The Bears are doomed with Jay Cutler

As hard as it is to accept, some relationships are destined to fail. 

No matter how much you commit to the other person, how much you focus on the good times, how much time and energy you put in trying to make it succeed, you continually end up in the same place. A place of frustration and disappointment. 

That, in a nutshell, is the relationship between the Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler.

Put aside for a moment that Cutler has the personality of a baked potato. Or the fact that his emotions range from indifferent to looking like he just found out Santa Claus isn't real. It's his play on the field that matters, and things haven't been good. 

Chicago is headed for another season of missing the playoffs, the fifth of Cutler's six-year tenure with the team. That's not what the Bears signed up for when they gave up Kyle Orton, two first-round picks and a third to acquire him from Denver prior to the 2009 Draft. 

The union has failed miserably in the Windy City, with things bottoming out over the last couple of months as a seemingly talented Bears team lost five of six games from late September to early November. They are now coming off two straight wins, but nothing about those victories gives fans confidence that this team has it figured out. 

Cutler and the offense recorded a measly 68 yards in the first half Sunday against the worst the NFC South has to offer. They barely broke 200 on the day and Cutler threw for just 130 yards. The signal caller has managed to throw for 300 yards in only three games this season and the Bears are averaging nearly a touchdown less per game than they did in 2013. 

There's no question Cutler has talent. His arm is one of the best in football and he has stretches where it looks like he's unstoppable. However, Cutler balances that out with ill-timed turnovers and sloppy mechanics. He's wildly inconsistent. He's a poor man's Eli Manning, but without the two Super Bowl rings to point to whenever he has a nightmare performance. 

Chicago tried to make it work

Perhaps the most troubling part of Cutler's woes is how much Chicago has done trying to ensure his success. 

With one of the best running backs in the league already at their disposal in Matt Forte, the Bears traded for Brandon Marshall, signed Martellus Bennett and drafted Alshon Jeffery to place around Cutler. 

Not only that, but the Bears replaced the defensive-minded Lovie Smith in 2013 with quarterback guru Marc Trestman, in hopes of polishing Cutler's game. But to no avail.  

Suspicions probably should have been raised after journeyman backup Josh McCown was thrown into the system last year and outperformed Cutler when he was was sidelined with injury. All McCown did was throw for 13 touchdowns with just one interception and nearly 2,000 yards in five starts. He looked like the second coming of Joe Montana, for goodness sake.  

Were the good times really that good?

Cutler's best stretch with the team was arguably the 2010 season, when he threw 23 touchdowns to 16 picks behind a dreadful offensive line and helped the Bears to the NFC title game.  

The fact that they came up just short of the Super Bowl, though, was more of a mirage than anything else. The Bears won the NFC North that year by one game over the Green Bay Packers, who lost Aaron Rodgers to a concussion for almost two full games. The Packers lost both of those contests, which helped the Bears claim the division and second seed. 

After a bye, they had the good fortune of facing the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round, who you might recall miraculously upset the New Orleans Saints. A victory there saw them face the arch-rival Packers, who Cutler is 1-11 against in his career. They lost 21-14. 

A more fraudulent semifinalist you will not find. 

Bears make a commitment to Cutler

It's hard to show more of a commitment than the Bears gave Cutler this past offseason. To the shock of some of his critics, Cutler was rewarded with a new seven-year deal that included $54 million guaranteed. 

Based on how things have gone this year, general manager Phil Emery would probably take that back if he could. To be fair, though, they weren't the only ones duped. Myself and many other fantasy football participants bought into the Cutler hype this summer hook, line and sinker, and we've been rewarded with 12 weeks of mediocre play.

It's probably because one minute Cutler can make a throw that almost no one else can. 

It tricks you into forgetting a decision like this is just around the corner.

So what do the Bears do now?

Well, they could try and trade him, although finding a taker for Cutler with that contract and his erratic play is going to be challenging.

The other option would be a costly one. If the Bears make the very bold move of cutting him, they would still owe Cutler $38 million and that number jumps to $48 million if he's on the roster after March of 2015. 

Maybe, for the welfare of the franchise, the more appropriate question should be, is keeping Cutler around more costly than letting him go?