The Legend of Tim Tebow and the Fall of The Bears

Until the game today, I had faith in my team and in our back up QB.

While I still have a wee bit of faith left, I think the time has come to admit what some Bear fans may be thinking: The team seemingly quit when Cutler got injured.

If you look at how the Broncos came back from a near impossible win (starting with the near impossible tie), it shows what magic can happen when the team BELIEVES in the man under center and when they don't.

The Bronco players believe in Tim Tebow, even if John Fox and John Elway aren't. And that can possibly be the success of the Denver Broncos and the legend of Tim Tebow.

Ah. The Legend of Tim Tebow. We'll be telling these tales to our grandchildrens' grandchildren. And each tale will grow taller and taller as we get older. Do you know in that game against the Bears in December of 2011, Tebow threw for over 600 yards and scored five touchdowns? And he did all this while his hands were tied behind his back. He WILLED the Broncos to win. Thus, thrusting Tim Tebow into the "Legends Hall of Fame".

As well as the Fall of Caleb Hanie. Bear fans had trust in him and then lost it after one loss. I had faith in him until today. While the loss is not on his shoulders (I think it falls squarely on the foolish decision of Marion Barber to go out of bounds instead of putting a knee down to perspectively end the game) the fans have lost complete faith in Hanie's ability to lead the team and to win.

There are videos begging for Jay Cutler to learn to throw LEFT HANDED so that the Bears can possibly do something.

Until his injury, the Bears were looking at the playoffs. Now? To quote Jim Mora:

Playoffs? Don’t talk about — playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game! Another game.

I think that we have pretty much kissed our playoff chances good bye after today's game.

While I don't think ALL is lost, I'm confident MOST is lost. I don't know if we're ever going to recover from this until Cutler comes back. The good news was he was throwing; the bad news is that, even if he WERE to come back, it'll be too late.

Caleb Hanie = Bears QB?

For the past two Sundays I have heard Bears fans piss and moan about the job that our back-up QB, Caleb Hanie's doing. There has been repeated attacks on his ability to do the job that Jay Cutler handed him when he broke his thumb in the game against the Chargers three weeks ago.

Seems to me that people are forgetting a few things.

Let's start with the obvious one: Hanie's the BACK-UP! That means he's not gotten the reps/snaps that Cutler, as the starter, has gotten. Yes, I know that Hanie came into the Championship Game last year when Cutler got hurt. He did a great job, pulling us within one score. Truth? Without Cutler, we would NOT have won the Super Bowl. I realize that we are 0-2 with Hanie at the helm, but I'm not worried. He's a good young QB and he's doing the job at hand. And, despite the lack of reps/snaps, he's doing pretty good. Does he need to improve? Yes. Can he get better? Absolutely. Hanie's a quick young learner. But, remember he's the back up. NFL teams don't have the depth that college teams have, so his time actually taking snaps has been limited. Don't forget that.

Second, I'm beginning to think that without Cutler, Mike Martz has already checked out. There are rumours he's not coming back next season. So, maybe he doesn't think that he needs to spend much time with our young back up? I'm not the only one who is speculating that Martz has his mind elsewhere. Maybe that's been the success to Cutler lately? haahaa Seriously, the idea that Martz may have checked out doesn't help Hanie. Martz may be an egotistical asshole, but he needs to be there for his offense UNTIL (if) he leaves. To do otherwise does the Bears a disservice and shows how egotistical he really is.

Third, the people crying for Jay Cutler's return are the SAME PEOPLE WHO BURNED HIS JERSEY after the Championship Game last year. What? Suddenly you realize what he brings to the table? How important he is to the team? Do you believe he's really injured this time because of the cast on his thumb? What's changed your mind? Wait. That's right. MOST OF YOU ARE BANDWAGGONERS! Not all who want him back are bandwaggoners or fair weather fans, but they are the ones that are being very vocal about Jay Cutler's return. The die hard fans - the ones who actually bleed blue and orange - are supporting Caleb Hanie, even if they are a little disappointed with how he's played.

Granted - Hanie hasn't played at the level he's fully capable of, but how many of us have been in the position he's in now? I'm sure there's a little nervousness involved and maybe he's worried he won't be the QB the Bears need.

Caleb Hanie is the QB that the Bears need during Cutler's absence. You may not think we've got time, but we do. We are more than just our QB. He's not the one to solely blame for the losses. Passes were right on the money, but they were dropped.

Could the offense be psychology affected by Cutler's absence that they need time to fully grasp the guy under center is Hanie, even though they believe in him and that he can get the job done? Possibly. It's an adjustment for everyone involved. Hanie throws the ball just different enough from Cutler to confuse the receivers.

Just give Caleb Hanie a break. He's not been the starter for a while and he's going to have to feel his way back to it and I think that he's doing the job we need him to do.

It's the rest of the offense that needs to pick it up.