And so it ends …
When Calvin Johnson erroneously placed the football on the ground of the end zone in the closing seconds of the first game of the season, I immediately thought it would be a long season.
The Bears were about to lose to the Lions … at home! However, thanks to the replay gods and an awful rule, the Bears were given a gift and a first-week win.
This controversial call along with a bevy of other near misses and lucky plays had many national pundits calling Chicago overrated and undeserving.
However, the weeks went on and the “W’s” piled up. And the next week thing you know, the Bears are playing at home in the NFC Championship game. And, what do you know, even though the Bears made it; they were still overrated and undeserving.
And what happened? They held the most prolific offense in the NFC and the hottest quarterback in football to 14 points. Zero in the second half.
The Bears played half the game with back-ups or no-names under center and lost 21-14. They were not destroyed or lambasted or demolished as many predicted.
As most have noted, the Bears offensive game plan was suspect at best and the reverse-call was atrocious. However, the Bears were one play from tying the game.
No, the Bears didn’t win. But the Bears proved that they are one of the best teams in football. They took the best team in the NFC to the final minute of the game. They played all out on defense stymieing the Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers. (What, he is not in the Hall of Fame? You could have fooled me with the way people talk about him.)
The Bears took it to the Packers and almost won. The “almost” is the key part of that sentence. They lost. But they acquitted themselves nicely.
And then there is the Jay Cutler issue or any other spelling of his last name that you prefer. I have seen a good amount of variations today.
The man was sacked more than any other quarterback and kept getting up. He missed one and a half games due to a concussion. Clearly, he wasn’t allowed to play. He took more punishment than almost any other player in the league and kept coming back for more.
So, to say he quit his team is downright illogical. He has a tear in his MCL and wouldn’t play for a few weeks. After reading quotes from some of the players who saw his knee, it was evident he would have been useless.
Pundits and fans can say whatever they want, but the truth is we don’t know what it is like to play in the pros. We don’t know what it is like to run around with a torn MCL and try to avoid blocks and throw touchdowns. So, to question his manhood is downright irresponsible.
Unfortunately, the Bears lost. And unfortunately, Jay Cutler has dug himself into a hole with the fans. And he probably doesn’t care. That is just Jay Cutler.
Bears fans will have to learn to deal with it. But if he throws a touchdown pass to the win the Super Bowl at any time in his Bears career, he will be forever loved in this city. And no one will ever mention MCL again.
–Brian McCabe