The Cherry on the Poop Sundae

An interesting postulate was posed on the radio this morning - if you swapped Cutler for Rodgers, would the Packers suck and would the Bears be elevated? Seems like a pretty obvious answer (yes to both), but it's predicated on other stuff, like the connection with coaches, management, and fans, for example. And really, it's a moot point now.

This was the "no excuses" year for Cutler, but if that's how it was presented, and we already know him to be a little sensitive and hot-headed (that's why he's in Chicago in the first place), then I can see why maybe having all of the tools he needed still didn't pan out as expected.

And so this morning, they announced that Cutler would not be the starting QB this week. I had already benched him in my fantasy league, because he was a liability last week, and not for lack of ability. This has become a mental issue.

Shame on the Bears for letting it get to this point, too. I don't doubt that Aaron Kromer was right in what he leaked to the NFL Network reporter. And if that's true, shame on him for not taking action instead of whining about it to the press. That stuff should have been weeded out in the pre-season.

Worse, Cutler is the highest-paid QB in the league right now. His numbers have been good - impressive, even - but the big one that keeps evading him is playoff wins. Instead of rewarding him, make him earn the money with playoff wins. Make him gamble on himself - especially since the Bears rigged the deck in his favor.

Now, you have a highly-touted and respected coach making a roster change for garbage games. Some possible reasons:

1. They are genuinely interested in seeing what Clausen can do. I find this to be the least likely scenario. If they were truly interested, there were blowout games where he could have seen a few minutes during the season. Plus, the rest of the team has already checked out, so his supporting cast will be limited in effort.
2. Deferred punishment. Possible - there is conjecture that they planned to bench him last week but the Kromer debacle put that on the shelf so as not to appear to pile on. As I said above - the timing on the Kromer thing could not have been worse. This option makes sense based on Jay's play and demeanor during this past game.
3. Indictment of Emery. I have been amazed at the pieces Emery has put together on the offense. There are few weak spots, but they're not gaping holes, and they've even withstood injury this year. This was done to give Cutler the tools he needed, but the cost was neglect on the defensive side of the ball, but more importantly, at backup QB. With all those things in place, what happens if Cutler gets hurt? There's a placeholder at best, not his successor, in the wings.

If Clausen comes out swinging and looks good in some garbage time, there is the possibility that he plays himself into a supporting role next year. If they ultimately part ways with Cutler (or he takes a walk), Clausen's suddenly the de facto starter. And then we're back to the dumpster fire of an offense from previous years, but no defense to mop up the mess.

From a macro perspective, what head coaching candidate would want to stick his neck out and take a shot at running this team in the current state it's in? What pro-bowl safety would want to come in and call plays and align players in a scheme that has no personality, and mostly broken personnel? I'm averse to change, but I am having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here.