Jay Cutler is at the center of everything in Chicago. He has some improving to do, especially in terms of his holding on to the ball too long. He was sacked nearly 60 times this season, and it wasn’t all because of poor offensive line play.
However, the Bears do need to bring in one or two offensive linemen to help out. The line will be especially important moving forward with a few very talented defensive linemen in their division, especially the Defensive Rookie of the Year, Ndamukong Suh.
The Bears’ secondary on the defensive side could also use a tune-up. It wasn’t terrible, but there were some very poor performances, including that shootout against the Jets, that need to be addressed, whether it’s with new players or just fixing their schemes.
Another issue is Lovie Smith’s contract. There is no doubt he deserves an extension (his contract ends after the 2011 season). But fans don’t seem to love and respect him the way his players do. Right now it seems Chicago is close to an extension with Smith, but it isn’t finalized. Even if he does get it, the Bears will be keeping an eye on him. Remember that after that Super Bowl appearance against the Colts he failed to bring Chicago back to the playoffs for three seasons. Chicago has the potential to drop off the map in the NFC North again, even after winning the division this year.
One other word of advice, keep Caleb Hanie. He could provide Cutler some competition and help him develop. More importantly, you don’t want another team getting a hold of one of the better backups in the league, which could happen with the way his name just appeared out of thin air during their loss to the Packers.
Just in this morning, Lovie Smith was given a 2-year contract extension.
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