In case you have been living under a rock the past 24 hours, allow me to take pleasure in informing you that the Chicago Bears traded for the Denver Broncos' young stellar quarterback, Jay Cutler. Let me repeat: the Bears finally have a quarterback.
Having been born after the Bears won their last Super Bowl title, I have not had the experience of consciously knowing that the Bears have an above average quarterback. I barely remember the Eric Kramer days (thankfully). I knew Jim Miller was a one-time-lightning-in-a-bottle quarterback. Rex Grossman, well, um, was Rex Grossman.
Kyle Orton, who was traded to Denver along with two 1st round draft picks (2009 & 2010), and a third round pick (2009), for Cutler was serviceable. In fact, last season he really started to turn his career around, despite throwing to a less-than-stellar set of wide receiver.
Cutler, though, represents a change in thinking for the Bears. Words cannot explain how excited I am, though I will try to explain why I’m so excited for your sake, so you aren’t subjected to the awkwardness that ensues when you put me in front of a camera. Here are three of the main reasons why I love the trade and why I’m so gosh darn excited for the Bears in 09:
- 1st round draft picks have not panned out well for the Bears. General Manager Jerry Angelo has been poor, at best, when choosing the team’s first round draft picks during his tenure with the Bears. The only successful pick thus far has been Tommie Harris in 2005, who luckily fell to the Bears during the draft due to some off-field concerns. On top of that, 1st round picks are guaranteed so much money these days, it is almost a blessing not to have to pay someone who hasn’t played in the NFL more than you would a veteran. Look at the Patriots, they traded a quarterback in Matt Cassel (who won 11 of his first 16 starts, mind you) to the Chiefs for a second-rounder, only because they did not want to pay a high draft pick so much guaranteed money.
- “Windy City” + Cutler’s Arm = Tough Day for Defenses. I’m not saying Kyle Orton had a weak arm, but by comparison, Cutler’s arm makes it seem like he should be a part of one of those Michael Vick Power-Ade commercials. You can just look back to last year’s playoffs, when Eli Manning was terrible against the Eagles. He couldn’t get the ball down the field because he didn’t have the arm strength to throw into the wind. One of the main reasons why the Bears were successful in 2006 with Grossman was because of Grossman’s arm strength. Add in Cutler’s accuracy, and you’ve got yourself a winner.
- It shakes things up a bit. Every year since I can remember, everyone has been saying the exact same thing about the Bears. “Solid running game, solid defense, no quarterback.” Now? THE BEARS HAVE CUTLER. The guy is 26, about to enter his prime, and they have him for at least the next three years! THEY HAVE A QUARTERBACK!
Now, there still are some concerns with the ’09 Bears squad. Aging defense, still no big-time receiver… blah blah blah. They are concerns for a different day. Today, the Bears have a really good quarterback, and I’m so excited.