5 wild predictions: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

The Vikings are back in action against the Chicago Bears on Monday night. It doesn’t matter whether you like Jay Cutler or not – everyone has an opinion on him – but the perception of Cutler goes without warrant.

Cutler said he wanted to return before Monday night’s home game against the Minnesota Vikings. “This is a bad injury, about the worst knee injury a player can have'”. Right guard Kyle Long sat out practice Friday with a triceps injury, while left guard Josh Sitton was limited with an ankle injury. If you’ll recall, Cutler was playing the absolute best football of his career in 2011.

Reality star Kristin Cavallari, wife of Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, plans on being a black cat for Halloween.

Cutler’s attitude and personality issues have been well documented dating back to his three-year stint with the Denver Broncos.

Cutler completed 28 of 46 for 373 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a game and a half before his thumb sprain against Philadelphia in a 29-14 loss September 19. Four of the last six meetings between the two teams have been decided by four points or less.

From a purely statistical viewpoint, Cutler has been the epitome of average.

The Falcons started the season 5-0 past year and finished the season with an 8-8 record. However, he’s lost his last three starts against them. “We talk about fundamentals, making sure that we’re good with our eyes, making sure we keep two hands on the ball in the pocket and work those drills to continue to improve those fundamentals”.

As Cutler acknowledged, the Bears don’t have much choice other than putting him back into his old job.

Jeffery is probably the only player on the team who might surpass his projections this week.

And then there was the odd sight in recent weeks of a seemingly healthy-enough Cutler catching and throwing footballs on the side while Hoyer ran the offense in practice.

Still without a touchdown, Alshon Jeffery wants to find the endzone. Minnesota will be ticked off after dropping their first loss of the season and will want to put out a stronger effort than they did last week. With the Vikings coming off their first loss and looking to get back on the winning track, the Bears would appear to be an ideal opponent, despite their recent struggles at Soldier Field – losing seven of the last eight games played there. That includes six touchdowns. He’s the one Bears defender who could pass for a ghoul, with his piercing eyes, gruff voice and couple of loose screws. The hope is a turnover comes for the veteran linebacker in this big rivalry game. It’s the first time in his career he’s returned to play in a season after a layoff this long. However, he should factor into the rotation alongside Jordan Howard and Ka’Deem Carey.

However, the red zone was like quicksand to the Bears’ offense under Hoyer.

Given all the cheap shots and sideswipes the quarterback deals with from peers like Bart Scott, Charles Woodson, and even ex-teammates like Martellus Bennett, Cutler deserved better from his own head coach. Minnesota is also tied for first in the National Football League by giving up just 14 points per game.

Whether that happens Monday night against the Vikings remains to be seen. “If it’s move the pocket, if it’s drop back, throw the quick game, getting empty (backfield), whatever that is”.