

(7) If the preseason showed anything relevant it showed what we already know. Bears need another offseason to get OL and secondary sorted.

Yes, tonight’s “game” between the Bears and Patriots is meaningless. But there’s things to watch.

• Here’s hoping the Bears offense scores a touchdown early. To instill confidence? No. To show improvement? Absolutely not. To shut up the Sky is Falling crowd? Yep. A touchdown drive early would force all of them to admit their week of whining was silly.
• The Daniel Braverman Boner has elevated this summer but the Bears’ quarterback is singing praise of Marc Mariani. With Eddie Royal struggling to get on the field, Marquess Wilson never on the field and the team being very cautious with Jeffery and White, don’t be surprised if Cutler looks to throw a few extra balls Mariani’s way to ensure he’s part of this offensive core in 2016.
• The night is still only about health, especially along the thin offensive line.

Somehow, Jay Cutler has become the forgotten man.

Bourbonnais attention has centered on a revamped defense, first eyeballs on Kevin White and Leonard Floyd and the emergence of a little white fella from Western Michigan. The offensive line has become the source of concern, especially in the aftermath of Hroniss Grasu’s year-ending injury and a few ugly couple drives against the defending champs in the first meaningless game. Alshon Jeffery came to camp unfit physically and unhappy financially. The Bears are still looking for a running back that can catch the ball with regularity. If Zach Miller gets hurt, then what?

There’s no conversation around Cutler. No drama. And he’s never looked more comfortable in his own skin.

I recently did a radio appearance with my friend Trent Condon in Des Moines. It took 17 minutes of the spot until Cutler’s name was mentioned. And that mention came from me. The average time it took for a first Cutler mention over the last five years was about 1.1 minutes.

But make no mistake about it. The 2016 Bears will only go as far as their quarterback takes them. Just because there’s no drama around Cutler doesn’t mean there’s not an intense amount of pressure on him.

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