sneakers
03-03-2009, 12:11 AM
This was interesting.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-03-haugh-onbears-chicagomar03,0,7412783.column
Cutler just the QB Bears need
David Haugh
On the Bears
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 a franchise quarterback 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 by 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 QB 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 wide receivers such as T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed Monday with the Seahawks) and Nate Washington (who agreed to terms with the Titans on Monday), 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 have repeated in the last 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, 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 pick and perhaps a third-rounder in 2010 for Cutler would give the Bears a potential answer to a decades-old question. In return, Denver would get a solid starter 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
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-03-haugh-onbears-chicagomar03,0,7412783.column
Cutler just the QB Bears need
David Haugh
On the Bears
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 a franchise quarterback 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 by 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 QB 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 wide receivers such as T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed Monday with the Seahawks) and Nate Washington (who agreed to terms with the Titans on Monday), 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 have repeated in the last 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, 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 pick and perhaps a third-rounder in 2010 for Cutler would give the Bears a potential answer to a decades-old question. In return, Denver would get a solid starter 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