Bears should handle McCown and Smith

It all comes down to this Sunday's home game against former Bears head coach Lovie Smith and ex-Bears quarterback Josh McCown, now with Tampa Bay.

The Buccaneers, with their 2-9 record, are expected to come into the frozen tundra and lay down and get beat by the great pretenders - the Chicago Bears.

While everyone is acting nice and civil about this match up, let's face it - both sides want a victory for personal reasons.

The game boils down to choices made by the Bears organization to let Smith and McCown go, and hire Marc Trestman and pay big money to Jay Cutler.

Now, let me ask Bears fans a question: if you could make the trade now, would you trade Cutler and Trestman for "Big Game" Josh and Lovie?

I would. And I'd help Cutler pack his bags, because the best quarterback for this star-studded offense is a guy that can throw 20 to 25 yard passes with accuracy and keep interceptions to a minimum, and that isn't a description of Cutler.

Don't tell me McCown isn't doing well in Tampa; I doubt many quarterbacks would succeed there right now. Don't forget, Steve Young and Trent Dilfer played that position for Tampa Bay, and they were much more successful after they left.

For me, the better question is this: would you want Lovie back? The last time Bears fans saw him in the blue and orange, he won 10 games.

I have to believe the defensive-minded Smith would improve the play on that side of the ball. My guess is he would still be the coach today if he had made the playoffs in his last season (10-6).

For now, though, it looks like Bears fans are stuck with Cutler and Trestman.

You have to think that McCown wants to come back to town and, led by Smith, give the Bears a beating. I don't think that will happen, though, and I expect the Bears to win.

Even with a 5-6 record and five games left in the season, the Bears will still be in a division they can't win. And as nice as a win would be, it would be against another weak opponent.

Still, a two-game winning streak, regardless of who you play, would seem like a miracle after the losses the Bears have suffered this past month.

For the Bears to have any chance at the playoffs, they have to run the table, which I believe they are incapable of doing.

Beating anyone is sweet relief for an organization that has been under siege. It's also important not to suffer any more debacles - no more 54-14 losses, please.

The win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday brought a little peace to the fans, the players and the media. Let's hope for another week of peace.

My prediction: Bears 29, Bucs 20.

Program notes:

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