http://www.suntimes.com/output/mulligan/cst-spt-mully271.html


Please release him, let Chad go ... now!
August 27, 2005

BY MIKE MULLIGAN STAFF REPORTER

The Chad Hutchinson era didn't last two preseason games. Benched at halftime of Friday's 16-12 victory against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field, the alleged quarterback may as well be released today.

What is the point of keeping the guy around? Not only is he a living reminder of last year's failure, he's not a legitimate NFL starter. Heck, he probably isn't among the top 100 quarterbacks in the league. In other words, he simply doesn't belong in the NFL.

Ask yourself one question about Hutchinson: If he were released right now, would any other NFL team sign him?

Not based on Friday's results, they wouldn't. The man who claimed "I'm back'' earlier in the week after a miserable quarter and a half against Indianapolis won't ever arrive. Is that a harsh assessment? Absolutely. Is it right? You bet.

The sad fact is that the Bears don't have a lot of positive options at quarterback these days. The best one is starting rookie fourth-round pick Kyle Orton, who injected energy and enthusiasm into the team, the crowd and the season with his third-quarter performance. But throwing him to the Lions (or the Redskins on Sept. 11 for that matter), might be a recipe for disaster. Rookies tend to get beaten up in the NFL, especially by excellent defenses such as Washington's.

A better option might be to go with veteran Jeff Blake, assuming he still has enough athletic ability to defend himself. That allows you to fall back onto Orton later in the season.

Playing a rookie is risky

Don't get me wrong, Orton looks the part. But going with a rookie is a commitment that demands staying with a rookie. If a guy might be the franchise player of the future you put him in and stick with him through the painful growth process that young quarterbacks endure. Bad decision, costly interceptions, mental errors -- all are the hallmarks of inexperienced players.

Orton's impressive performance against Buffalo, especially coming as it did after Hutchinson's misery, made you think the kid might have a chance this year. And indeed, there are some reasons to believe he can become the next Ben Roethlisberger, who starred as a rookie for Pittsburgh last season. Like the Steelers, the Bears are built on excellent defense and a solid running game.

Even if the Bears don't turn to Orton, there is clearly no point in keeping Hutchinson on the roster beyond this night. A team of psychiatrists would be needed to work through his issues, let alone a roomful of coaches who would be better suited getting the rookie ready to play.

From bad to the worst

Hutchinson knew he had to show improvement in this game and he simply couldn't have been worse. He completed nearly as many passes to the opposition (two) than he did his own team (three). He took three sacks for a loss of 24 yards (or nine yards less than 33 passed for) and had one interception returned for a touchdown and another returned to the Bears' 3. That play led to a field goal.

Hutchinson somehow pulled off the remarkable feat of producing a 0.00 quarterback rating. It was a gloriously awful performance. You'd feel a lot better about the guy if you thought it was on purpose.

He went three-and-out on his first two possessions and topped that misery with an interception into the left flat that Nate Clements caught in stride and returned 31 yards for a touchdown. The Bears responded with their lone scoring drive in the first half when Thomas Jones broke a 40-yard run on third-and-one and the team settled for a 28-yard field goal.

If there was a series that symbolized Hutchinson's game, season and Bears career, it was his final one of the half. He completed a 21-yard pass to Bobby Wade and proceeded to be sacked twice, taking the Bears from first-and-10 from the 47 to third-and-29 at the 28. Jones ran 16 yards against a prevent defense on third down.

In fact, Hutchinson's terrible performance was a boon for the running back, who had a 10-yard run on a third-and-30 earlier in the game. Those two plays, coupled with the 40-yard run, explain how Jones managed 94 yards on 14 carries.

"We haven't seen improvement,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith told WBBM radio during the halftime break. "We'll look at different combinations and start from there.''

Enter Orton, who went three-and-out on his first series -- nearly hooking up with Muhsin Muhammad at one point, but then caught fire while leading the Bears on a 12-play, 81-yard scoring drive capped by a two-yard touchdown pass to Desmond Clark.

"I got into a little rhythm and got some confidence after that first completion,'' Orton said on the television broadcast. "I was hoping to get a couple of series with the first team. Coming in after halftime gave me a chance to organize my thoughts. I felt like starting a game.''

Orton's numbers don't lie

It's a feeling Orton will no doubt get used to in the future, perhaps the near future. His performance didn't last the entire third quarter, but he finished 7-of-11 for 74 yards with a touchdown and a 113.4 quarterback rating that was the best put up by any signal-caller in any game this preseason.

With Hutchinson under center you began to feel like it didn't matter if the Bears ever signed first-round pick Cedric Benson. They weren't going to win with or without him. When Orton took over, the future started to look promising.

You knew the Bears suffered bad luck when Rex Grossman went down. What wasn't clear until Friday night is that they lost two guys that day because playing Hutchinson has exposed a fraud. The only move to make is to flat-out cut the guy.