Year-End Position Grades: Quarterbacks
2010 Depth Chart & Stats (Including Playoffs)
Depth Chart Position – # – Last Name, First Name – 2010 Age
1) #6 – Cutler, Jay – 27
2) #10 – Collins, Todd – 39
3) #12 – Hanie, Caleb – 25
Statistics – Last Name – Games – Att / Comp – % – Yds – Yds/ Att – TD – INT
Cutler – 17 – 474 / 282 – 60% – 3628 – 7.7 – 25 – 17
Collins – 3 – 31 / 10 – 32% – 68 – 2.3 – 0 – 5
Hanie – 3 – 18 / 27 – 67% – 208 – 7.7 – 1 – 2
JAY CUTLER: Under the tutelage and play-calling of new OC Make Martz, Jay Cutler made some visible strides this season, increasing his yards per attempt, 6.6 to 7.6; yards per completion, 10.9 to 12.5; decreasing his interceptions from 26 to 17; and upping his QB rating from 76.8 to 86.3. He showed an increased willingness to scramble for yardage, running for 285 yards and 3 scores—and escaping numerous sacks as well. His judgement was much improved—last year, there were 4-5 games where bad throws or poor judgement were the main cause of the Bears’ losing; this year, the only real bad game Cutler played was the 4-interception game versus the Redskins. Furthermore, I can spot 4 victories (@Dallas; vs. Philly; vs. Jets; and vs. Seattle in the Playoffs) where Jay Cutler’s playmaking arguably WON the game for the Bears.
On the negative, there was the 4- interception game against the Redskins; as well a couple poor throws that ended up being game-changing interceptions in the Week 17 game at Green Bay that would have knocked the Packers out of the playoffs. Cutler was sacked 52 times in 15 games, most in the league. Although on most sacks, the offensive line is to blame, there were instances where Cutler held onto the ball too long, or failed to throw the ball away.
FINAL VERDICT: For any other QB, I would say B-minus. But whe you condiser the fact that a) Cutler was running for his life 75% of the time; and b) Cutler does not have a WR/TE that scares defenses, I will give him a B-PLUS.
TODD COLLINS: I went from: 1) wondering WHY the Bears signed Collins this offseason instead of going after a veteran QB that, you know, PLAYED the previous season; to 2) REALLY wondering WHY the Bears signed Collins after his 10 of 27, 68 yards, and 5 interceptions in the Giants’ and Panthers’ games, when Cutler was hurt; to REALLY REALLY wondering WHY the Bears signed Todd Collins after he went 0 for 4 in relief of Cutler in the NFC Championship Game. Maybe Mike Martz enjoys the conversations he has with Collins. Maybe Collins gives really good haircuts. But i think it is safe to say that, unless he buys a ticket like everyone else, Todd Collins will not be at Soldier Field for the Bears’ home opener in 2011.
FINAL VERDICT: Since there is not a lower letter allowed, I will say F.
CALEB HANIE: After showing flashes in the 2009 preseason, Hanie entered 2010 preseason as the #2 quarterback; but then hurt his shoulder in the preseason this year and spent the year as the #3 quarterback behind Todd Collins, only completing 5 passes in mop-up duty against the Giants and Panthers. Then, in the NFC Championship Game against the Packers, after Cutler was hurt, and after Collins reminded the Bears why nobody else had offered Collins a contract in two season, Hanie came in and played well, going 13 for 20, 153 yards and a touchdown—and nearly leading the Bears to an improbable comeback against the Packers. Here is a guy that a) showed he is not scared by the big stage; and b) somehow kept himself relatively sharp despite not getting many snaps all year long. With Hanie being a free agent, I think the Bears have to hope Hanie doesn’t garner interest as a possible future starter from another team and they HAVE to make it a priority to re-sign Hanie—then pencil him in as Cutler’s backup for the next 4-5 years.
FINAL VERDICT: Even though the sample size is small, you have to be impressed that Hanie did not seem intimidated by the NFL Championship Game Stage. He has shown that he can make plays in this offense. B-PLUS.
chicagobearsfans 
thnx bro
February 15, 2011 at 7:52 am
I gave Cutler a C. Against the sister of the poor teams he was terrific. Against the best he was about as awful as you can be. Thats a C and anything higher then that is just blowing him
February 10, 2011 at 9:09 pm
I agree with you on that. veterans do want to start. Bt if Pitt can have Batch and Leftwich as a backup we could find at least a guy like that to hold the clip board.
February 8, 2011 at 12:57 pm
U still ned a veteran to back up Cutler. hanie played very well against GB, but you still do not want him on the field if disaster strikes.
The Oline was horrible, but again that doesn’t excuse jay for playing so poorly at times either. people always want to find excuses for the guy
February 7, 2011 at 11:30 pm
the problem that you will have getting a quality veteran backup is that the good ones will want a chance to be the starter—and in chicago, that isnt going to happen. or they are too old to do anything useful, like collins. we are better off going into the year with hanie as the backup. he has a better grasp of the offense than anyone we could bring in.
February 8, 2011 at 8:20 am
And lets not forget the idiotic fan base who are lamenting the loss of Orton. the first time jay throws a pick they’ll be hollering for Bulger or Hill or whoever. Hell i heard some on the score championing an open competition next year between Hanie and Cutler. Imagine they got a high profile back up.
February 11, 2011 at 10:02 am
Cutler gets a b from me just for the mere fact that the O- Line was that bad.If it was just for his play I’d give him a C but taking the O- Line into consideration it has to be a B(-).
Now, we don’t have to talk about Collins. I see he played in Martz’ system and thus knows the terminology and stuff but man his days were over long time ago.And you seriously have to question the coaching staff for keeping him as No. 2 after his display against the Panthers.
So what about Haine? Everyone is high on the guy for his performance against Green Bay and rightfully so. He should be Jays backup next year. He nearly turned around the game despite having played in what like 5 games in the NFL? Pretty impressive. So I agree they need to re- sign him. I’d still look out for a veteran in FA.
February 7, 2011 at 7:14 pm
After watching Todd Collins this year, i would actually go against getting a veteran QB as a backup. I am comfortable with hanie back there. I would be looking for a project late in the draft to develop.
February 7, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Cutler gets a C. He has shown at time times to be a top tier QB, then he goes back to being a qb who over throws Wr or holds on the ball far too long in the pocket when he has time. I do believe his picks were down this season because unlike last season we were ahead so Cutler did not just have to throw the ball up and hope it didnt get picked off. again he gets a C.
February 7, 2011 at 11:31 am
as far as the picks go, i think you can still contribute at least half of them to the WRs/TEs not being physical enough to get the their spot; or the WRs/TEs not fighting for the ball when its up in the air. plus, you take away 3 games—week 7 versus the Redskins; week 10 versus the Vikings; and Week 17 versus the Packers—he threw 8 in the other 13 games.
February 7, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I’d say you’re right. Maybe even more. Forget not competing or running wrong routes, but the Hot reads and just proper technique even when the route was run right and the sight read was right. Like turning to the proper shoulder to catch an out or running slants in front of DB’s rather than behind them. Than you add the woes of the O-line, and you have to feel badly for the criticism Jay has gotten. There are some things to get on Jay about without adding stuff that he’s not responsible for. A lot of people make a big deal about his back foot thing, but a lot of those plays I saw him get criticized on technique for he had a dude in his face where he either couldn’t step up or he had to slide and quickly throw the pass as he couldn’t get his feet set. Whoever gave him an F and even a D is an idiot by the way.
February 9, 2011 at 11:13 am