By Mario Miller – Inspin News Staff, November 21, 2011

"I'm not going to play doctor right now," Bears coach Lovie Smith said when asked how long Cutler will be sidelined. "We're going through the process. We will be able to tell you a little bit more. That's all we can tell you right now. That's all we know right now."

It's official, Bears' starting QB Jay Cutler has a broken thumb.

In Sunday's 31-20 victory over the visiting San Diego Chargers, Cutler was apparently injured while trying to prevent a touchdown on a 64-yard interception return by San Diego's Antoine Cason in the fourth quarter.

What does Jay Cutler possibly being out for the rest of the regular season do for the 7-3 Bears' chances of making it to the playoffs?

Without Cutler, the Bears could be in deep trouble

With six games left on the schedule, it's now up to Caleb Hanie to keep the dream alive.

But is the fourth-year passer out of Colorado State ready?

It's hard to say, we really haven't seen much from him except for two games played in 2010 including a bout for the NFC title game against the Green Bay Packers, where he completed 13 of 20 for 153 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions late in the game.

Coach Smith expects play and performance from him saying, "Caleb has played a lot for us around here. We feel comfortable with him being our quarterback. It's always next guy up. We've had injuries at other positions, and that's what it will be."

As it is, the Bears still look like the top wild card in the NFC. With their pre-Thanksgiving victories however, the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions have moved up to be strong contenders.

Smith said the Bears' strategy won't change. Now more so than ever perhaps, they're going to have to rely on the running game, outstanding defensive play and special teams.

Should the bears advance, Cutler could return for the post season

The Bears have been on a five-game winning streak. Cutler, although not impressive, has avoided mistakes and been a consistent starter throwing seven touchdowns with three interceptions and five sacks.

It's clear that the Bears have something good going. It's a solid football team; the question is whether or not they can face up to losing their quarterback during a critical part of the season.

The Bears have won a lot of games based on the strength of their defense and special teams which means that they shouldn't be discounted to make it to the playoffs.

But in losing their starting quarterback, the team is vulnerable to Hanie's lack of play time, even Cutler recognizes that experience is the mother of all teachers "…it just takes reps and seeing plays and messing up and seeing them again and looking at them on film over and over. It's like anything else. To be good at something, you're going to take your lumps but eventually, if you keep at it, something good is going to happen."

Can Hanie avoid making costly mistakes? We'll see on the 27th when the Bears play against the Raiders.

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