In mediocre NFL, Bears still have a chance

As I watched the Chicago Bears lose another game on Sunday, I was seriously wondering if Jay Cutler will return as the quarterback of the team next year.

I know it's still early, but it's also late. It looks like the Bears invested a lot of dough ($54 million for three years) in an average quarterback with a good arm.

After the loss to Green Bay, Chris Carter made a very simple assessment of Cutler on ESPN. Carter said the multimillion-dollar contract didn't change who Cutler was - he was still the same guy - an average quarterback who is sometimes good and sometimes bad.

When you see a guy with as much experience as Cutler throw into triple coverage, you have to wonder about his QB smarts.

Earlier in the season, I said the Bears would have to score 30 to 40 points per game to be competitive, and that isn't happening. They could only put up three points in the second half against the Carolina Panthers.

Was that the plan? And when reliable Robbie Gould misses a 35-yard chip shot, you know the season might be heading south.

The only saving grace - beyond it being early in the season - is that mediocrity reigns in the NFC North, giving the Bears a fighting chance.

I seem to recall some "experts" picking the Bears to go to the Super Bowl. Does this team look like a Super Bowl team to you? Didn't think so!

Same old story with the SEC:

I absolutely love it: Alabama loses and the team that beats then becomes the next greatest thing.

The latest is Ole Miss beating the Crimson Tide 23-17 on Saturday. The SEC is a conference made up of very good teams, but the notion they have six or seven teams better than any team in any other conference is total nonsense.

I heard SEC moneyman Paul Finebaum list two SEC teams in his final four playoffs scenario - at least for this week. Former Georgia standout David Pollock had three SEC teams in his playoff set.

How could neither guy have picked Notre Dame for their final four?

There will be a ton of teams with one loss. Because some of the voters do listen, I will have fun once again fighting the SEC hordes who talk up their product every chance they get.

That said, I really don't see anything special from any of the other conferences.

Baylor, which is ranked fifth, is formidable. The Irish are ranked sixth and Big 10 power Michigan State is eighth.

I'm fine with Auburn at one, but there are two teams from Mississippi in a tie for third in the polls and that's just a fake.

But I'm not too worried. I know things will sort out as the weeks go on. I will say, however, that college football has become more interesting with the playoffs. With the SEC, though, it's the same old story.

Program notes:

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