State of Chicago Sports (Chicago Bears)

Welcome to "Start Caleb Hanie"! First off, my name is Jeff and I attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. You can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/jamfan40.

I guess I'll start off talking about the state of the Chicago Bears to introduce why I chose the name "Fire Caleb Hanie!" as my blog name. Let me just start off by saying that no, I do not want Caleb Hanie starting next season. I was just thinking of a name for a blog (wasn't easy) and I decided to go with this as sarcasm for those meathead (yes I said it) Bears fans that think that Jay Cutler is not better than Caleb Hanie. Look, Caleb Hanie did a fantastic job as a 3rd string quarterback coming into an NFC Championship came down 14 but this doesn't make him better than Jay Cutler.

I've been a big fan of the Jay Cutler trade since the deal was made in April of last year. I think Jay Cutler was very overrated by Bears fans though soon after. I know Cutler was a good quarterback but Bears fans played it off like he was the second coming of Jesus which he wasn't. Cutler really struggled in his first season of the Bears and I think at this point, he became very underrated by both Bears fans and fans of the NFL. Cutler was not good by any means in his first season of the Bears but he wasn't as bad as people played him out to be. People don't understand how hard it is to come to a new team, learn a new system, develop chemistry with brand new teammates, and play quarterback with young wide receivers and a very inexperienced and terrible offensive line and not to mention the fact that Matt Forte had a down year with an injury for most of the season. Also, Jay Cutler had to deal with Ron Turner, who at that time, was the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL hands down. Also, the Bears defense struggled with the loss of Brian Urlacher after the first game and they looked below average most of that season.

This season, Jay Cutler was excellent. He led a Bears team with one of the worst offensive lines and wide receiving corps in football to the NFC Championship Game. He cut his interception total down by 10 from last season and he really did a great job of managing games. I think a big difference was the hiring of Mike Martz. I originally thought it was a terrible signing and wouldn't benefit Cutler but it ended up not being that at all. The difference between Martz and Ron Turner is like night and day. Mike Martz does not call for screen passes on 3rd and 7 like Ron Turner used to do. On the whole Cutler-gate that occurred in the NFC Championship, I find it ridiculous how many people are criticizing Cutler over it. First off, Cutler was not the one who pulled himself from the game. It was Lovie Smith who pulled him. Second off, Cutler suffered the injury on the first play of the second quarter and played a full quarter with the injury as well as the start of the third quarter. Stop calling Cutler soft. The fact of the matter was, a healthy Caleb Hanie gave the Bears a better chance of winning that game than a one-legged Jay Cutler.

I think the Bears could go back to the playoffs again next season if they add a good offensive lineman via the draft and sign either a big play wide receiver like Vincent Jackson or Santonio Holmes or take a risk on a guy like Plaxico Burress. They have a young offense that could easily improve next year. Guys like Johnny Knox and Matt Forte will be even better and the team will have a better grasp of Mike Martz's complicated system after a year of running it.

I laugh at everyone that thinks the Bears "got lucky this season". While the Bears did catch a few breaks this year, it doesn't take away from the fact that they were a good team this year. The Bears did have an easy schedule but good teams beat teams they are supposed to beat on their schedule. If the Bears weren't a good team, they would have lost a few of those gimme games.

Check back later tonight for another State of Chicago Sports post.