"When ESPN's Michael Wilbon — a fellow South Sider who, like myself, obviously has been scarred by a childhood of Jack Concannon, Bobby Douglass and Bob Avellini — called Jay Cutler the third-best quarterback in the NFL today, it was clear that while we know our football, we are way out of our league when it comes to quarterbacks.

Who are we to say how good any quarterback is? We've seen fewer good quarterbacks in our lifetimes than even Jerry Angelo has — and he's still figuring it out on the fly, and he does this for a living.

By Tuesday, two days after Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing hand against the San Diego Chargers, it seemed like the Bears had lost Aaron Rodgers. By Wednesday, it seemed like Caleb Hanie was replacing Johnny Unitas. Yes, Cutler was playing well when he was hurt. But he was playing better than Jay Cutler had ever played. And he was playing as well as Jay Cutler had ever played for the Bears. Everything's relative. The best quarterback in Bears history is still a guy who threw 137 touchdowns and 132 interceptions in his career.

The Bears are going to miss Cutler. But we're going to miss Cutler more in our minds than the Bears will on the field. In the Bears' five-game winning streak, Cutler completed 57 percent of his passes for 222 yards per game, seven touchdowns and three interceptions and an 89.1 passer rating. Even that five-game sample would only be tied for 10th in the NFL today. Cutler's best rating in that span — 115.9 against the Minnesota Vikings (21-for-31, 267 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) — would be Rodgers' 10th best of the season.

No doubt, Cutler was playing well and getting better. And good for him. The Bears are better with him than without him. But it's not like he was carrying the offense on his shoulders. On the contrary, it wasn't until the rest of the offense edged closer to Cutler's level that he started to blossom. It wasn't until Roy Williams ''got his burst back'' that Cutler finally seemed to find that quarterback-receiver groove that can drive an offense to an elite level."