National Football League

Time runs out on Todd; QB Collins has to go -- and really, he never should have been here

Published Oct. 12, 2010 10:17 p.m. ET

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If there's accountability inside Halas Hall, as Bears general manager Jerry Angelo likes to say, shouldn't Todd Collins be unemployed by now?

Let's not even get into the futile discussion of whether Angelo should be launched for signing Collins to back up Jay Cutler or for putting together the offensive line that ''protects'' Cutler.

Collins didn't belong on an NFL field Sunday, and if you had even the tiniest heart beating inside your chest, you felt sorry for his being put in that situation.

But he can't stay in Chicago, even as the third quarterback. He threw four interceptions in less than three quarters of play, and several other passes seemed to be intended for phantom teammates. The Bears caught a break playing an awful Carolina team and won 23-6.

All you needed to know about the Bears' opinion of Collins came near the end of the first half. They had the ball at their own 10-yard line with 2 minutes, 46 seconds left. They ran three straight times and got the ball to their own 39-yard line with 1:29 remaining. Not bad. And what did the Bears do with the opportunity to put more points on the board? They handed off to Chester Taylor twice before attempting a short pass on third down. The half ended with a Brad Maynard punt.

If you don't have enough confidence in your quarterback to attempt to add to a lead, he shouldn't be in the game.

TALENT EVALUATION A PROBLEM

That the 38-year-old Collins was even on the roster says almost as much about the Bears' inability to evaluate players as it does about their unwillingness to pay quality backups.

If they brought Collins in because they thought he could still play, then shame on them.

If they didn't believe Cutler would get injured this season behind a shaky offensive line, then shame on them twice over.

The Bears are optimistic Cutler's post-concussion issues will be cleared for the Seahawks game Sunday, but it's not a given. If he can't go, nobody in his right mind would be comfortable with Collins backing up Caleb Hanie, who surely will be elevated to the No. 2 spot.

Coach Lovie Smith can be cavalier all he wants about the third quarterback spot. Last week, he refused to say who would come in if Collins and Hanie got hurt against Carolina. More than that, he sounded almost amused anyone would care about a scenario that likely wouldn't occur.

If the Vikings had been on the schedule instead of the Panthers, the Lovester wouldn't have found it so amusing.

There's nothing funny about the Bears' backup quarterback situation. Hanie might turn into a starter someday, but right now, no one has any earthly idea how he'd do carrying the load. The only thing we do know is that he's better than Collins.

If the Bears choose to keep Collins on the roster, it will be irresponsible. Sometimes, the third quarterback does have to play. See the Giants game.

ACCOUNTABILITY THE REAL ISSUE

The bigger issue is that Collins never should have been Cutler's backup. The Bears could have had Marc Bulger but didn't want to pay the asking price in the offseason. He signed with the Ravens instead.

If there is still some accountability left over from when the Bears cut Mark Anderson last week, they ought to use it on Collins and get someone who can throw the football to the right team.

Who that would be seems almost secondary. You can't have a quarterback throw four picks and look jittery under pressure, and then tell the rest of the team that performance is what counts.

Again, the only saving grace was that the Bears were playing the Panthers, who didn't look as if they could have beaten Ohio State on Sunday.

After the victory, the Bears were able to rave about Matt Forte's career-high 166 rushing yards. Thus, from their standpoint, the story wasn't the shaky QB situation behind Cutler but the blossoming of the running game. The Bears were more than happy to run with that angle.

If a kicker had put on the kind of performance Collins did Sunday afternoon, he would have been packing his bags Sunday night. It happens all the time in the NFL. But never underestimate the stubbornness of the Bears.

Angelo and Smith always say they have a plan; what they don't often say is that the plan is flawed. They saw Collins every day in practice for the last two months. Surely they saw the train barreling down the tracks toward them. Yet they decided to stick with the status quo. Same with the offensive line.

The best plan would be to fit Cutler with Kevlar body armor from head to toe. And pray.

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