Well they did it. It took an extra period and some big stops by the defense, but the Bears pulled off the upset of the Vikings. Just hours before the game I began to get the feeling that they had a chance in this one. It was the perfect storm. Brett Favre in the cold, the Bears playing for nothing but pride, a slippery football tailor made for an Adrian Peterson fumble, Jay Cutler at home.

So now what? I said yesterday that a win would not change my opinion of this team, and for that matter a loss wouldn't either.

I still believe that Cutler can be one of the league's top quarterbacks, that his interception issue can be corrected but that some of the skills he already possesses can't be taught. Last night was prime example of what I meant. I'm sure most Bears fans, and some fans from other interested teams, sat wondering when the big INT was going to come, yet it never did. Instead Jay made some brilliant passes; the dart to Greg Olsen for a touchdown, the TD to Earl Bennett, the game winner to Devin Aromashodu. This was the prototypical game we expected from Jay. Though undoubtedly there will be some issues in the future, and four touchdown games will not be the norm, if he can simply cut down on mistakes Bears fans have much to be excited about. But that is not something that should have been learned last night.

I still have issues with Lovie Smith. When he chose to take over this defense he put himself under the gun, and 30 points in the second half last night is inexcusable. During the final Viking drive of regulation Favre did what he does best, hitting short passes over the middle of the field on his way towards the goal line. Now, if Zack Bowman can hang on to that sure INT the game ends before OT, but he didn't, and Favre found his way into the endzone. Let's, for arguments sake, give Lovie a pass on that though, and say that it was personnel issue not a schematic one. Still, this is his defense and he should be held accountable for it.

Then there is the Aromashodu thing. I'm not going to get carried away and try to convince you that this is the next Randy Moss or Terrell Owens, but the fact that Cutler himself has called for this guy to get more playing time since the beginning of the season, training camp even, and yet he did not see significant time until Devin Hester was sidelined, is a major cause for concern. It goes to the core of talent evaluation. When a team has so little actual football talent, they can't afford to have guys on the bench who should be playing. Chris Williams proved, with some help, that he can play tackle. It makes me wonder why Orlando Pace kept getting the starts when he quite obviously couldn't block anymore.

Lovie can not be the coach and the defensive coordinator in 2010, period.

When it comes to Ron Turner and the offensive play calling, things get a bit tougher for me to decipher. I think it's easy to be frustrated and to blame the play calling when your team has a hard time scoring points or moving the ball in general. Turner is very conservative, and I think that he hinders Cutler's big play ability more than he helps it. That being said, Cutler hasn't exactly given Ronnie a lot of reason to be confident in him. Either way, these two don't seem to be on the same page and one has to go. Bye bye Turner.

Last night's win was fun, for Bears and Packers and Saints and Eagles fans alike. For Bears fans however, the same issues are still present. They still have a defense that lacks far too many pieces to compete on a regular basis. They still lack the experience at the wide receiver position to compete on a regular basis. The still have offensive line issues and personally I'm not convinced that Matt Forte is the answer at running back.

Enjoy the win for what it was, but remember that a lot of work has to be done to make sure 2010 doesn't resemble 2009.

Photo: ESPN (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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