Aikman: A 'Huge Blow' For The Bears
(WSCR) The Bears five-game winning streak buzz came to a screeching hault late Sunday night when reports surfaced that quaterback Jay Cutler would be sidelined with a broken thumb.
The Bears sit a 7-3 with a Wildcard playoff berth still within reach, but one former NFL quarterback said it's going to be an uphill battle for Chicago.
"There are teams around this league that when they lose their starter -- if they lose their starter -- it's obviously an entirely different makeup," Hall of Famer Troy Aikman told The Mully and Hanley Show. "There are few teams, when you look at the 32 of them, that are capable of bringing somebody in that can continue to win games. I mean, certainly everyone has to circle the wagons and there's gotta be a little more urgency from all of the other players, but this is a huge blow."
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Taking over for Cutler under center will be back up quarterback Caleb Hanie, who replaced Cutler in the Bears' loss to the Packers in the NFC championship game last season.
"It'll be a long week," Aikman said. "There'll be late nights for him. As much as you try to prepare as a starter, and I'm sure Caleb has gone into the games prepared, he certainly did last year in the championship game. I was impressed with what he was able to do in that game. But it's different when you're named the starter. You're spending more time at the facility after hours, watching tape.
Aikman, however, did provide a ray of hope for Bears fans.
"Tom Brady wasn't Tom Brady when he first got his opportunity when Drew Bledsoe went down," Aikman said. "You just kind of grow into it."
