Cook’s Top 5: Chicago Bears Quarterbacks

Steve Cook continues his look at the best NFL teams for each franchise, this time looking at the storied QBs of the Chicago Bears!

The Chicago Bears’ quarterback position has long been the object of ridicule, mostly from Bears fans. They’ve rarely been happy with the level of play they’ve gotten from the position, and it’s tough to blame them. There’s been quite the parade of folks to lead the Bears into game action over the years. They’ve often been one quarterback away from big things, like back when they made the Super Bowl with Rex Grossman at the position. Heck, Mitchell Trubisky is top 5 all time in a couple of passing categories, and no Bears fan would put him in their top 5 anything.

Was I able to find five others to put on this list? You know I was!

5. Erik Kramer

Kramer had two of the most memorable seasons for NFL Central teams during the early 1990s, one for the Detroit Lions and the other for the Chicago Bears. We might get to his Lions tenure a bit down the road. After that ended, he moved on to the Bears to be their full-time starter, but a shoulder injury kept him on the bench for most of 1994. Once 1995 rolled around, Kramer was healed up and ready to go. His 3,838 passing yards & 29 touchdowns still stand as single season franchise records.

The Bears started 6-2 that season, but faded down the stretch & ended up missing the playoffs. Kramer suffered a neck injury the next season & wound up retiring with the Chargers in 1999. He showed flashes of brilliance, but injuries kept him from putting it all together for more than one season.

4. Jim Harbaugh

Harbaugh was a late first round selection in the 1987 NFL Draft, and was set up to take over for Jim McMahon once McMahon’s run with Chicago was over. Harbaugh’s first season as the main starter was 1990, and saw him lead the Bears to a 10-4 record before getting hurt & missing the Bears’ playoff run. 1991 saw more success, with an 11-5 record & Harbaugh’s best overall year with the Bears, throwing for 3,121 yards & 15 touchdowns.

Harbaugh went to Indianapolis in 1994, and his best season would take place in 1995, which culminated in a Comeback Player of the Year award & a second-place finish in MVP voting. These days he’s more known as a head coach that has had some serious ups & downs with stops at Stanford, the 49ers & Michigan.

3. Jay Cutler

Cutler leads the Bears in most of their all time passing categories, most notably with 23443 passing yards & 154 touchdowns. He was certainly an upgrade for the Bears from their average output at the QB position. One could say he was a bit underrated, simply because a lot of people just plain didn’t like the guy.

Cutler’s main problem? While he stacks up well against previous Bears QBs, he was pretty darn average compared to peers of his era. The only category he ever led the league in was interceptions, which he did twice. His one Pro Bowl berth took place the year before he joined the Bears. His record with the Bears was 51-51. So Jay Cutler wasn’t bad…he just wasn’t memorable.  Bears fans might argue his interceptions were memorable.

2. Jim McMahon

While Cutler’s teams were thoroughly mediocre, all Jim McMahon’s teams did was win. He went 46-15 with the Bears, including 22 straight. Also got a Super Bowl win, still the lone one of those for Chicago. His numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, though he did get a Pro Bowl berth with his 1985 effort.

McMahon’s main problem: quarterbacks weren’t exactly protected in the 1980s, and even if they were, he still played quite recklessly. He slid head-first like he was Pete Rose, had a variety of head & shoulder injuries, and missed a lot of time early & late in his career.

Some would say that McMahon’s all-out attitude made him a great leader, especially for defensive juggernauts like the Bears. The guys on the other side of the locker room respected him too. So you kind of have to take the good with the bad.

1. Sid Luckman

Most modern fans will sell quarterbacks from back in the day short. They fail to take into account that football was much more of a running game decades ago, and that defenses were allowed to do a lot more to stop offenses. These days, even QBs that can’t keep a starting gig have stats that pop out compared to QBs back when Sid Luckman played.

Luckman’s stats still pop out, though. He led the league in passing yards & touchdowns three times. Went to the Pro Bowl three times, was slected first team All-Pro five times. Won the MVP in 1943. Was the first quarterback to throw seven touchdowns in one game, that same game was the first time a quarterback threw for four hundred yards. In fact, Luckman & coach George Halas revolutionized the quarterback position, as up until Halas invented the T-formation, quarterbacks typically blocked for halfbacks & tailbacks. Halas needed to find the right quarterback to do it, and Luckman was the guy.

The Bears hope to find “the guy” again. Will it be Andy Dalton?

Speaking of the Red Rifle, join us next time when we cover…