I am one of the hatersz that can admit Cutler has surprised me these past few games...I admitted before that he has been playing well, but I did not expect a good game out of him against the Rams. The offense as a whole has been playing well too, the line has been solid, Langford has filled in nicely, Jeffery when healthy has been top notch, Miller is playing how we expected Bennett to be playing...throw in that the defense has been solid also (although I think good offenses will dice them up right now) and this is a fun team to watch. I would be happy and encouraged if the team was playing like this and losing, so the fact they are stringing together wins is nice to see.
I still don't think this is a playoff team....yet. And I still don't think Cutler is the long term answer, I would like to see the Bears draft a QB this coming offseason. But with the way Cutler is playing it does make me a little more comfortable that the Bears could draft a QB to sit at least a year and learn the offense before taking over for Cutler. I mean if Gase can get Cutler to play solid football and keep his mistakes to a minimum, imagine what he could do if given a good young QB to develop.
I honestly didn't think this team would be a contender for at least another 2 years, but the coaches are getting the most out of the players they have which makes it encouraging that they could be a playoff team next year with a solid offseason/draft.