The 2009 Bears season started off with a spectacular display of ineptitude from our bright new quarterback, Jay Cutler. This game had me scratching my head in the first half. It was a pretty poor performance. And I know what you are all thinking. I'm being pessimistic. I'm always pessimistic. But this isn't the case tonight. This is pure fact. Jay Cutler had a bad day at the office. I put this loss on him 100% 2 first round draft picks says I can.

I'm afraid I am not one of these "give it time" apologists. I'm calling a spade a spade. Cutler was simply terrible tonight. His first half was one of the worst halves of football I've seen since...well...since Rex Grossman! I can hear the screams from the other side of this blog now: "But Perry, his offensive line was terrible! Orlando Pace was a turnstile! Omiyale couldn't keep anyone in front of him all night! Jay was running for his life!"

Yea, that's all true. But this is our young, agile, rocket-arm-having franchise quarterback. We gave up 2 first round picks for this guy! This was a nationally televised game against our biggest rival. What did Jay "Cuttey" do? How did he respond to this pressure? He shit the bed. But wait, there are even more excuses for why the Bears lost this game! The offensive play calling was terrible. Forte only had 8 carries in the first half. Can someone explain why the number one weapon on this team only touched the ball 8 times? Do I have to mention Ron Turner? Maybe Lovie should take over calling the offense too.

There is going to be a ton of chatter about how the Packers defense double covered Olsen all night, and how the inexperienced wide receivers were responsible for 2 out of the 4 turnovers that Cutler gave up. It's amazing how easy it is to find reasons for a loss. In less than 5 minutes I've managed to blame the offensive line, the inexperienced wide receivers, the play calling, and the lack of a run game. Umm, what's missing? Think hard. Could it be?

Yes. I'm telling you, it begins and ends with the quarterback. All of his early throws were garbage. His decision making process, specifically, his reads were off all night. He threw into double, triple, and even quadruple coverage tonight. But like golf, all it takes is one good shot to keep you coming back. Cutler hits Hester for a beautiful touchdown in the third.

Here is his line: 17/36 277 yards 4 INT and 1 TD.

Yes, he has a canon. Sure, he is the franchise quarterback we've all been dreaming of, but this first game was a nightmare. A nationally televised nightmare. Was he pressing? Did he even study the 3-4 defense? Didn't the Chargers run a 3-4?? Didn't he play them twice a season? I don't know. I guess I'm just disappointed because while there might be a lot of football left, I expected better from Cutler. My grades will be posted tomorrow. I've got to go calm down and watch some post-game analysis. Pittsburgh is up next.

BEAR DOWN