Haugh: Jay Cutler just the QB Bears need

[Xee]

Jay Cutler just the QB Bears need

By David Haugh | Tribune reporter
March 3, 2009


Dan Patrick: You grew up in Indiana--are you a Colts fan?

Jay Cutler: I'm a Bear fan.

Patrick: Would you like to play for the Bears?

Cutler: Yeah, I wouldn't mind playing for the Bears.

—WMVP-AM 1000 interview



Yes, on March 2, Jay Cutler confessed to a national radio audience that he grew up a Bears fan and wanted to play for his favorite team.

March 2, 2006, that is.

Back then, Cutler was coming out of Vanderbilt pegged as the first-round draft pick he would become. Monday, Cutler was just a disgruntled Denver Bronco teasing all NFL general managers in search of franchise quarterbacks by acting like a guy who wants to be traded.

Jerry Angelo, please indulge us by paying attention.

History suggests Angelo will stay miles away from any trade controversy in the Mile High city. Reality says the Broncos and first-year coach Josh McDaniels now will go out of their way to show Cutler he is king, not (Matt) Cassel.

But suspend traditional Halas Hall practicality for a moment and replace it with some ingenuity.

The Bears probably aren't going back to the Super Bowl stocking the roster with promising offensive linemen with one start in four NFL seasons, no matter how nice a signing Frank Omiyale is. And they won't return to NFC elite status by turning the wide-receiver corps into an NFL internship program or chasing thirtysomething free-agent defensive backs.

At some point it will require bigger and bolder moves, and prying Cutler away from Denver would be one that could cement Angelo's legacy in Chicago.

Angelo told the world after the 2008 season that he was fixated on fixing the quarterback position. If Angelo really meant that—and he is an earnest man—then he must exhaust every possibility to acquire a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback who has suddenly found himself in the NFL equivalent of a bad marriage.

In explaining why the Bears would stay out of the bidding for free-agent wide receivers such as T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Washington, Angelo has espoused the theory that the quarterback makes the receivers and not vice versa. A quarterback such as Cutler finally would allow Angelo to prove that theory.

The Bears can win with Kyle Orton. This idea has nothing to do with Orton. But Cutler is on the cusp of his prime and likely to become one of the game's top 10 quarterbacks over the next decade.

For those reasons, Denver would be foolish to trade him. But then the Broncos were fools over the weekend when they considered trading Cutler for Cassel, so never underestimate the effect altitude has on judgment in the Rockies.

Reports in Denver say Cutler remains miffed regardless who initiated trade talks. Sports Illustrated reported he requested a trade last month when his offensive coordinator left the team. The Bears were one of three possible trade partners, according to an ESPN.com report.

Where there is smoke in Denver, there is a need for Angelo to grab a mask and charge in. Even if Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, told the Tribune he wasn't aware of anything involving Cutler and the Bears. Even if Broncos officials repeated the past several days that Cutler isn't on the trade block.

McDaniels is said to have wanted Cassel because he had run an offense in New England predicated on precision and accuracy that isn't Cutler's strong suit. Orton is accurate too. Cassel had better numbers than Orton, but also a better supporting cast. He throws the deep ball better than Orton, but Orton has more experience. The point is, the traits McDaniels liked in Cassel he easily could find in Orton.

Offering Orton to the Broncos along with this year's No. 18 draft choice and perhaps a third-round pick in 2010 for Cutler would give the Bears a potential answer to a decades-old question. In return, Denver would receive a solid starting quarterback and enough draft flexibility to select another one in April.

The best veteran player the Bears have added through a trade or free agency since making Super Bowl XLI is defensive tackle Anthony Adams. They have swung and missed on the likes of Adam Archuleta, Brandon Lloyd, Darwin Walker and ... well, that's enough to give Bears fans a headache. But keep swinging, this time for the fences.

This isn't Kurt Warner trying to use the Bears as leverage in free agency. This isn't Donovan McNabb toying with the idea of coming home with two years left on his contract. This is an unhappy but potentially attainable Pro Bowl quarterback who grew up loving the Bears in Santa Claus, Ind.

That's a small town in southern Indiana where every day is like Christmas. Cutler would be the gift to Chicago that keeps on giving for the next decade.

dhaugh@tribune.com

[gaba]

I'm happy with Orton and I think he can do a good job. Also, I think the Broncos would be stupid to let Cutler go. That being said... the Broncos were already considering life without him and maybe they think they can do better. If they do they're idiots but I wouldn't turn my nose up at benefiting from their stupidity. I like Orton, but I'd put him on the bench in a heartbeat for Cutler.

[G08]

I don't even know how to put it into words, I'd orgasm blue and orange if we got Jay Cutler.

[UOK]

To see Cutler go from wearing the blue and orange to the ...blue and orange would be neat, but I highly doubt this would happen. Only if Cassel had been picked up by Denver would this go down.

[gaba]

I don't see it happening either UOK. I just can't fathom the Broncos (or just about any team outside of, well... the Bears) being this stupid. That won't stop me from daydreaming though.

[RING4CHI]

Jay Cutler would look like no more than Kyle Orton in Chicago.

The guys I would like to have would be Brandon Marshall (minus the off the field issues) and Eddie Royal.

[G08]

I know you didn't just compare Jay Cutler's skillset as a QB to Kyle freakin' Orton's...

[gaba]

Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal are hardly seasoned vets. They are what they are because they've got a good quarterback.

[wab]

An elite WR can make a good QB. A good QB can make a WR elite.

[RING4CHI]

I know you didn't just compare Jay Cutler's skillset as a QB to Kyle freakin' Orton's...

Did I say anything about skills?

I said Cutler would look like Orton. With the idiotic coaching staff the Bears have and lack of playmakers, Cutler would look like Orton. Cutler almost had two 1,000 yard receivers in his Pro Bowl season (Marshall 1265, Royal 980.) The Bears can't even muster half of that.

[UOK]

*Goes back to watching 2006 highlights*

Sigh. What the hell happened.

[UOK]

Dan Pompei | On the NFL
12:32 PM CST, March 3, 2009

Jay Cutler is a fantasy to Bears fans. Megan Fox in shoulder pads.

Go ahead and dream. But understand it's not going to happen.

But Kyle Boller, or a quarterback like him, that should not be a dream.

Perhaps you have heard the adage "Competition is the whetstone of talent."

Hope the Bears have, too, because for Kyle Orton to be the best he can be, and for the team to be all it can be, he should have competition.

A couple of years ago the Bears named Mark Anderson a starting defensive end in the dead of the off-season, replacing Alex Brown without competition. The result was a poor season from Anderson and a pretty good one from Brown.

It didn't work out any better when they traded Thomas Jones to clear the path for Cedric Benson.

Football players need not be coddled like significant others on Hallmark holidays. At least not football players I would want on my team.

Show me a player who reacts like a distressed turtle when he is asked to fight for his job and I will show you a player who will react like a distressed turtle when the season is on the line.

Competition is an outstanding way to prepare for a season, like watching tape, lifting weights and eating right. Really, it is the essence of sport.

Some of the most successful quarterbacks in the NFL last season were forced to compete for their jobs in training camp. Kurt Warner did it, beating out Matt Leinart. So did rookies Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco.

The Bears don't necessarily have to bring in a player they expect to be matched evenly with Orton. But it sure would be nice to have a veteran they know they can count on in case Orton is either unavailable or ineffective.

The chances are good the Bears will start more than one quarterback this year. They have started more than one in 35 of the 42 seasons since the NFL merged in 1967.

Nobody knows what Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez are capable of because between them they have thrown 11 NFL passes. You can't convince yourself they are anything except unknowns.

Each is a fit for the third, or developmental quarterback role. Neither is a fit for the primary backup.

If Cutler is available, the Bears would have to explore the possibility of acquiring him. Most teams in the NFL would. But the signals out of Denver right now are Cutler is not on the market. Because the Broncos no longer can trade for Matt Cassel, they probably will be very reluctant to part with Cutler, as they should be.

Even if Cutler forces the Broncos' hand, the Bears probably do not have what the Broncos would demand in compensation to make him a possibility.

So let's go back to the real word. The Bears owe it to the organization to continue their development of Orton unless they can acquire a player they are certain is better for reasonable compensation.

I like Orton. I have since he was at Purdue. I think he will be very good very soon. But he has not earned the right to not have to compete. We aren't talking about Peyton Manning here.

But there is nothing wrong with pursuing someone like free agent Jeff Garcia. Orton is not the type of player who needs to be pushed to work hard, but having an able competitor on his heels certainly shouldn't hurt.

Orton told the Tribune's Fred Mitchell, he believes he can get a better feel for wide receivers if he gets more than half the reps through the off-season and training camp. Last year Orton and Rex Grossman split practice time as the Bears tried to determine who should start.

How many off-season reps with the starters do you suppose Cassel had last year in New England? Not many. And his numbers were better than Orton's across the board.

The Bears could benefit from waiting until after the draft. It's not like there is any quarterback out there now who is a must have. And waiting would enable Hanie and Basanez to get the off-season reps that would aid their development. Veterans still will be available late.

The best thing for the Bears organization, and the best thing for Orton, is for the team to acquire a player at some point who can be a threat at some level to their starting quarterback.

[G08]

Did I say anything about skills?

I said Cutler would look like Orton. With the idiotic coaching staff the Bears have and lack of playmakers, Cutler would look like Orton. Cutler almost had two 1,000 yard receivers in his Pro Bowl season (Marshall 1265, Royal 980.) The Bears can't even muster half of that.

Sorry, when you say "Jay Cutler would look like no more than Kyle Orton in Chicago", that tells me that you think his ceiling in Chicago is Kyle Orton's play last season (I WHOLEHEATEDLY disagree).

So let me reword this... do you think Kyle Orton is anywhere near Jay Cutler's stratosphere in terms of talent? I think if Cutler was our QB last season, we would have had a better statistical season from our QB than what Orton provided.

[RING4CHI]

Sorry, when you say "Jay Cutler would look like no more than Kyle Orton in Chicago", that tells me that you think his ceiling in Chicago is Kyle Orton's play last season (I WHOLEHEATEDLY disagree).

So let me reword this... do you think Kyle Orton is anywhere near Jay Cutler's stratosphere in terms of talent? I think if Cutler was our QB last season, we would have had a better statistical season from our QB than what Orton provided.

Best way for me to put it would be to say it is if Cutler was our QB in 2008, he wouldn't have as good of stats as he did in Denver in '08, but he would have been better than Orton. Though the negative side of me says it wouldn't have been much better.

Basically:

2008 Kyle Orton > 2008 Jay Cutler in Chicago > 2008 Jay Cutler in Denver

I would take Jay Cutler over Kyle Orton right now. But with our current coaching staff and lack of play makers, I don't see it being much of an improvement.

[G08]

I think you put the 'greater than' symbol in the wrong direction, but I'm pickin up what yer puttin down buddy

edit: Hmm we don't have the thumbs up smiley anymore?

[gaba]

Hmmm....

We've got a ton of smilies. I think we've pretty well covered anything we might actually use.



If you DO have the " > " backwards, then I agree completely imp. That doesn't mean Kyle's a bad QB. I'd be perfectly happy heading into next season with Kyle as our quarterback, but Cutler is better. I don't even think there's an argument.

[G08]

Shit I didn't see that

[RING4CHI]

I think you put the 'greater than' symbol in the wrong direction...

You say potato, I say shut the fuck up.