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Just when most folks were about to give the Chicago Bears two thumbs up for their victory Sunday against the visiting San Diego Chargers, it appears there’s one thumb down. And what a thumb it is.
Say hello to 2012 Hooters Calendar cover girl Lindsey.
The fickle finger of fate seems to have struck the thumb of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s right hand. Cutler is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. Whether the Bears miss the postseason depends in part on his replacement.
Most any NFL team has a proven commodity as backup quarterback. The Bears have Caleb Hanie, who is yet to start an NFL game. He likely will have his chance Nov. 27 on the road against the Oakland Raiders. The Bears are 7-3 and tied with Detroit among wild-card contenders.
Bears coach Lovie Smith confirmed Monday Cutler’s thumb is broken. Not exactly the type of breaking — or broken — news that Bears fans were hoping for. Smith said Cutler suffered the injury when he helped stop an interception return
With early guesstimates being that Cutler will miss 6-8 weeks, the possibility exists he could return sometime in the playoffs. Of course, there’s a minor detail that the Bears still would have to be playing for any of that to matter.
On the bright (OK, not bright but not totally dim) side, the Bears follow their game at Oakland with Kansas City, at Denver, Seattle, at Green Bay and at Minnesota. Go 3-3 and you have a 10-6 season and a fairly good likelihood of reaching the postseason.
The keys to any Bears success will depend on the team’s defense and other teams’ foolishness in punting and/or kicking to Devin Hester. Speaking of special teams, replacing long snapper Patrick Mannelly — who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday and will miss the rest of the season — won’t be a snap. And there are only so many fake punt plays in any special-teams coach’s repertoire.
So it very well be time for Bears fans to start counting the days till next season. Which interestingly enough brings us to the 2012 Hooters Calendar. If you’re going to look at the days on a calendar, the Hooters version certainly works.
Several of the young women who appear in the swimsuit calendar were in Chicago last week for a 10-stop tour. Your hunble correspondent caught up with them Saturday at a signing at the Hooters in Downers Grove. It’s what they like to think of as work. Hey, it’s what I like to think of as work.
OK, time to cue the video: