"Jay Cutler casually gripped the cricket bat and, after the bowler hurled a one-hopper toward him, stroked the ball high and long like someone who grew up around wickets in Westminster.

Cutler's fluid, left-handed swing during a light moment before Bears practice Friday looked so effortless that it drew the praise of an admiring Brit who knows a potential man of the match when he sees one.

To this American watching, it suggested that Cutler probably could hit .300 as a major-leaguer if he had pursued baseball as a career. I bet a natural athlete as gifted as Cutler also could be a scratch golfer and hit the 3 with Kyle Korver-like consistency if he were paid well to do so.

The takeaway impression from a throwaway moment preparing for the Bears-Buccaneers game Sunday at Wembley Stadium: Cutler could make football look easy too if only his team would let him.

Protect Cutler with as many blockers as it takes, surround him with sure-handed receivers who will get open and watch the Bears' franchise quarterback meet every expectation anyone ever has had since he joined the team April 2, 2009."