The Chicago Bears had high hopes for this season.  The front office went out and signed Michael Bush and traded for Brandon Marshall.  They drafted Alshon Jeffrey.  They broke down and signed Matt Forte to a long term contract extension.  For the first time in my lifetime, the Bears had the makings of a viable offense.  It was all going to come down to the fate of Jay Cutler at quarterback and whether or the not the offensive line could block/pass protect.

The first game of the season against the Colts showed a tale of two teams.  The offense started off horribly and then became a juggernaut.  However, it was against one of the worst teams in the league.  The true test was going to come tonight in Green Bay.  It was a short week.  It was the only game being played so it meant all eyes would be on the Bears and the Packers.  That meant that all eyes were going to be on Jay Cutler and how he handled the keys to his new play toys.

The results looked a lot like this:

If it didn’t look like that, then it looked like this:

Not every interception was Jay Cutler’s fault.  Earl Bennett decided to stand flat footed and watch as Charles Woodson reacted to the ball and cut in front of Bennett to get an INT.  Some of the interceptions were because the line decided not to provide any kind of protection at all so he was getting mugged.  Unfortunately, some of the interceptions were Cutler’s fault for throwing off his back foot and lofting it right too the Packers.

Jay Cutler is always getting criticized for his poor body language and his continual pouting.  While that has little to nothing to do with his ability to play quarterback, it does affect the team and affect his play.  When he begins pouting, his play gets sloppier than normal.  He tries threading the ball into tighter spots and forcing the issue.  He gets the offensive line where they either don’t want to block for him or are afraid of screwing up again so it hurts their play.

The quarterback is the undeniable leader of the team.  He is the player that all the other players look to in the huddle to provide leadership.  He is the player that needs to remain calm at all times in order to project that calmness onto his panicking teammates.  He needs to pat his receiver on the head and tell him it is ok after he drops a sure TD like Cutler did with Brandon Marshall tonight.  He can’t be yelling “get your *$&&#(%* head into the game” like Cutler did tonight at his offensive line.  Would you be ready to go the extra mile for a guy that just cussed you out in front of the world?

Jay Cutler needs to start channeling his anger and disappointment better.  If he can learn to not let his anger cause him to make stupid mistakes on the field, then his body language because a non-issue.  Who cares if the QB is being a petulant child on the sidelines if he goes back out onto the field and slings a 50 yard touchdown?  I sure wouldn’t.  On the other hand, when the quarterback is pouting on the sideline and acting like he hates his teammates for sucking (even though it might be accurate) and then goes into the game and throws a stupid pass that gets intercepted on the first play, the body language matters.

I think it is becoming very apparent that the Bears need to make changes on the offensive line.  Webb is horrible.  Chris Williams is a 1st round draft pick bust.  Gabe Carimi is a question mark at this point.  Roberto Garza had a bad bad bad night tonight and should probably go back to being a guard instead of a center.  Jay Cutler has all the talent and potential in the world.  He has a cannon for an arm and can make throws that other quarterbacks can only dream of.  His contract is coming up and the Bears need to make an important decision.  Before they make that decision, however, they need to provide a better offensive line.  It will be hard to find a QB either in the draft, free agency or via trade that can match Cutler’s talent.  The question will be whether the potential outweighs the results.