Like most every other NFL team, there is concern of what happens if Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler was injured during the season.
The other two quarterbacks currently on the Bears roster, Brett Basanez and Caleb Hanie, have a grand total of zero snaps between them in the regular season.
Because of that, conventional wisdom almost dictates the Bears fill the No. 2 quarterback spot on their roster with a veteran quarterback with some experience under his belt.
At least for the time being, though, the Bears have elected to go against the grain on this one, allowing Hanie and Basanez to duel for the backup duties.
So if Cutler should get injured, the Bears will likely find themselves in a world of trouble.
But to be completely honest, even if the Bears had addressed the situation by bringing in a veteran such as Byron Leftwich (who eventually signed with Tampa Bay) to serve as little more than Cutler’s caddie, a Cutler injury would still likely send the Bears into a tailspin they might not be able to recover from.
Backups, whether they be veteran or young, are usually backups because they simply aren’t all that good. Few teams in the NFL can afford the luxury of having two quality quarterbacks on their roster, and those that do, usually trade away to strengthen the team elsewhere.
Look no further than New England for the guide in this. Last year, Matt Cassel filled in admirably for an injured Tom Brady, only to be jettisoned to Kansas City quickly after Brady’s return to health.
Not only are many other teams lacking at the backup quarterback position, some are woefully lacking at the starting quarterback position.
And it’s often said that teams that are having an open quarterback competition in training camp aren’t having it because they can’t decide among a number of quality options, but rather because they are trying to pick through a pile of substandard options.
I’m not usually a glass-half-full guy. But in Cutler’s case, it is easier to hope for (and likely get) the best. Since his arrival in the NFL, Cutler has been as durable as can be. After taking the job from Jake Plummer in Week 13 of the 2006 season, Cutler hasn’t missed a single start. He’s had his fair share of nicks and injuries but has battled through them all.
It’s one of the reasons the acquisition of Cutler was a tremendous fit for a franchise that has historically struggled to fill the position. He’s clearly one of the elite players at the position, and although it is a small sample size, he’s so far proved to be very durable.
So the Bears will likely not need to worry about the player holding the clipboard on Sundays and can revel in the fact that many of the teams in their own division will.
Green Bay is the only team in the division that is set at quarterback (with Aaron Rodgers).
Detroit will likely continue to languish while trying No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Stafford or uninspiring veteran Daunte Culpepper.
Minnesota is even more of a mess. After flirting with Brett Favre before he retired for the 76th time, they are now trying to sort between journeyman Sage Rosenfels and middling youngster Tavaris Jackson.
Things could go wrong over the course of the season, but it will be a refreshing change that Bears fans will have to come up with a different excuse than the fandom’s longtime standby — “We’d be great if we only had a quarterback.”
Steve Soucie can be reached at ssoucie@ daily-journal.com or 815-937-3392.
Wrong, Basanez had some regular season snaps with the Panthers.