After all the hype surrounding last night's exhibition game between the Bears and Denver Broncos, this seems to be an appropriate time for a public service announcement to remind the football-mad nation that preseason games don't count.
I can't say that I'm surprised that people got all hot and bothered about new Bears QB Jay Cutler's return to the Mile High City. We have a tendency to blow things out of proportion. But the spectacle itself and the amount of column inches devoted to this game still left me shaking my head.
As the NBC broadcast began, play-by-play man Al Michaels told us that this matchup would have "more drama than your average preseason game." Really? I didn't think it was that compelling. The Bears won 27-17 in a contest that was generally a snoozer, like most preseason games.
There were two reasons why people felt this game would hold a lot of "drama." First, they wanted to see how the fans would react to Cutler. Secondly, they wanted to see how Cutler would play in a hostile environment. However, things unfolded exactly as I expected them to, so I didn't really see much in the way of "drama."
I knew the Denver fans would boo Cutler loudly and lustily. I wasn't disappointed. They let Cutler have it, and who can blame them for being upset? After all, Cutler is a franchise quarterback. The Broncos finally had their successor to two-time Super Bowl champion John Elway. And what did new Denver coach Josh McDaniels do? He traded Cutler to the Bears for Kyle Orton and draft picks. If I were a Broncos fan, I'd be pretty pissed about having the mediocre Orton (above, left), guiding my team. The former Bears QB has been struggling this preseason. I get ulcers just thinking about what Broncos fans are going to deal with this season.
I also knew that Cutler would play well in last night's game. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 144 yards and directed a 98-yard drive in the second quarter that gave the Bears a 17-3 halftime lead. Then, he took a seat on the bench in the second half because, ya know, preseason games don't count. I know Bears fans aren't used to expecting their quarterback to play well under pressure. It's time to change that mentality. Cutler is legit. For the first time in my life, quarterback is the least of the Bears problems.
Today, everyone is throwing rose petals at Cutler's feet because he played well. No rose petals are forthcoming here, because Cutler merely met my high expectations. I would have been disappointed if he had played poorly.
Of course, come to think of it, if Cutler had gone 3-for-21, I wouldn't have let it bother me too much. After all, preseason doesn't count. It starts to matter Sept. 13 in Green Bay. Until then, who cares?
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