NFL Week 10: Bears/Niners Recap

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You hear it every week. "Take care of the ball and we'll win." Or something like it anyway. Then why do I have a sneaking, suspicion that the Bears coaches (offensively) aren't letting QB Jay Cutler (right) in on this small, but crucial piece of advice?

If you watched any of the game last evening, you might have come away with the same question. It's also possible that you came away with this question: What is Cutler thinking? That would be a good choice, too. Of course, Bears fans most likely had an explitive ot two added to it.

Bears QB Jay Cutler amassed over 300 yards passing but contributed 5 INT as the Bears fell to the San Francisco 49ers last night. The loss puts the Bears at 4-5 and in third place in the NFC North. With the win, San Francisco also moves to 4-5 and reside in second place in the NFC West.

But let's take a minute or two to look at Cutler's season stats. If you look at his season totals, the obvious thing is TD/INT of 17/19. For having that ratio, his QB rating of 76.0 isn't all bad. It's all those picks he throws. His completion percentage is smoewhat respectable at 62.4%.

I notice another disturbing stat. Cutler has thrown for 300+ yards three times this season. The Bears have lost all three. Chicago is not able to run the ball consistently. The offensive line is porous at best and RB Matt Forte has not shown the form from his '08 season. This lack of a running game puts Cutler in a position in which he is forced to make a play.

One last thing on Cutler. If he throws more than one pick, you're going to beat the Bears. If you read my post yesterday, I said that both teams had to take care of the ball. 49ers QB Alex Smith (left) must have read that post as he only had 1 INT. Cutler decided that he didn't have to read my post and threw the handful of INT.

Maybe I'm on to something.

Game ball: 49ers RB Frank Gore - 25 car., 104 yds., TD