Before the Bears defeat Seattle's upstart Seahawks at Soldier Field Sunday lets play a game: Let's compare Bears.
Jay Cutler vs. Jim McMahon in the All-Coppock quarterback challenge. One man wins the other doesn't. Go:
Dancing ability - incomplete. I've never seen Cutler boogie but I do know that McMahon, the 1985 championship architect, was runner up to Steve Fuller on the all white guys list in the legendary Super Bowl shuffle.
Ability to read defenses - McMahon. Cutler's no slouch back of center, but McMahon was a genius when it came down to determining a rival club's principle vulnerabilites. I've only seenn one qb over the years, Peyton Manning, who does a better job with the pre-snap read than the punky qb.
Arm strength - Cutler. label this one strictly no contest. McMahon could throw the deep ball, but Jim would be the first to admit, begrudgingly, that his arm was designed for knuckle balls not fast balls.
Leadership - McMahon. Jim was beloved his his offensive line. In fact he was beloved by the entire ball club for one primary reason. See "Rebel without a Cause." James thrived on getting in Mike Ditka's face and bum rapping any McCaskey who happened to wander within twenty feet of him.
Ability to imbibe - McMahon. James set records for sipping hurricanes on Bourbon Street during the days prior to Super Bowl XX that will never be touched.
Foot speed - Cutler. Mac ran the 40 yard dash in roughly 36 hours. Cutler, since the bye week, has become a legitimate threat to motor out of the pocket.
Blitz recognition - Tie. This sounds nuts when you recall that the New York Giants made Cutler a human bean bag when they met at the Meadowlands. But Cutler does have good escapability as did Jim.
Intangibles - McMahon. Jim captures this category for the obvious reason. He won three playoff games after that majestic '85 regular season. The next playoff game Cutler wins will be his first.
Guy you'd most want to hang with at the local watering hole -- Uh, McMahon. Be prepared to toss dollars in the jukebox until at least 3:00 a.m.
The finish line -- Who would want to have quarterbacking the Bears during the playoffs? I have to go with McMahon. Injuries cost the BYU pitcher what should have been a Hall of Fame career.
I don't honest to gosh know which Cutler will turn up on the lakefront this week.
However, I do know this to be a fact. The NFL is a league that lives by the motto, "what have you done for me lately - like in the last 15 minutes?"
What am I really saying? it will be an off season of misery for Cutler if the Bears go slip sliding off that crumb bum turf at Soldier Field.
