Thread: 10 thoughts: Can Cutler take licking, keep ticking?

10 thoughts: Can Cutler take licking, keep ticking?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- If you had the Kansas City Chiefs in your office pool to be the last remaining unbeaten NFL team, congratulations.

But the Chiefs, featuring former Bears wide receivers coach Todd Haley as head coach and former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator, are headed into a hornet's nest this weekend at Indianapolis, with the Colts regrouping from a stunning loss at Jacksonville on Josh Scobee's 59-yard field goal in the closing seconds.

That just goes to show how unpredictable the NFL is. The Bears (3-1) were knocked from the ranks of the unbeatens Sunday night at New Meadowlands Stadium by something they never expected: the onslaught of a pass rush. The Giants set a record for a Bears opponent with 10 sacks. The team honored former greats Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson at halftime in a ceremony unveiling the Ring of Honor in the new stadium, and it seemed like Taylor and Carson were bearing down on Jay Cutler in the first half when he was pummeled for nine sacks. Cutler fumbled three times and threw an interception before the team determined at halftime he had suffered a concussion.

"He took some hits so it's hard to say exactly when," coach Lovie Smith said. "Right now, I don't have all of that information, but we need to protect him more. You can only take so much and tonight was a little too much for him."

Let's put this in perspective: Cutler was sacked 11 times in 16 games with the Denver Broncos in 2008. The Bears surrendered 35 sacks last season, a figure some deemed to be too high. They've allowed 18 sacks, putting them on pace for 72, which would be six more than they surrendered the last time they ran a version of the Mike Martz offense. Remember back in 2004 when Terry Shea was calling the shots on offense? Bears quarterbacks -- the four-headed monster of Rex Grossman, Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel and Chad Hutchinson -- were sacked 66 times. That was with Qasim Mitchell at left tackle most of the time.

A lot went wrong against the Giants, who pumped some life back into their early season with the 17-3 victory, and it will be dissected all week. The Bears will have to check out Cutler medically and he also will have to pass a test by an independent physician before he can return to the practice field, let alone a game.

"Jay didn't finish the game, that's all that we know," Smith said. "We know what type of competitor he is. If he's healthy and ready to go, of course he'll be out there (Sunday at Carolina), like all of our guys."

The real story is going to be how Cutler is when he returns. Can he play behind an offensive line and in a system that is going to subject him to a beating? He never has missed an NFL start because of an injury. You don't worry about his health long-term right now -- there's no initial sign that he was seriously injured -- but you worry whether he can come back and perform in this scheme knowing he's going to take shots. Lots of them.

Here are nine more thoughts:

2. How do you fix the line? That's going to be an extended project. In the short term, Chris Williams was diagnosed with an injury that would require three to four weeks to heal. The only definitive thing that can be said about his situation is that he has yet to practice since being injured in Week 2 in Dallas. Guard Lance Louis suffered a left knee injury and wasn't moving well when he headed to the locker room. Guard Roberto Garza has a knee injury and he's not playing at 100 percent. If the Bears need help, they could promote Johan Asiata and/or James Marten from the practice squad. Josh Beekman remains a free agent. Don't expect much from outsiders, though. There just aren't offensive linemen available. Edwin Williams got his feet wet and rookie J'Marcus Webb got some time. Line coach Mike Tice appears to be looking at more combinations. Nothing is going to be set for some time. Martz is going to have to reevaluate what he's doing so the line can improve. The Bears are going to need better help chipping and from tight ends, too.

3. Trailing 3-0 and on their own 19-yard line with less than a minute remaining in the first half, the Bears needed to push the fast-forward button and get to the locker room as soon as possible. The eight sacks they had surrendered screamed for them to regroup and do so quickly. Instead, Martz had Cutler drop back and when cornerback Aaron Ross came unimpeded off the edge, Cutler was sacked for the ninth time. I asked Smith if the Bears need to reevaluate play-calling when they badly needed to get off the field at that point.

"We're constantly evaluating everything we do," he said. "We're going to go through the same process again."

What do you bet he orders up a few runs if the situation arises again? The Bears and Cutler had proven they couldn't find time to throw. Why try a drive that was impossible at that point, especially after he'd fumbled and thrown a pick?

4. If the Bears have to turn to Todd Collins or Caleb Hanie on Sunday at Carolina, they will be better prepared. Martz doesn't make it easy on the reserve quarterbacks because they get zero reps in practice during the week. The backups are asked to take mental reps watching Cutler get all the work with the starters. Collins and Hanie have to divide time with the scout time and use that work to hone their respective games. With practice time if Cutler is on the sideline, they will be more prepared and have better timing. Collins suffered a neck stinger and said he will be fine for this week. He was crunched by linebacker Michael Boley, who had a free run at him.

5. If the Bears want to enhance what they're doing with tight ends when it comes to pass blocking, it might be a good time to turn to veteran Desmond Clark, who was inactive as a healthy scratch for the first time in his career with the Bears.

"You'll have to ask the coaches about it, man," Clark said afterward when asked about the move. "It's their decision."

Clark is a savvy veteran who probably could help. Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu took his place on the game-day roster but did not get into the game.

6. So how does a defensive player handle such a mess on the offensive side of the ball in a game like this?

"It's tough to see anyone get hit like that, especially our quarterback," middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said. "Jay is a great player, you never want to see him get hurt. But even if he's in there, it doesn't matter what they do, it matters what we do on defense. We can't look at what our offense does, it has no bearing on what we do. We've got to play better no matter what."

7. The pass rush is still a one-man gang for the Bears. They're fortunate Julius Peppers is such a formidable gang of one. Israel Idonije got a sack and Peppers had one, but on far too many snaps Peppers is the only one who is defeating his block at the point of the attack to make his presence felt in the backfield. The Bears have not been blitzing much and when they do they're not terribly effective, unlike the Giants, in a masterful game plan executed by the aggressive Perry Fewell. Had the Bears been successful in their pursuit of Fewell to be their defensive coordinator, he would have brought that aggressive trademark with him that he developed as a play-caller in Buffalo. If Tommie Harris is held accountable on the defensive line, when will Mark Anderson's work be closely scrutinized by the coaches? Has it met the standard?

8. Lost in the shuffle was a terrific individual performance by cornerback Corey Graham on special teams. Press box statistics credited him with four tackles and he almost had a takeaway covering one punt. That gives him 10 tackles on the season and puts him on pace for 40. Yes, Tim Shaw's 30 special-teams tackles are in range at this early juncture.

9. Martz must devise ways to develop the running game more efficiently. Linemen prefer run-blocking to pass-blocking. The Bears aren't going to be able to play-action pass without a running game and teams are going to green light an array of blitzes and pressures until they prove they can do something other than deep drops in the pocket. This has to become a primary focus.

10. Can it get better? Yes. The Bears still could finish the first half of their season 7-1. They travel to Carolina on Sunday to face the winless Panthers. Then, they host Seattle (2-2) and Washington (2-2) before a bye week that comes at a good time. Coming out of the week off, they face Buffalo (0-4) in Toronto. All the problems that were revealed here -- when Martz's offense goes bad, it goes really bad -- can be forgotten (at least temporarily) with a little four-game winning streak.