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The other starting safety figures to be Al Afalava, who handled himself reasonably well as a rookie last year.

I'd be surprised if ...


1. Bears QB Jay Cutler and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz don't end up doing more damage in Chicago than those dorky robot grocery cart thingies from Transformers 3 will. How long is the NFL off-season? Just long enough, I suppose, for people to forget enough of the facts in order to think this odd couple will actually flourish.



Never mind that it's been ages since Martz coached an offense that ranked in the top 10, or, that the 1999 Rams had four future Hall of Famers on offense, or that last year, based on a complicated value formula I've come up with (cost of acquiring player versus performance) Cutler and his 26 picks and seven wins has to rank as one of the all-time worst free agent quarterback deals. I used to think that Cutler, who is 24-29 as a starter (or 35-64 if you include college), probably hated the growing comparisons to Jeff George, but if he doesn't start turning things around, and quick, I bet it's George who will start objecting to the link.




For starters Martz's offense works when an accurate quarterback humbles himself before the system and gets the ball into the hands of his playmakers just as they are reaching full speed in order to maximize Yards After Catch. Of course, this is all predicated on the quarterback having enough discipline and time to make the right read in the pocket. So here's the hitch: the Bears shaky offensive line can't give Cutler enough time without using Max Protect but Martz loathes that blocking scheme because it limits the number of targets he can criss-cross downfield to confuse defensive backs. So I'd be shocked if tempers and egos aren't flaring before Halloween in an offense the Bears might rename the Greatest Show without Mirth.