Jay Cutler was supposed to be the Chicago Bears’ answer to the long-running quarterback deficiencies that, for so many years,  presumably hindered the franchise from winning for any real extended period of time. He was their Messiah, the all-time missing link to a Super Bowl-shuffle sequel.  But, now that the Bears have their franchise quarterback, they find themselves in the very unfortunate position of mediocrity. Well, at least, they’ve proven it wasn’t just the quarterback.

They say that the very best quarterbacks make the receivers around them better. True. Examples of this are abound in recent history: Tom Brady and Deion Branch; Peyton Manning and Brandon Stokley; Daunte Culpepper and Nate Burleson. And, it isn’t any different this year with the Bears; Cutler has made just about every receiver better. But — and I say this as a fan of Devin Hester, Greg Olsen and the like — clearly, the receivers are as good as they will be with Cutler at the helm. For better or worse, there is no magic bean or sudden emergence that will alter Hester into a Brandon Marshall. That, people, is the fault, or result, of the organization.

This same critique can be applied justly to all areas of the team. Orlando Pace is an unanimous Hall-of-Famer, but with 14 professional years and shaky knees under his belt, it’s becoming increasingly apparent why the Rams intention to re-sign him was contingent on his agreement to play right tackle. How did the Bears miss this?

The team had no veritable safeties entering into the season and they did nothing. In fact, their offseason acquisitions at the position read like this: Al Afalava via sixth-round draft pick, Josh Bullocks via free agency, and Glenn Earl via free agency. Note: Glenn Earl subsequently retired. This screams to me that, either the Bears truly felt okay with Kevin Payne, Craig Steltz, and Danieal Manning, or that they were convinced these acquisitions would mean something of significance in 2009.

Let the Bears off the hook, i.e. Dennis Green, for one reason and one reason only: Injuries to linebacker have decimated the heart of the defense, and the reserves whom I thought were serviceable, Nick Roach, Jamar Williams and Hunter Hillenmeyer, have let us down.

But, the biggest problem with the Bears franchise for the last eight years has been their unwillingness to accept reality and act accordingly. For instance, Jerry Angelo: When it comes to early-round or skill position players, he literally can’t draft for shit. Excluding the occasional exception like Forte or Olsen, his best bet would be to acquire all skill players via free agency or trade.

Also, high-risk, low-profile school sleepers — it worked once, maybe, and for a season. Stop it. Now.

The Bears, under Jerry Angelo, have become such a stick-to-your-guns type of team from top to bottom, that they always seem a minute late or step behind. Yes,  a top-flight, proven quarterback was a perceived missing puzzle piece — but back in 2006, when the Bears defense was still elite. Now, they only wait three years to acquire said quarterback and all the while, neglect all other areas, almost as if they were interminably frozen in time and needed no upkeep.

It makes me feel like I need to issue an apology to some in the Bears quarterbacks graveyard, like Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton. If either one of them had been as successful as Cutler was in Denver prior to their mediocre/horrible stints in Chicago, they would be … well, Jay Cutler in 2009.

So, you see everyone, it isn’t only about the quarterback. It’s about an organization that attempts to solve the needs of a team in one fell swoop two years too late. Yes, Jay Cutler will be a pretty damn good quarterback here, I think, but only once the resolving of the other issues allows for him to be.

Oh — one more thing: Lovie Smith always insisting that everything is just swell. While I like him as a head coach and unlike many right now, believe that he can truly still win here, I hate how he can talk without ever saying anything. It’s like his lack of awareness is just a cog in the organization’s machine. I mean, where the fuck is the accountability?

More importantly, what are we to blame our failures on now?