One and done for the Bears?

Defeat to the Packers on Sunday Night Football. Face, arm and torch bearer of the franchise Jay Cutler threw 4 interceptions. Axis of the defence Brian Urlacher is out for the year after having surgery on a dislocated wrist. Defensive partner Pisa Tinoisamoa will miss several weeks with a strained posterior cruciate ligament. Long snappers have even been calling plays. Is it all over after week 1 of the new NFL season for the Chicago Bears?

The Bears were a trendy pick just a few, short days ago. The strong-armed Cutler joining up with prolific sophomore Matt Forte and a defence that, when healthy, has been amongst the leagues best, particularly against the run. How things change.

Chicago will also have to overcome their division rivals from Minnesota and Green Bay, both of whom now sit at 1-0 and are considered playoff calibre. Urlacher's injury in particular will hurt considering his range and role in the Cover-2 defence and the quality of the likes of Adrian Peterson and Ryan Grant in the running game and Jennings, Driver, Berrian and Harvin in the passing game. On the Lions showing in their opener versus the Saints, they won't factor in the final reckoning but they should improve as the season develops.

The Bears immediate schedule doesn't give them too many breaks despite a meeting with Detroit on the horizon; they host the Superbowl champion Steelers this Sunday before trips to Seattle and Atlanta in the next four weeks. At the end of the year, they face the Cardinals, @49ers, Eagles, @ Ravens, Packers and Vikings twice (plus the Rams and @Lions). If they are to be successful, they may have to run the table within their division in addition to being traditionally stubborn at Soldier Field down the stretch.

Hunter Hillenmeyer will likely fill Urlacher's large boots for the foreseeable future. He knows the offense and, while not having the speed, strength or authority of his fallen comrade, can provide solid play over the coming weeks. The likes of Zach Thomas and Derrick Brooks, both free agents, have been mentioned as potential recruits while Nick Roach, a replacement for Tinoisamoa, might be another option once the strong-side backer is back in the lineup.

But this may not be about Urlacher. Or Tinoisamoa. Or the strength of schedule.

One man has propelled this team to the jaws of potential and edge of sports writer's lips. Jay Cutler. The former Denver QB was (but for Favre and Vick's resurrections) the saga of the summer and has breathed new life into a franchise that, but for a run to a Superbowl in 2006, has not had too much to be excited about; they have won 10+ games in only 3 of the last 18 years and have won just 3 playoff games during that period. Pre-Cutler, the list of Bears starting QB's this decade reads Griese, Orton, Grossman, Krenzel, Quinn, Hutchinson, Stewart, Burris, Chandler and Miller. Combined Pro Bowls at the position with the Bears? 0.

Cutler appeared out of sync with his young receiving corps on Sunday night; Earl Bennett, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen all had difficulties on some of their routes and were partly responsible for the 4 picks thrown by their new offensive leader. Even with the turnovers and Cutler's less than impressive 43.2 passer rating, the Bears still gained 352 total yards (266 through the air), outgained the Packers by 126 yards and only lost on a 50-yard bomb with minutes remaining. Lovie Smith can surely take solace in the fact that Cutler seemed to improve as the game progressed and that the wideouts will certainly learn from their errors. As should their Quarterback.

If the defence can't limit opponents to less than 300 yards a game and 15-20 points then Jay Cutler will be shouldered with the responsibility of winning games for this franchise, a charge that he faced in Denver with their porous 'D' and, what you have to imagine, he was traded for. The Bears failed to exert their rushing game in the season opener and RB Matt Forte (25 rushes for 55 yards, 2.2 average) had no receptions either, having caught 63 balls for 477 yards a year ago.

Cutler, who worked with a ravaged running game with the Broncos last term, had a talented, deep and reliable group of receivers to sling to previously. While his current team mates may not be quite in the echelon of Marshall, Royal and Stokely, there were portentous signs against the Packers; the speed of Knox (2 catches for 82 yards, including a 68-yard TD when he burned Charles Woodson), the route running of favoured target and former Vanderbilt comrade Earl Bennett (7 catches for 66 yards, 14 targets) and the moments of authentic no. 1 receiver play from Devin Hester (4 catches for 90 yards and a TD). They're young, they're green and they will make mistakes but as long as Cutler, who has not always proven to be careful with the football (41 INT's in 38 career games), can control his temperament and what he asks of them, this offense could yet come to the team's rescue.

No team (well, maybe the Lions) should be written off after the first week of the year. The Bears do face the adversity of injury and the pressure of an early divisional defeat but, in a defence that stifled a powerful and sudden Green Bay attack and an offense that overcame a number of mistakes to almost steal victory in Lambeau field, there are positive signs to take forward. They'll need them. The Steelers await.