The Bears front office was destroyed for not being wheelers and dealers during the summer’s free agency free-for-all. But looking at the Sunday to Sunday contributors for this very good football team makes it evident there was a method to the perceived madness at Halas Hall. (I am leaving the draft choices out of this discussion as I like to give those guys a year or two to assimilate.)

• The Annexation of Greg Olsen. Many criticized the move but elevating Kellen Davis and adding Matt Spaeth has led to a more powerful running game on the perimeter and little-to-no decrease in passing production.
• The Annexation of Olin Kreutz. The Bears saw more than I did when they slid Roberto Garza to the center position. He’s been shaky in pass protection but strong in the run and overall been a far better center in 2011 than Kreutz was in 2010. This move also led to the signing Chris Spencer, adding toughness and guts to the right guard position. The leadership was replaced by the guy taking the snaps.
• When Amobi Okoye started seeing action for the Bears during the second halves of preseason games it was apparent he could be a factor at the defensive tackle position. Now Okoye has surpassed Henry Melton as the Bears most consistent threat in the middle of the line.
• Jerry Angelo grabbed Tyler Clutts the second he could and Clutts is a real life fullback. Fullbacks are about toughness. They’re about hitting defenders in the mouth and imposing your will at the point of impact. Clutts is a damn good player and a fitting Chicago Bears.
• No Big Money Linebacker. We all thought the Bears would go out and make a move for one of the price tag linebackers on the market, i.e. Stephen Tulloch. They didn’t and they’ve been rewarded by Nick Roach improving week after week throughout the year.
• The Dallas Trio. Marian Barber looks revitalized in Chicago since returning from injury, providing for Forte what Cedric Benson provided for Thomas Jones in 2006. Sam Hurd has made the loss of Rashied Davis, specifically on special teams, an afterthought. I’ll get to Roy Williams in a bit.
• Adam Podlesh has not provided the leg strength I thought we’d see but he’s avoided the Brad Maynard deep zone shanks that had plagued our specials for the last few years. Podlesh provides consistency.
• The safety position has been the source of this team’s most public turmoil but the signing of Brandon Meriweather, while at first looking like a mistake, is turning into a savvy move. It took Meriweather time to become acquainted with the system and relinquish his reckless style but Sunday he played his best game as a Bear and has given them depth at a position where they had none in August.
• Dane Sanzenbacher looked like the second coming of Mike Haas throughout training camp: the white receiver fans love that ends up signing in the CFL. I didn’t quite understand Dane’s impact until Earl Bennett returned from injury. Cutty needed a receiver to cross the middle of the field, especially in the red zone, as Earl got his ribs back into shape. Dane fit the bill.

Were there bad moves? Well, one.

• Roy Williams. I was not one of those people who believed Mike Martz when he said Roy Williams was going to catch 80 balls and have a number one receiver-type season. And I understand there was minimal risk to signing Roy to a contract worth little more than a million dollars. But the Roy Williams signing was a mistake for two reasons: (1) it has stunted the growth of Johnny Knox at WR. Knox showed once against Sunday he is the most explosive receiver the Bears have. I have a feeling Cutty doesn’t love him but the Bears should have been targeting him from the first week of the season. (2) Plaxico Burress. I was a lone man on the island calling for the Bears to sign Plax as all you moralists rested safely atop your high horses. Give Jay Cutler and his naturally rising fastball a monster target like Plax and you’d see one of the most lethal combinations in the league. Plax is a touchdown machine for an offensively-challenged Jets team and saves Mark Sanchez on two or three passes a game. Either way I can’t imagine a scenario where Roy returns to Chicago next year.

It wasn’t the type of off-season that yields stars and the Bears have proven on the field they didn’t require a star infusion to be competitive at the highest level. But what Jerry Angelo, Tim Ruskell and the folks at Halas Hall did was build the kind of roster depth that can win championships. Maybe not this season. But soon.

We know what kind of defense the Bears are going to play and their next three opponents – Kansas City, Denver, Seattle – will have very little success moving the ball up and down the field. We know what kind of special teams the Bears have and there isn’t another team in the NFL (and perhaps history of the NFL) who can neutralize their return game the way Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski did Sunday. We know what kind of rushing attack the Bears possess, showcased by their exceeding triple-digits when the Raiders did everything in their power to shut them down.

Is Jay Cutler going to return to the Bears this year? I certainly think so. But the Bears cannot expect his return before the end of the regular season. Most have predicted he will begin throwing again in the week leading up to the Christmas night showdown with Green Bay and Jay Glazer reported Sunday morning Cutty is expected by some inside Halas Hall to return to the field in Minneapolis the following week. I’ll take a more conservative approach and say the Bears won’t have #6 back at full strength until they travel in the wildcard round of the postseason to San Francisco, New Orleans, New Jersey or Dallas.

But they have to get there. And after watching them play four quarters against a playoff-caliber opponent Sunday, I don’t think they’ll be able to hide Caleb Hanie. Fixing his play won’t be easy.

Decrease Number of Timing Routes

I understand the need to get Hanie comfortable early in games but the type of slants the Bears were running Sunday require a rapport between quarterback and receivers it would be impossible for Hanie and the pass catchers to have. If the Bears determine Hanie needs a couple easy completions to find his footing, insert Hester for a bubble screen or two or design ways to get Kellen Davis in space.

The other fear I have with Hanie and the quick slant is his size. He looked small behind the Bears offensive line and those routes are too easy to knock down at the line of scrimmage.

Take Off!

Maybe I’m losing my mind but I thought Hanie’s play improved significantly once he started gaining yardage with his legs. Hanie is not just a mobile quarterback but he’s a legitimate threat running the football. Using his speed (instead of, say, throwback screens in the red zone) when the play breaks down, and perhaps even in the play-calling, might be the best tool for the Bears to avoid costly, field-position killing turnovers.

Take Shots!

Opposing defenses know Jay Cutler can throw the ball with every other quarterback in the league and they respect his arm on game day. No one respects the arm of Caleb Hanie because no one has enough tape on it. Seeing him hit Johnny Knox deep (and seeing his rapport with Knox in general) made it clear that Hanie has the ability to stretch secondaries and take pressure off not only the run game but also the short passing game.

Throw It Away

Just throw it away, Caleb. If it’s not there and you can’t run, throw it to Mike Tice. He’s the giant man on the sideline who looks like he should be a short order cook in a highway diner. There used to be a chorus of “throw it away” filling Josie Woods whenever Rex Grossman looked a bit confused. Don’t make us pull the old scripts from the file cabinet.

It is on Caleb Hanie to prevent a good team from missing the postseason. He’s the caretaker. But it is on Mike Martz and the Bears coaching staff to create an atmosphere in which he can succeed. I did not come away from Sunday believing Hanie is incapable of leading the Bears to victories. I came away from Sunday believing that Hanie’s success will be determined by game management: how the Bears coaching staff manages him and how he manages the football. If there Bears are going to make the postseason, they’ll need to be successful on both accounts.

• It was very clear to me that Caleb Hanie never found solid footing the entire afternoon. He never looked comfortable in the pocket and looked less comfortable when he was intentionally rolled out. I thought he’d have been instructed to take off running once the play broke down around him but apparently he was instructed to lob balls into traffic. Overall a supremely poor debut for Hanie but he’ll be given the Chiefs at Solider Field next week to improve.
• This game changed at the end of the first half and I blame Lovie Smith. Down 9-7, with a chip shot field goal there for the taking and a touchdown attainable, Lovie allowed Mike Martz to call a throwback screen with Hanie. Picked off. The Bears defense continued their valiant play and held the game at 12-7 but the Bears were unable to play catch-up the rest of the afternoon.
• Lance Louis’ tackle on that play should go in the Plays of the Year reel.
• Marian Barber ran the ball more consistently and with more authority than Matt Forte yesterday and I would have given him more snaps.
• So Johnny Knox will be Caleb’s number one receiver, huh? Okay. But if you’re going to be the number one you need to catch the ball consistently.
• I warned you all about Shane Lechler’s punting. He negates all punt returns because he’s one of the greatest punters in the history of the game.
• Nice kicking, Robbie Gould.
• Why I can’t get too upset with games like yesterday? There were half a dozen plays where Hanie simply bailed before he needed to. At times when Cutler would have stood strong and delivered a rocket down the field, Hanie started sprinting away from defenders. Life with a backup…
• Hanie’s limitations might provide impetus to work Devin Hester back into the receiver rotation.
• Very strange to see LoveRod leave Jennings on an island on the game-winning, third-and-long go route toss from Carson Palmer. Seemed that would be the ideal time to be in the zone.
• Jennings also dropped two interceptions. He catches those balls, Bears win.
• Overall the defense played exactly how you’d expect them to play on an afternoon where the QB looked as inept at Hanie did. They gave the Bears a chance to win the game.
• Don’t let the special teams penalties get lost in the headlines. The return team buried the offense with holds on the first two returns.
• Nick Roach continues his improvement. He might have been the best linebacker on the field for the Bears this week.
• Corey Graham has picks in three straight games? Does any team in the league have more depth at nickel corner than the Chicago Bears?
• Have we abandoned any designed outside runs?

Overall it is a loss to a good team on the road and hopefully Mr. Hanie will have worked through whatever led him to play the way he played. The Bears now embark on a winnable three-game stretch, starting with Kansas City at home, and Hanie cannot allow this offense to regress to the 2002-2005 era. He cannot make touchdowns rarer than foie gras hot dogs with a side of duck fat fries. It is incumbent upon Lovie, Martz and Hanie to spend the next six days making this thing work. If they don’t, there might not be a postseason for Cutler to return to.

_____________________

Extra note: Jeff Pearlman will discuss Sweetness on the Weekend Show! Friday. He’ll also be in the city this week. Check him out:

Nov. 28:  Jeff Pearlman will discuss and sign “Sweetness,” 7 p.m. at
Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville.

Nov. 30: Jeff Pearlman will discuss his book, “Sweetness: The
Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton,” at 7:30 p.m. at KAM Isaiah Israel
Congregation, 1100 E. Hyde Park Boulevard. The event is free and open
to the public.

Last Minute Game Thoughts

• I truly expect to see the Bears re-install Matt Forte into the passing game. Since the return of Earl Bennett and as Cutler has become more comfortable with his receiving corps, Forte has been far less a factor in the screen game and as a checkdown. I think Hanie needs him today and I think he’s the difference.
• I expect a big game from Julius Peppers.
• I really believe a win here will put the Bears in the postseason. It’ll put them a game up on the Lions and next week the Bears have the Chiefs at home while the Lions travel to New Orleans in primetime. That means we could be up two with four to play. Playoffs.

Scoreboard Watch Alert!
Unless you think the Eagles are still a threat (they’re not) the only relevant game to Chicago is Minnesota at Atlanta. I tried to root for Les Frazier’s boys when they underused the now-injured Adrian Peterson and it is too frustrating for words. With Toby Gerhart starting who knows what Les will pull.

Don’t Think the Bears Are a National Franchise?
The Bears v. Raiders will be the nationally televised late afternoon game on Fox, making them a national game six out of the last seven weeks.

Program Note: There will be no Weekend Show! this week due to the holiday. We’ll return to action next week with a full program. Also, only tobijohn recorded a perfect Thanksgiving as almost every one of you picked the 49ers.

It is next to impossible for anyone to truly predict what will happen when the Bears travel to Oakland for a late Sunday afternoon affair in northern California. To make the prediction, you have to know what the Bears are going to receive from Caleb Hanie at the quarterback position and I don’t see how it’s possible to know that. Nevertheless…

WHY DO I LIKE THE CHICAGO BEARS THIS WEEK?

• I always like the Chicago Bears.
• I don’t think Caleb Hanie is going to light up the box score with his passing statistics because I’m a believer that much of the Bears passing production is due entirely to Cutler’s ability to make throws only a handful of players in the league can make. What I love about Hanie in this offense is his mobility. When things break down, Hanie will lower his head and take off, moving the chains with his legs.
• If you read my weekly preview column, I rarely lean on the cliched run the ball-stop the run maxim for winning a football game. The Raiders rush for 156.8 yards per game (3rd in football) and allow 131.6 a game (25th) on 5.2 per carry (31st). What does this mean? It means they run it well and don’t stop the run at all and still win more games than they lose. But there is no way Carson Palmer is the same quarterback who diced the Bears secondary a few years ago at Soldier Field and if the Bears gang up on the run they will win this game.
• I think this phone call happened Monday morning:

 Agent: Hey Caleb you know you’re a free agent this winter, right?

Hanie: Uh huh.

Agent: You know that Kevin Kolb stinks and because he played one good quarter for the Eagles last year that dumbo Whisenhunt gave him $65 million, right?

Hanie: Uh huh.

Agent: Play well.

Hanie: Okay.

• What makes this game against the Raiders so tough is their kickers. Sebastian Janikowski can all-but neutralize the Bears kick return game by booting the ball into the tenth row and Shane Lechler is one of the best punters to ever play the game. This is the only time all season where I’ll be surprised to see Hester have a major special teams impact.
• I say this all the time but the passing approach that defeats the Bears is an accurate QB comfortable hitting big receivers in front of the Bears corners when they play 7-10 yards off. That’s not the approach Palmer takes with this offense. He’s been living off the downfield pass. And if the Bears front four shows up and plays huge, Palmer will be a sitting duck.
• Over the first five games (including a suffocating effort against the Falcons) the Bears defense allowed 24.4 points per game. Over the last five games, they’ve allowed 17 per game. They’ve improved by a full touchdown and they are now getting the turnovers which have been the signature of the Lovie Smith era. I think they carry the day.
• Here’s what I can’t get over with Oakland. Their last two home games have been a four touchdown loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and a two touchdown loss to the Denver Broncos.
• I think this game is going to be decided by Matt Forte in the screen game.

Chicago Bears 20, Oakland Raiders 17

___________________________

Your Lines This Week:

BENGALS -7.5 Browns / Texans -3.5 JAGS / Panthers -3.5 COLTS / TITANS -3 Bucs / FALCONS -9 Vikings / RAIDERS -5 Bears / SEAHAWKS -3.5 Redskins / Patriots -4 EAGLES / CHARGERS -6 Broncos / RAMS -2.5 Cardinals / JETS -8.5 Bills / Steelers -10.5 CHIEFS / SAINTS -7 Giants

The Brothers: Jon (22-10-1) – Giants, Texans, Bucs, Jeff (19-13-1) – Bears, Bengals, Jets, Chris (19-13-1) – Panthers, Bengals, Jets

The Commenter Perfect Weeks: tobijohn (4), New Bear in Town (3), FQD1911 (2), SC Dave (2), BigDaddy (2), BossBear90 (2), Ufficio (2),  Michael L (2), Shady (2), MikeV in OR (2), greenbayman (1), Sacramento’s #1 Bears Fan (1), ben in norcal (1), CanadaBear (1), #76 Mongo Murph (1), TheFifth (1), DYLbears23 (1), EnderWiggin (1), IrishSweetness (1), Who is Willie Gault (1), SC Dave (1)

Note: Only two weeks remains in the Picks Contest. Unless eight contestants find themselves with three (3) perfect weeks you will need two (2) perfect weeks to qualify for the postseason the weekend of December 11th.

I don’t want to do it. I doubt I’ll be able to do it vocally. I’ll probably do it with a clenched fist and a few extras beers than normal. It will make me a bit sick. Today, Thanksgiving Day 2011, I’ll be rooting for the Green Bay Packers.

On this day it is customary to give thanks and so I give thanks to each and every one of you who has spent even a second on this site. It is my passion, my first love, and I hope to keep filling space with my ramblings for years to come.

Also today…

• I don’t consider the Dallas Cowboys a serious wildcard threat but it wouldn’t hurt having the Miami Dolphins knock them off this afternoon. A 6-5 Cowboys teams would only get into the postseason by winning the NFC East.
• Root for the San Francisco 49ers. Why? Because aside from the quest for a perfect regular season, we’d want the Packers to have something to play for when they meet the Lions the final week of the season. Keeping the Niners close is a good thing.

BONUS PICKS CONTEST ALERT! 
We’ll be doing the Picks Contest as always this weekend but we’re giving you an opportunity to get another notch in your belt. You must get all three Thanksgiving games right to be credited with a perfect week. All picks must be in by 12:30 PM EST. Here are the lines:

Packers -6 LIONS / COWBOYS -7 Dolphins / RAVENS -3.5 49ers

The Commenter Perfect Weeks: New Bear in Town (3), tobijohn (3), FQD1911 (2), SC Dave (2), BigDaddy (2), BossBear90 (2), Ufficio (2),  Michael L (2), Shady (2), MikeV in OR (2), greenbayman (1), Sacramento’s #1 Bears Fan (1), ben in norcal (1), CanadaBear (1), #76 Mongo Murph (1), TheFifth (1), DYLbears23 (1), EnderWiggin (1), IrishSweetness (1), Who is Willie Gault (1), SC Dave (1)

The Bears turned the corner on the 2011 season, veering onto Favorite Lane from Underdog Boulevard. They haven’t just been winning games. They’ve been whipping teams at the line of scrimmage, scoring points in huge chunks and assuming a position near the very top of the NFL’s table. Then Johnny Knox fell down. Cason intercepted the Cutler slant and took off down the sideline. Jay decided a touchdown was not going to happen and, in slowing the play down, broke his thumb.

Now on the talk radio shows across the country’s airwaves, on the pages of both Chicago dailies and in the internet space occupied by the Peter Kings of the world the Chicago Bears are being relegated back to the realm of the disrespected. Suddenly the quarterback who was having a tremendous season in almost total anonymity is being noted as the straw that stirs the drinks. Without Cutler (the pundits will have you believe) the Bears are no longer a contender and may be a longshot for the postseason. They ignore their running game – one of the best in the sport. Ignore their special teams – THE best in the sport. Ignore their defense – a unit that has been stabilized by LoveRod’s moves at the safety spot and have now rediscovered their edge.

Somehow a team with a five-game winning streak has their backs against the wall as Caleb Hanie takes the steering wheel of this Bears bus. There isn’t a Bears fan alive that wouldn’t rather see Cutler taking the snaps in Oakland Sunday. I staked whatever bloggy reputation I’ve accrued over the years on my support of the Cutler trade, even during Jay’s low times, and now we’re finally seeing what this guy is capable of when the gentlemen up front give him a few seconds to load his cannon and fire on the enemy. (Yes that sounds gross but I’m not deleting it.) Cutler is the greatest quarterback this organization has ever employed and I’m confident he is going to win a championship in Chicago.

But I have to admit there’s a certain thrill to Hanie’s entrance. When Cutler throws a complete pass, fans respond with a pumped fist and a knowing smile. Franchise quarterbacks are expected to perform like franchise quarterbacks and most of us are relieved to have one. With every Hanie completion there will be a sense of genuine excitement and overwhelming relief. He has the opportunity to do what the rest of the 2011 Chicago Bears have already done: inspire the city and shock the football world.

And when is the last time a team on a five-game win streak has sounded the way the Bears sound? They sound angry, defensive, motivated. Urlacher says they have to be better on defense. Lovie says the offense has to be better at running the ball. The Bears have been given reason to recommit themselves to the 2011 season not out of the desperation of struggling on the field but out of the necessity of injury. The Bears cannot and will not rest on their laurels. They cannot spend a minute enjoying their winning streak. The Bears know they MUST IMPROVE if they intend to make the postseason. They fifty roster members not playing the quarterback position must transition from a very good team to a championship team.

When the Chargers game ended I thought to myself, “Now they can lose a tough one on the road in Oakland and be fine.” But over the last forty-eight hours my mentality has gone in the opposite direction. Now I want this one. Not just for Caleb Hanie but also to reward this club’s current mentality. I want this one almost as bad as I wanted the Lions rematch and I don’t remember the last regular season game I wanted as bad as the Lions rematch. I want a win Sunday in Oakland.

We are not going to harp on the Jay Cutler injury around here. For the foreseeable future Caleb Hanie is the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears and no expansive word count columns from me are going to change that. Here’s what I saw Sunday.

• I wrote about it earlier in the year and was maligned by some commenters but Nick Roach is turning into a terrific linebacker. He’s no longer a placeholder, the third guy. He’s a playmaker now.
• I am hearing a lot of criticism of the fake punt Lovie called late. I guess I’m in the minority because I loved the call and the Bears had about seven open receivers on the play. I like that kind of aggressiveness with a lead. That’s how championship teams act.
• Frank Reich.
• My MVP of the game is Tyler Clutts, one of the most underrated Jerry Angelo signings of his career. When Pat Mannelly went down for the year with a ruptured ACL, Clutts handled the long-snapping duties with ease. When long snappers go down, teams often struggle executing extra points. The Bears did not miss a beat thanks to Clutts.
• Roy Williams is running crisp routes and catching the ball. Caleb Hanie is going to need him to continue doing so.
• I think Mike Martz needs to start working in more pitches to Matt Forte. The offensive line is far better blocking in space than out-toughing big defensive tackles up the gut. Get Forte outside and let him make tacklers miss.
• Henry Melton sometimes looks like he can be the best defensive tackle in the sport.
• Jeff Hostetler.
• I don’t use pop culture references in my sportswriting because I think it’s easy and Bill Simmons made his career on it. But I started hearing Lloyd Bridges in Airplane! watching Peanut Tillman cover Vincent Jackson, thinking I picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue. After a week of being touted for Pro Bowl consideration, Peanut struggled mightily to stop VJ from doing anything.
• Peanut did record one classic Peanut ball punch. I’ve never seen anything like Tillman’s ability to force fumbles.
• I’ve never seen a coach do what Norv Turner did yesterday. He wanted to challenge the Marion Barber down by contact late and instead of just challenging it, he burns a timeout. Then, AFTER the timeout, he challenged it. And lost that challenge because the play WAS NOT CLOSE. So Norv burns his last two timeouts for no conceivable reason.
• Tom Brady.
• Someone explain to me why any team would punt the ball to Devin Hester. I’m not writing this rhetorically, either. I need to see some data now. Because it keeps happening and Hester keeps not being tackled. Is there some moronic nerd stat that I don’t know about saying teams actually benefit from kicking the ball to Hester?
• Nice to see Corey Graham and Brandon Meriweather making contributions. Somehow I like the Bears secondary depth.
• Aside from the falling down, Johnny Knox played an excellent game.
• One point on Cutler’s injury. I can’t think of a way I’d rather see the franchise quarterback get injured. On an interception that was entirely Johnny Knox’s fault, Cutler saved a touchdown with his hustle and aggressiveness. If Favre did what Cutler did, it would have been the lead story on every highlight show for a month.
• When a safety is struggling in Lovie’s defense, there is usually no deep coverage on the go route. Chris Conte is a step or two away from making big plays in the pass game. He looks quite comfortable back there.
• The football finds Major Wright.
• Give Chargers tackle Brandyn Dombrowski some credit. Even when he didn’t have help on the outside, he played Julius Peppers well all afternoon.
• How does Philip Rivers consider what he did “throwing the ball away”? Why would he not release the ball out of bounds? Rivers is having a terrible year and plays like that make it quite obvious his issues are not entirely physical.
• I wanted to write about Earl Bennett but he’s just a good receiver. Every week. He’s becoming the most consistent wide receiver we’ve seen around here since Marty Booker. If you pair him with a real ten-catch-a-game #1 you will have some serious weapons on this roster.
• It has become very apparent that Devin Hester is becoming a smaller and smaller part of what the Bears do on offense.
• DirecTV and the NFL need to solve some things. Chargers at Bears was the national game yesterday, airing in New York on CBS 2. So this means the DirecTV channel airing the game is blacked out. Because the Bengals and Ravens game went down to the wire, we were forced to miss the first two drives of the game. I get blacking out the DirecTV feed for the local teams because local TV stays with every snap of those games. But folks pay far too much money for the NFL and DirecTV to force us to miss full drives of our favorite teams. If ALL the local networks aren’t on the national game yet, you MUST free up the DirecTV channel until they are.
• The Bears are 7-3 and a serious case can be made for them being the second best team in football when the QB is healthy. Lovie says he expects Cutler back before the end of the regular season. I may be crazy but I think he’ll play Christmas night in Green Bay. The Bears need to grind out victories now and put themselves in the postseason. It seems Jay Cutler’s toughness is so often the talking point around Halas Hall. Now the toughness of the other fifty-two men on the roster is the story.

UPDATE: Lovie Smith just stated during his Monday press conference that the Bears expect Cutler to return prior to the end of the regular season.

There is no way to positively spin losing Jay Cutler for the next six-to-eight weeks, should that turn out to be the result of his broken thumb. The Chicago Bears have become one of the best teams in football and recently, as opposing defenses have ganged up to stop Matt Forte, the primary reason has been Cutler. He has learned to maneuver around shaky pass protection and found a rhythm with his receiving corps, even including Roy Williams in the mix against the Chargers Sunday. Quite simply he is playing the position as well as anyone ever has for this organization.

And now he’s gone. The difference between six and eight weeks is drastic, however. Six weeks means he could return that second weekend in January for the wildcard round of the postseason. Eight weeks means the Bears would have to win two road games with Caleb Hanie for Cutler to return and face his buddy Aaron up at Lambeau. (And if Hanie wins two road playoff games, there will surely be those clamoring for him to keep his job.)

This injury changes the season. It changes the expectations. The 7-3 Chicago Bears are in the thick of the NFC playoff picture but getting to play a 17th game will be an uphill battle without their offensive leader and one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. Is it a long shot that Hanie can win four of the Bears remaining six games and cement them a postseason spot? Not in the slightest. The way the schedule finishes, one can easily conclude Hanie will be the best QB on the field for four of the final six games. He is better than Palko. Better than Tebow. Better than Tarvaris. Better than Ponder.

The expectations change and so does the pressure. Mike Martz has to reform the offensive system, simplify things and make protection the number one goal. The offensive line has to win the one-on-one battles inside and give Matt Forte holes to dash through. And the defense. Oh, the defense. They must become the core of this team once again. They must dominate opponents like they did last week against Detroit. They can no longer expect the offensive output they’ve been receiving and must treat every drive like they’re protecting a six-point lead with a minute to play.

Caleb Hanie will be the focus but it is incumbent upon every member of this roster to fill the void left by Cutler’s absence. If you believed this team was capable of winning the Super Bowl, and I certainly did, put those thoughts on hold for the moment. The goal now is the postseason. And that road starts Sunday in Oakland.

As always, I am here to provide your one-stop shopping for scoreboard watching.

Carolina Panthers over Detroit Lions

I think the Lions may be in something of a free fall and losing this game just four days before meeting the Packers on Thanksgiving would be the nail in their coffin.

Washington over Dallas

It’d be nice to see the Cowboys blow one of these games they should win but I don’t see it happening here.

Tennessee over Atlanta

Huge. I’ve said it many times but it’s worth repeating: the Falcons have an easy schedule the rest of the way and the Bears will consider their week one victory the biggest win of the season. Dropping the Falcons back another game here would do wonders.

I should be dropping Tweet bombs throughout the early games. You can read them on the right side of this page or follow me on Twitter by CLICKING HERE.