Bears’ QB Jay Cutler is only 7 of 21 (33.3%) when throwing passes to 28-year old WR Devin Hester.  Hester has played in all four games for the Bears so far this year and he has caught 7 passes for 139 yards (19.9 avg) without a TD grab.  He has also returned 8 kickoffs for 197 yards (24.6 avg) and 4 punts for 100 yards (25.0 avg) with 1 TD return.  Hester has now touched the ball 19 times for the Bears this year and he has 436 all-purpose yards (22.9 yards per touch) so far this year.  Hester has been a dynamo on special teams but they need him to start catching the ball more offensively or they are going to have to phase him.

The Bears should have done more to improve the offensive line in the off-season.  28-year old QB Jay Cutler has been sacked 11 times already this year, and that’s way too many.  Cutler has played in both of the Bears’ games so far this year and he has completed 41 of 77 passes (53.2%) for 556 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (84.1 QB Rating).  He also also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards this year.  I feel sorry for Cutler as he is going to be a human pinata again this year.  The Bears should have backup QB Caleb Hanie warming up as soon as the game kicks off, starting this weekend against the Packers.

27-year old QB Jay Cutler was outstanding last week for the Bears.  He completed 15 of 28 passes (53.6%) for 274 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (111.3 QB Rating) against the Seahawks last weekend.  Cutler also carried the ball 8 times for 43 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs last weekend.  The problem is that Cutler isn’t playing the Seahawks this weekend.  The Packers are likely going to be a tough nut for Cutler to crack as they have any outstanding trio of CBs and there’s always OLB Clay Matthews who will be coming after him all day long.  The Bears only scored 23 points against the Packers this year.  Cutler completed 37 of 66 passes (56.1%) for 389 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs in two games against the Packers this year.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 45 yards (9.0 ypc) against the Pack.  In Cutler’s defense, he didn’t have most of his WRs for the second game against the Packers in which the Bears lost 10-3.  The Bears need Cutler to protect the ball tomorrow as they will have no chance of winning the game if he’s turning the ball over.

The Bears probably aren’t going to win tomorrow’s game by passing the ball.  With that in mind, RBs Matt Forte & Chester Taylor are going to have to step up.  The Packers have done a good job against Michael Turner & Lesean McCoy in their first two playoff games but opposing teams did have success running against them during the season.  Forte was busy last weekend against the Seahawks as he rushed for 80 yards on 25 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 54 more yards (18.0 avg).  Forte was solid in his two games against the Packers during the regular season.  Forte carried the ball 26 times for 120 yards (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 10 passes for 74 yards (7.4 avg) against the Packers this year.  They need him to have a big game if they are going to win tomorrow and earn a trip to the Super Bowl in Dallas.  Chester Taylor had a awful season for the Bears but he showed some signs of life against the Seahawks last week with 11 carries for 44 yards (4.0 ypc) with a TD run.  If  Taylor can repeat his success from last weekend, the Bears will be in good shape.

27-year old QB Jay Cutler had some ups and downs this year but overall he had a decent year.  Cutler played in 15 games for the Bears this year and he completed 261 of 432 passes (60.4%) for 3,274 yards with 23 TD passes and 16 INTs (86.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 50 times for 232 yards (4.6 ypc) with a TD run this year.  Cutler has now played in 68 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,359 of 2,207 passes (61.6%) for 15,964 yards with 104 TD passes and 79 INTs (84.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 203 times for 828 yards (4.1 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far in his career.  If the Bears can improve the offensive line and the WRing corps in the near future, I see Cutler having a true breakout year.

39-year old Todd Collins will be gone as soon as this year concludes as he was awful for the Bears this year.  Collins played in 2 games for the Bears this year and he was 10 of 27 (37%) for 68 yards passing with 0 TD passes and 5 INTs (5.9 QB Rating).  He has now played in 51 games in his NFL career and he has completed 391 of 701 passes (55.8%) for 4,547 yards with 22 TD passes and 24 INTs (71.8 QB Rating).  Collins has also carried the ball 83 times for 152 yards (1.8 ypc) in his NFL career.  It looks like Collins’  NFL career is coming to a close.

25-year old Caleb Hanie played in 2 games for the Bears this year and he completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 55 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (94.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard (-1.0 ypc) this year.  Hanie has now played in 5 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 66 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (39.6 QB Rating).  At best, Hanie will be the Bears’ #3 QB in 2011.

VERDICT:  Jay Cutler is the main man.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bears sign a veteran to back up Cutler and draft a developmental QB in the middle rounds next April.  I would be shocked to see Collins or Hanie on the Bears’ roster in 2011 unless one of them is crossing a picket line.

28-year old WR/PR Devin Hester appears to be getting phased out on offense by the Bears.  He has played in 8 games so far this year and he has caught 20 passes for 205 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 25 yards (5.0 ypc) so far this year.  It appears as if offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz of the Bears just doesn’t seem to like what Hester has to offer on offense.  At least he’s still a great punt returner.  He has returned 18 punts for 287 yards (15.9 avg) with 2 TD returns so far this year.  So even if Hester doesn’t help much on offense, he’s still an asset to the Bears.

27-year old QB Jay Cutler needs to step up because the Bears have no alternatives.  They need him to start getting rid of the ball a little bit quicker as he has been sacked 27 times already this year (in 6 games).  Cutler has played in 6 games for the Bears so far this year and he has completed 111 of 181 passes (61.3%) for 1,483 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 INTs (84.1 QB Rating).  Cutler has also carried the ball 16 times for 81 yards (5.1 ypc) so far this year.  Cutler doesn’t have a great line or a good set of WRs but he needs to overcome that if the Bears are going to make a run for the playoffs this year.

When the Bears signed 30-year old DE Julius Peppers they were expecting big things out of him.  They figured that he would get 10-12 sacks this year and really amp up the Bears’ pass rush.  That has not happened as of yet.  Peppers has played in all 7 games for the Bears so far this year and he has 16 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 1 interception and 2 forced fumbles.  The Bears need Peppers to step up soon which would help the Bears’ secondary.

Matt Forte is very inconsistent.  Sometimes he is outstanding but he has disappeared in a lot of games for the Bears so far this year.  With that in mind I think the Bears need to get 31-year old RB Chester Taylor more involved in the offense going forward.  Taylor has played in 7 games for the Bears so far this year and he has carried the ball 44 times for 160 yards (3.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) so far this year.  The Bears have to get Taylor more involved to see if he can get into a groove and help jumpstart the offense a little bit.

24-year old running back Matt Forte took a step back last season and it got the Bears wondering if he can be a true featured back in the NFL.  Look for them to sign, trade for or draft a running back to compete with Forte for carries in 2010.  Forte played in 16 games for the Bears last season and he carried the ball 258 times for 929 yards (3.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He also caught 57 passes for 471 yards (8.3 avg) last season.  The one thing working in Forte’s favor is that he is a good receiver out of the backfield and new offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz loves running backs that catch the ball well.  Forte has now played in 32 games for the Bears in his two years with them and he has carried the ball 574 times for 2,167 yards (3.8 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  Forte also has caught 120 passes for 948 yards (7.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his two years with the Bears.  Forte needs to step up in 2010 and that is the bottom line.