Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of email questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
What is the timeline for Jay Cutler to be ready to return from his injury and will he get his job back right away with the way that Brian Hoyer performed against the Lions?
David S.
Wichita, Kansas
That's definitely the most popular question of the week. The Bears have not provided a timeline for Jay Cutler's return from a sprained right thumb. Last week in practice he was limited on Wednesday and then held out on Thursday and Friday. Seeing how much he's able to do this week will provide a clue about his availability for Sunday's game in Indianapolis. As far as whether he will reclaim the starting job when healthy, coach John Fox left his options open when speaking to the media Monday at Halas Hall, saying: "We'll evaluate it just like we do every position on the football team. Jay has played a lot of good football. In fact, in the cutups watching Detroit in last year's two games I thought he played pretty well. We'll evaluate it like everything. Right now I don't like getting into speculation and predictions." Pressed on whether Brian Hoyer would retain the No. 1 job following his impressive performance against the Lions, Fox said: "It's performance-based. So anybody that's performing well, I don't think we're going to be likely to change." It's a moot point until Cutler is healthy enough to play, but it certainly will be interesting to see who starts at quarterback for the Bears at that point.
It looked to me when the Lions scored a touchdown on a punt return at the end of last Sunday's game there was a block in the back. Did I see something wrong or was it a legal play?
R.J.
Evergreen Township, Michigan
I wouldn't worry about anything being wrong with your eyes. I'm pretty sure that you saw the Bears' Chris Prosinski get blocked in the back by Lions linebacker Thurston Armbrister an instant after Andre Roberts caught the punt and headed up field. Had the Lions rallied to win, I'm sure we would have heard a lot more about that non-call because it was pretty blatant to me.
I loved how Jordan Howard played against the Lions. Who was the last Bears running back to rush for over 100 yards in his first NFL start?
Pete K.
Boca Raton, Florida
Jordan Howard became the first Bears running back to rush for at least 100 yards in his first NFL start since Matt Forte ran for 123 yards on 23 carries including a 50-yard touchdown in a 29-13 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the 2008 season opener.
