The Facts: The Bears slumped to a 6-10 finish in John Fox's first year at the helm, but the head coach clearly see Cutler as part of the solution, not the problem. "He was probably one of the brightest spots about our first year in Chicago," Fox said.

Diehards Line: The coach added: "I saw way more about his mental toughness, I saw way more about how he can control an offense and execute it under pressure. I think that speaks volumes about how successful he was on third down, which is a tough down for a quarterback in the NFL. (I'm) very, very pleased with what I saw and what we have to work with moving forward." Fox said that Dowell Loggains -- the team's offensive coordinator who served as quarterbacks coach in 2015 -- did a "tremendous job" with Cutler. The veteran quarterback cut back significantly on turnovers after leading the league in interceptions in 2014 and posted the highest passer rating (92.3) of his career. He also tied a career high in yards per attempt (7.6), significant in a season in which he didn't have Alshon Jeffery for long stretches or first-round pick Kevin White, who missed the entire year with leg injury.