An ugly win is still a win, that’s what I always say. So I’ll try to forget about the fact that when Jay Cutler and the Bears had one of their worst night’s ever, the Packers only managed to beat them in the last two minutes of the game.

It shouldn’t have been that close. It shouldn’t have had to come down to a 50-yard pass with a minute and a half to go. In case you missed the game, here are a few highlights:

As the Chicago Tribune said (as only they can), “The Bears lost a game. They lost ground in the NFC North. They may have lost some key players. They lost their officiating challenges. And they lost an air of confidence, if not a slice of hope.”

The Packers undoubtedly benefited from Brian Urlacher’s wrist injury and from some head-scratching play calling by Chicago. (That bone-headed fake punt was so ridiculous most sports outlets aren’t even talking about it today.) The Packers certainly benefited from Cutler’s four interceptions. Cutler is one of those guys that people speculate about. Some folks think he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that he “just needed the right team” to become a great quarterback. Is Chicago it? It’s doubtful. You can have a great QB, but you also need someone to throw to. (Wasn’t this the argument with Favre?)

Speaking of Favre, Cutler is also known as a “gunslinger.” Unlike Favre, however, Cutler will never be a great quarterback. He would have showed that promise by now. He will be a good quarterback for Chicago. I believe it. I have a soft spot for him. But he will never be a great quarterback.

Neither will Aaron Rodgers. He also is a very good quarterback. But a great quarterback doesn’t stop short when you’re trying to slide for a first down. (If you’re going to go for it, Aaron, don’t wimp out a yard shy.)

Part of what made Marino, Elway, and yes, even Favre great was that they were willing to do what it took to get the job done. In the preseason, all Rodgers could talk about was that he felt that he was going to be a pro-bowl quarterback this year. He didn’t mention that he also wanted to lead his team to win, however. This is the difference at times between good and great.

But let’s not dwell on the negative points. It’s the first game of the season and at the very least Rodgers showed he could put points on the board when it counted. With a minute left, however, the Bears still had a very good chance of winning. It wasn’t Cutler’s night. Or Lovie’s, for that matter. Some of the play calling just plain stunk and it wasn’t because our defense was so very fantastic. The Bears now move on to the Steelers next week. (Heh – well, good for them.) We play the Bengals. (We can at least benefit from last year’s poor record with an easy schedule this year.)

As an aside, what did you think of Cris Collinsworth in place of John Madden? I can’t say I missed Madden, but to put two play-by-play guys in the booth was a little much for me. I need just a tad of color, for pete’s sake. I’ve never been a fan of Collinsworth, and listening to him yak about the Bengals or his “insights” into the game really leave a lot to be desired. Collinsworth is also trying to live down an incredibly embarrassing video that has surfaced from 1984. In the video, he’s being interviewed during Monday Night Football. It’s all very 1980s, with the big hair and shoulder pads. A reporter asks Cris how he gets the ladies and he says he throws his money around and likes his chicks stupid. Here’s the video in case you haven’t seen it:

Did you cringe as you watched it? While I’m no fan of Collinsworth, I think this is much ado about nothing. It was 25 years ago when Collinsworth was younger and more goofy than he is now. Can you imagine if we all had to have stuff we said 25 years ago resurface so we could explain it? He was a young football star and thought he was cool. I think he will be the first one to admit that “cool” wasn’t his thing. Let’s give the guy some slack (on this point at least!)