Jay Cutler's out with a broken thumb. And, backup QB Caleb Hanie is in as starter. Cutler, with protection, showed how good he is. What an arm! His throw to Knox in the corner of the end-zone was a great throw, something Bears fans haven't seen in a long time. Let's hope the injury isn't as serious as speculated.
Now, it will be Hanie's job to show what he can do. The best thing is not make mistakes. Make critical throws to keep the defense guessing and block like heck for Matt Forte. Give Forte some running room, and you never know. He is a talented and gifted runner. Overlooked by many, but now he is getting respect. Defenses are keying on him, and in the fourth quarter when the Bears needed to run down the clock, he came up with some nice runs to keep it moving. The Bears will need Marion Barber more in the the offense to pound the line, so when Forte gets back in, he can slice and move through a gap. All is not lost. It's a key injury to a starting QB, but you have three teams, offense, defense, and special teams, and they all need to step it up a notch.
Playing in the NFL is about meeting challenges. It's about blocking your man, staying on your man, or spying a gap. These guys are professionals. They will show up and meet the challenge. A season is on the line.
Keywords: Chicago Bears
