Three thoughts for tonight:

• Jordan Howard isn’t playing. And Jordan Howard shouldn’t be touched by another defender until that defender is wearing the uniform of the Atlanta Falcons. Running backs only have so much wear and tear in their bodies. Howard’s style – tough, bruising, absorbing contact – will have less than most.
• In the absence of Howard, will the Bears start Tarik Cohen? He was first off the bench a week ago. I think they’re making a mistake if they try to use this kid as an every down back. Kick returner. Third down, scat back. 3-5 carries as a change of pace.
• This is truly a rough spot for Mike Glennon tonight. He will be under an immense amount of pressure and facing one of the feistiest secondaries in the sport. It just seems the stars are aligning for Mitch Trubisky to take this gig. (And in case I haven’t made it clear, that’s in the best interest of the Bears organization moving forward.)

It’s the time of the season when major media outlets waste time and space by ranking players. And Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is regularly ranked amongst the best quarterbacks in the NFL, despite not even being on the radar two years ago.

Which begs the question: Can Jay Cutler do the same?

The question isn’t can Cutler be as good as Palmer. I’d argue he currently is and always has been the betteir player. Even after Palmer’s last two monster seasons, they’re comparable statistically. The consensus amongst mainstream media members, however, appears to be that at 36 years old with a number of major knee surgeries and a brief retirement, Palmer is somehow better than he used to be.

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Looking Back

It wasn’t all bad.

Really, it wasn’t.

Without their best wide receiver and with a makeshift offensive line, the Bears drove down the field against one of the best defenses in the league and scored touchdowns twice.

Then Cutler got hurt.

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We wanted to see improvement. We wanted to have hope. No improvement. Hope gone. Season over? Reactions…

• Up until the interception, Jay Cutler may have been playing his best game as a Chicago Bear. He had remarkable awareness in the pocket, made smart decisions and didn’t throw a single inaccurate pass. He also seemed to thrive with the read option concepts Adam Gase installed. Then a poor throw is compounded with the ridiculous decision to try and make a tackle. Now he’s got a “hamstring” injury. Those who hate Jay Cutler can hate him all day long but they should recognize this team this will be non-competitive without him.
• But wasn’t this Jay Cutler’s Bears career in a nutshell: flashes of brilliance, terribly pick-six, injury.
• Jimmy Clausen’s performance reminded me an awful lot of Shane Matthews in the 2001 playoffs. Jim Miller throws a pick. Gets injured trying to make a tackle. Matthews forgets how to play football.
• Clausen’s appearance also brought out the worst in Adam Gase. His play-calling once the backup entered the game fell off a cliff. Abandoning the run, stretch runs when only inches are needed…etc. John Fox has to step in during these sequences.
• Bears may have nothing in David Fales. They KNOW they have nothing in Clausen. Start Fales if Cutler can’t go.
• Kyle Fuller. Not good.

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The Game Poem

I entered this NFL season

Abounding with patience and reason

A week in the books

Da Bears dug in their hooks

I hope they weren’t only teasin’

A Not-So-Quick Thought

Sunday is a playoff game for the Chicago Bears – figuratively speaking.

The Bears, whether they want to admit moral victory or not, gave many of their fans hope for a 2015 campaign that began with the tiniest expectations in more than a decade. They had every opportunity to beat one of the best teams in the league. So why is a contest with the Cardinals in week two a “playoff” game?

• The NFC is not particularly deep and the Cardinals will be a team in the mix for one of the six spots in the tournament. If the Bears pulled off a win Sunday, who is going to argue they can’t be playing meaningful games in the month of December?
• Fans were pleasantly surprised Sunday but remain skeptical. If the Bears improve off Sunday’s performance you could see expectations rise around the city of Chicago very quickly. Fans want to believe. Will the Bears give them that opportunity?
• The Bears are not going to win in Seattle in Week Three. And they are not recovering from an 0-3 start.

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Looking Back

As nice as it was for the Bears to look like a professional football team and compete with a  team we all expect to be playing in January, the Bears still lost and nobody should be happy about that.

The Bears had their chances and didn’t execute. They followed the recipe almost perfectly. They kept Aaron Rodgers off the field, running for nearly 190 yards and dominating time of possession early on. But they didn’t make enough plays. That’s what decides the outcome of games.

Outside of Cutler and Forte, the Bears didn’t have a single player make a big play. While James Jones was jumping over Bears defensive backs and Eddie Lacy making one-handed grabs, the Bears got nothing. The biggest play was made by Clay Matthews, perfectly reading Cutler’s eyes for an interception. A good reminder that defensive players get paid too.

One thing that was clear is that the Bears have confidence in their coaching staff. They know they’re going to be put in a position to succeed and it’s up to them to come away with the win. In Week 1, they didn’t.

Looking Forward

It’s hard not to look at the Cardinals and wonder what if Phil Emery had hired Bruce Arians instead of Marc Trestman? Arians wanted the job, he practically begged for it, but Emery went in another direction and it cost him his job.

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Doesn’t seem like any news will be breaking on the GM/head coach front over the next 48 hours but if it does I will be on top of it. In the meantime, as always, follow DBB on Twitter by CLICKING HERE.