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Culter, Bears Offense Inspire Confidence
Posted by: mfrost on August 24, 2009 at 9:56AM EST
Jay Cutler gave Chicago Bear fans a reason to be excited on Saturday with an aerial assault of the New York Giants.  Using both tight ends and a handful of other receivers, Cutler was able to methodically march the Bears down the field in all three of his possessions, scoring on every possession.  I said last week that I wasn't going to be too worried after his unremarkable debut against the Bills; this week I'm not going to get too excited over his remarkable home debut.

What we saw Saturday was the potential for this to be a very good Bears offense, but we've also only seen two games.  Jay Cutler takes a lot of chances, there was a ball he squeezed into Earl Bennett on the first drive; it was a tough through into double coverage and it worked out.  He has the arm strength to make that throw, but it's not the advisable throw.  There's a little bit of Brett Favre (10 years ago) in him, he's going to throw interceptions but he's also going to throw 30 yard passes on rd and 8, like that pass to Bennett.

Cutler had been criticized last year for his ineffectiveness in the Red Zone, but keep in mind that Denver didn't dedicate themselves to running the ball and frankly didn't have the personnel to run the ball.  Watching the game, it was amazing to me how much better Cutler looked after Forte broke that 18 yard run.  It wasn't that Cutler looked better, it was more that things looked easier.  There weren't as many tight throws, and the defense was back on it's heels.  There was a real nice balance, and with Forte being one of the up and coming stars in the league and a talented quarterback who understands the game, there could be some real fireworks this year.

I would be unfair if I also didn't mention the defense, I thought the defense looked pretty good as well.  They had some trouble tackling Brandon Jacobs, a few missed tackles, that's really the only negative you can point to.  The defensive line was able to get some pressure and the blitzes all seemed to work pretty well.  The defensive backs get maligned the most for poor play, but Saturday showed that if you can get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable it makes life easier on your DB's.  Part of the DB struggle was the quarterback having 4, 5, sometimes 6 seconds to make a decision - which  gives the receivers a couple of extra seconds to get open.

With the Cubs floundering, the Sox inconsistency (although there is much more hope on the South Side), this is a town itching for football season.  It's a football town with a football mentality, and we're starting to get excited.  Our hope has been renewed, and the most encouraging thing is that if Jay Cutler plays most of his games this year at a level between the Buffalo game and the Giants game, we'll still be an exponentially better offense.  We can just keep our fingers crossed that he'll look like he did on Saturday all year.


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