By now, even McCaskeys must be thinking about sacking Lovie

In a little more than a month, Lovie's "defense" (for lack of a better word) has allowed 45 points to the Bengals, 41 points to the Cardinals and, on Sunday, 36 points - and an incredible 537 yards! - to the Vikings.

Brett Favre did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted however he wanted. If he got to play against this defense every week, he wouldn't retire until he's eligible for Social Security.

Just imagine how bad things would be had Lovie not promoted himself to Defensive Commander In Chief and not convinced the McCaskeys to pay big bucks so Lovie could hire Rod Marinelli as his chief of staff.

I have maintained for months that there was no way the McCaskeys would fire Lovie. Not only would they have to eat the $11 million remaining on Smith's contract but also the money in the contracts of the 1,000 or so assistant coaches who have done such a bang-up job.

Now I'm not quite as sure. Even the McCaskeys have pride. Well? Don't they?

The Balder Truth

As for Bears Savior J.C. ...

Even the Cutler Apologists have to admit that his first interception - which cost the Bears a sure field goal, a familiar theme - was completely on him. He had time to throw, he had an open receiver and he had a chance to get his team back in the game. Instead, he grossly underthrew the pass and he again killed the Bears with an INT.

Otherwise, Cutler mostly was guilty of doing nothing to elevate an offense that managed to run only 12 plays - for 2 freakin' yards and zero first downs - in the entire second half.

Was it all his fault? Of course not. He has little help, starting with soon-to-be-ex-coordinator Ron Turner - who has turned The Franchise into a pathetic dinker and dunker - on to his sorry line, right on through his overmatched receivers and down to his flash-in-the-pan tailback.

For example, the Bears had to settle for a field goal after Johnny Knox's 77-yard kickoff return because Cutler's primary receiver ran the wrong route. That has happened so often, Cutler must spend every night dreaming of Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, the pass-catchers he had in Denver who, you know, actually caught passes.

Then again, Cutler only has himself to blame for no longer being in Denver. And while he isn't the Bears' biggest problem, he certainly is in the team picture.

As the big-money quarterback and the offensive leader, Bears Savior J.C. is supposed to lift the team to the heavens, not let the team drag him to hell.

Call Me Mr. Empathy

Before writing this, I watched my beloved Marquette Golden Warrior Eagles cough up a huge lead and lose, so I know exactly how Bear Country feels.

Or I would know exactly how Bear Country feels if the Bears could ever get a lead.

The Quote II

"I didn't like that at all. You do that against a team that you know you're not better than. That's something Chicago could've done in this game." - Aikman, after Fox partner Joe Buck brought up the Eagles trying an onside kick to start their game against the Redskins.

THE BALDEST TRUTH

This Week's Baker's Dozen:

1. If Lovie is going to throw away time-outs by challenge officiating calls he has zero chance of winning - something he does more than any coach in the league - he might as well save everybody the time and grief and just start the game with two time-outs per half.

2. Devin Hester might be the Vikings' No. 4 receiver ... if you don't count tight end Visanthe Shiancoe as a receiver.

3. The Vikings came in as the No. 21 pass defense and were missing by far their best defensive back, Antoine Winfield. Which explains why Cutler passed for all of 147 yards.

4. After Bernard Berrian called out his former team's defense - correctly saying the Bears' D hasn't been dominant for years - you'd have thought he'd be a marked man. Judging by how often Berrian went completely uncovered, the Bears obviously are willing to forgive and forget.

5. Cutler is a mobile QB with good size and arm strength. Why does Turner almost always keep him in the pocket? I mean, Favre is, like, 50 years older than Cutler but the Vikings often use a moving pocket. And given that Matt Forte can do little else but catch screen passes, where has that play been? Hello? Ron Turner? Anybody home?

6. Just when you thought Orlando Pace was bad - and he is dreadful - the guy who replaced him, Kevin Shaffer, made Pace look like the second coming of, well, a young Orlando Pace. Until the Bears significantly upgrade their offensive line, they never will contend for anything with Cutler or Caleb Hanie or anybody else at QB.

7. Showing that he finally is one of the guys, new defensive end Gaines Adams accepted his role and committed the line's third offside penalty. And to think, he only cost the Bears next year's second-round draft pick.

8. Have you ever seen a team worse at third-and-short plays? Me, either.

9. Unless Lovie actually wanted Cutler to get hurt, why was The Franchise still playing - and getting smacked around - late in the fourth quarter?

10. And speaking of a guy needlessly playing in a blowout, I can only assume that Adrian Peterson was still carrying the ball with the Vikings leading by 100 points as punishment for fumbling twice. Or maybe Brad Childress just figures Peterson gets hit harder in practice than he does in a game against the Bears, anyway.

11. Hey, if you only made four decent plays in the last three years, you'd celebrate the way Mark Anderson does, too.

12. Cutler's second interception came after E.J. Henderson blatantly interfered with Earl Bennett. Even the refs don't respect the vaunted Vanderbilt Connection.

13. Just before the second half, Lovie told Fox's Pam Oliver: "We have one half of football to play and our season is riding on it." The Bears then spent the next 30 minutes gaining 2 yards on 12 offensive plays and letting Favre do whatever he wanted. At halftime, Lovie must have given his troops the motivational speech to end all motivational speeches. What a great leader of men!