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Imrem: If only it were a different Jimmy replacing Cutler

So, finally, the Bears benched Jay Cutler for Sunday's game against the Lions.

The only problem is that the wrong Jimmy will be the starting at quarterback in Soldier Field.

Wouldn't it be more exciting if it were Jimmy Garoppolo instead of Jimmy Clausen?

Cutler looks less and less like the Bears' quarterback of the future, and Clausen never will be.

If the Bears would have drafted Jimmy G. last spring, well, there would be a buzz about him possibly filling the role for the next decade.

It sure would be nice for the Bears to have a rookie quarterback with Garoppolo's physical tools, wouldn't it? It might even answer the question of who plays if Cutler is dispatched out of town.

Throwing either Jimmy into the fray behind the Bears' offensive line might be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

But at least Garoppolo would get to taste what the NFL is all about, hopefully come out the other side in one piece and be all the better for the experience.

This conversation reminds me of another one that I had in Halas Hall on the Monday before the season opener.

I was talking with a longtime Bears beat reporter who knows much more about football than I ever will.

Having no idea how Cutler's season would go, I mentioned that the Bears should have taken Garoppolo with their second-round draft choice.

The longtime Bears beat reporter looked at me like I was crazy to think of using that high of a pick on a quarterback.

For one thing, the Bears needed too much help at too many other positions. For another, Cutler was just guaranteed $54 million for three seasons.

Yeah, I thought, so what?

The Bears selected defensive tackles Ego Ferguson in the second round and Will Sutton in the third round.

Did the Bears really need to go that high for two defensive tackles, as important as the position is and as much of a need it was on their defense?

Just think of how important the Packers believe quarterbacks are. Even with Brett Favre in his prime, they kept drafting them just in case.

The most prominent Packers pick turned out to be Aaron Rodgers, who was taken in the first round and eventually replaced Favre as the league's premier quarterback.

Rodgers sat for three seasons, learning the Green Bay Way and the best and worst of what made Favre what he was.

That seems like a pretty good blueprint - draft a quarterback high and let him intern for three years before becoming the starter.

It could be that the Bears simply didn't like Garoppolo, a product of Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows High and Eastern Illinois University.

Maybe general manager Phil Emery was correct in that assessment. Maybe Garoppolo won't make it in the NFL.

The argument against that argument is that Bill Belichick, not a bad talent evaluator, picked Garoppolo in the second round for New England even though he has Tom Brady.

A report last week stated that the Patriots wanted to sign rookie David Fales, the Bears' sixth-round draft choice who was on the practice squad.

So maybe Garoppolo hasn't impressed New England. Still, it would make more sense for the Bears to have Garoppolo relieve Cutler right now.

The Bears likely were concerned that drafting a potential heir apparent would rattle the emotionally fragile Cutler.

As it turned out, about the only thing the Bears have been capable of this season is being bad enough to miss the playoffs with or without Cutler.

So wouldn't it have been neat to have a younger backup with Jimmy Garoppolo's perceived upside instead of an older backup with Jimmy Clausen's downside?

Of course, considering the state of the Bears, Garoppolo should be grateful that they passed on him.

mimrem@dailyherald.com

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