Adam Schefter of ESPN has reported that the Bears are likely to retain Lovie Smith.  That was pretty much the assumption heading in to the news conference scheduled for later this afternoon anyway, but you can probably expect some other coaching changes within the organization even if Lovie is still around.

So if Ron Turner gets the boot, do you think this will help Cutler?  What else can the Bears do given their limited resources to help Jay Cutler and the offense?  If you don’t think trading Jay makes sense and want to complain that he didn’t have the resources (receivers/line/coaching) to be successful, now is your chance to sound off.  At some point, the QB has to be responsible for wins and losses, so what can the Bears do to get their “franchise” QB in a position where he is ultimately responsible?  Let’s hear it, Cutler lovers!

While this site was intended as a forum to discuss the positives and negatives in trying to trade Jay Cutler while his value is still high, recognizing the fact he’s is one of the few assets on a team in need of a complete overhaul, much of the discussion has turned into a Cutler vs. Orton debate.  I guess the Cutler / Orton table on the homepage didn’t exactly calm the storm, either.  A few words on the two QBs:

Many of the Cutler supporters on the site (they are usually the same ones using profanity directed at yours truly) keep wanting to point out things like the bad year or two that guys like Favre and Manning had in their careers.  They also point out that Cutler has no help around him, Orton has talent around him, and I know nothing about football.  While the last statement might have some merit, suggesting that Cutler’s cast is terrible while Orton’s new team is stacked is suggesting that EVERY talent evaluator of the NFL got it wrong before the season started.

Looking back at many of the media’s preseason picks and NFL rankings heading into this season, I can’t find a single source that put the Broncos ahead of the Bears, but here we are, looking at a 5-9 team going nowhere in Chicago and an 8-6 team with playoff hopes in Denver.  The analysts knew all about Lovie Smith, Ron Turner and their coaching styles, so as much as I dislike what they’ve done to the franchise, those things were taken into account when 4 of the 8 football analysts from USA Today picked the Bears to go to the playoffs.  Guess how many picked Denver? 0.

At ESPN.com, it was more of the same.  Of the 16 experts, a few placed Chicago in the playoffs and no one picked Denver.  Another blogger ranked the teams based on talent and put the Bears 15th and the Broncos 31st.  Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com actually complimented Denver and liked their chances, but still put them behind Oakland in the AFC West.  The NY Daily News ranked Chicago 11th and Denver 26th.

You can probably pick apart any single prediction, but it’s obvious that the consensus before the season started was that the better team was the Bears.  It’s tough to blame an entire lost season on a single Brian Urlacher injury, so at some point you have to criticize the players for not playing to their perceived talents INCLUDING CUTLER.  On the flipside, Denver should be credited for playing above their perceived talents INCLUDING ORTON.  The funny thing is that this is an ongoing occurrence.  Orton’s teams are met with indifference and he unimpressively plugs along and gets WINS.  Cutler’s teams are met with high hopes and praise but the LOSSES continue.  How can you argue with results?

On ESPN1000 radio in Chicago Monday, Trent Dilfer checked in with the “Afternoon Saloon” and had some harsh opinions of Jay Cutler’s play this season.  If anyone has the transcript from the interview, please let me know.  Their podcast currently has some technical problems.

Basically, Dilfer wanted to make it perfectly clear that while several interceptions may be attributable to the wide receivers, Cutler won’t be able to hide from his performances because the team analyzes each play at the end of the year and determines which ones were good decisions by a player and which ones were bad decisions.  Dilfer believes that Cutler will be found guilty of many more bad plays than originally thought.

Personally, I’ll be surprised if the Bears actually do some kind of post-season review with each player.  They just don’t seem like the kind of team hell bent on getting it right.  Don’t you get the feeling after Week 17, Lovie’s just going to give some speech like: “We did some good things.  We did some not so good things.  There’s a few things we need to work on.  We all know we can get better, so have a good offseason, make sure you locker is clean before you leave, and I’ll see you at OTAs.”  ZZZzzzzzz…..

First of all, sandwiched between some of the less than stellar “you guys are loosers” (sic) comments are some very insightful thoughts by guys that took a lot of time to write them.  Check ‘em out – they’re worth a read.  Now on to yesterday’s game.

Jay Cutler did his best Kyle Orton impression yesterday, wowing no one but playing mistake free and coming out with an ugly victory.  Throwing the ball only 17 times, Lovie Smith made the decision to “get off the bus running,” and despite a 3.2 yards/carry average, Smith kept ordering for the run.  Smith also decided to try a fake field goal against one of the worst teams in football where any points on the board should be golden.  Did I mention only having 10 players on the field in a punting situation deep in Chicago’s own zone, forcing a timeout to be called?  If you want to sound off on those problems, there’s always www.FireLovieSmith.com for that.  No, it’s not my website.

Despite giving the ball to St. Louis at midfield or better a handful of times, the Rams couldn’t get in the endzone.  It’s fairly obvious that this 1-11 team has Steven Jackson and nothing more.  Still, the Bears couldn’t capitalize on their chances, including converting the occasional 3rd down to ice the clock, and suddenly the lowly Rams were driving the field with a chance to tie the game with under a minute left.  The defense finally put an end to the drive, sealing the Bears’ 5th win of the season.

As bad as it’s been, keep this in mind: Chicago is currently only one game worse than New England and Pittsburgh.  What this game showed once again, however, is the complete lack of talent around Jay Cutler.  As I have said time and time again, THAT is why the Bears need to trade him.  Chicago needs help in so many areas that having a Pro Bowl quarterback behind center with no good draft picks in sight will only delay future success.  More to come this week.  Sound off!