Not since four days before I was born has a Chicago Bear quarterback thrown five, count them five interceptions in a single game.  Not Jack Concannon.  Not Bobby Douglass.  Not Bob Avelini .  Not Vince Carter.  Not Mike Tomczak. Not Eric Kramer.  Not Jonathan Quinn or Henry Buriss or Will Furrer. Not even Rex Grossman.  Last night, Jay Cutler tied Zeke Bratkowski for the most interceptions in a game by a quarterback in franchise history,. a franchise that is almost ninety years old.

Is this a case of be careful what you wish for on steroids?

When the Bears mortgaged their future and traded first and second round picks to Denver, Bears fans thought that finally, after several attempts, the Bears had acquired the best quarterback since Sid Luckman.  However, after nine games, Cutler's tenure at quarterback has been a nightmare series of events, starting with his opening performance against the Packers in September.

But is it Cutler who should shoulder the blame or is he just the tip of the iceberg?

I can tell you that having watched Rex Grossman play in the SEC at Florida that he was going to be a bust.  Rex is a total gunslinger who fires the ball before he even thinks about it.  Cutler is similar, but has a better arm and perhaps a better sense of where the defense is.  He's also smarter than Grossman will ever be.  So, here you have two quarterbacks with similar type games who had pick problems in Chicago.  See a trend here?

The problem with the Bears are several fold:

• The running game can't get going this year which hurts the passing game.  When you are constantly looking at 3rd and 10 or 3rd and eight, it takes a lot of your plays out of the playbook. 
• The offensive line couldn't block a defensive line consisting of my 86 year-old father, my 86 year-old mother in law, my 74 year-old mother and my 92 year-old Aunt Shirley.  Don't laugh, Aunt Shirley is pretty feisty and she talks trash.
• The receivers couldn't run a correct route if they drew it for them on the field in chalk.
• Ron Turner is a fraud, has always been a fraud and will continue to be a fraud.  Having Ron Turner calling your offensive plays is like having Stevie Wonder park your car in a garage.

It doesn't matter who your quarterback is as long as you have all these other issues.  Cutler, as bad as he appears on the surface, is a good quarterback.  But without the tools to do his job right, he's reduced to the Tomczak-Grossman level.  We certainly haven't seen Jay Cutler at his best, which is partially his fault and partially the fault of his teammates and even the bigger fault of the coaching staff and the player personnel department.

What I do fault Cutler for is not taking better care of the football.  That's something he's going to have to do.  Of course, if you have been sacked more than groceries at Dominick's, chances are you chuck before you duck.  I'll cut him a little slack.

To get Cutler, the Bears sacrificed several areas they have neglected for years, which is like finishing your basement despite the fact your roof leaks.  Now that the Bears are nine games in to what sure will be a non-playoff season, the water is pouring in and all they have to show for it is a nice basement.  Until the water seeps into it and ruins it too.

I'd recommend directing most of your frustration this morning not at Cutler, but at the people who made this all possible: Jerry and Lovie.  As Mongo told us in Blazing Saddles, "Cutler just pawn in game of life."

Lightning Round

• Thanks to the arrogance of the NFL, I did not get to see the game last night.  The NFL still has not reached agreement with Time Warner, my cable provider.  In defense of Time Warner, they have deals in place with the MLB, NBA and NHL networks, so whatever the NFL is asking for (which is too much) they need to stand down and work to get this on more cable systems.  I refuse to own a dish.  I listened on the radio and while it was a good broadcast, it doesn't give you pictures.  Of course, based on what happened, maybe it was better I couldn't see it.