Thoughts on Cutler from April 2009

Back in 2009, I wrote an e-mail to my dad about the trade that sent Jay Cutler to the Bears. Too many interceptions and sacks to count later, my thoughts haven't changed.

Since I've sent you an e-mail about every major move in Chicago sports since I got to Purdue, I thought that I would continue that tradition with the recent transaction that sent Kyle Orton, the former Boilermaker, the 2009 and 2010 first round draft picks, and a 2009 third round draft pick to the Denver Broncos for Pro-Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler. Since reports of Cutler's discontent in Denver came up when the team fired head coach Mike Shanahan and the offensive coordinator, Jay Cutler has been linked to the Bears. Many Bears fans are currently rejoicing because they fail to see the impact of such a trade. Let me start off by saying that Jay Cutler is a good quarterback. He's relatively mobile and can make any throw that the team needs him too. He's got a cannon of an arm but also has that soft touch to place the ball where it needs to be. It's been awhile since the Chicago Bears had a quarterback that could do that. Even though we upgraded the quarterback position, that does not necessarily mean that we upgraded the team. Logic says, if you have a guy that can throw the football, you also need a man that can catch the football. With our current core of receivers, we have one guy that can out maneuver any player on the field but cannot catch a ball (Hester), a guy with good hands that I could outrun (Davis), a rookie from last year, and an under-utilized Greg Olsen. Long story short, Cutler put up great numbers in Denver but he also had consistent and reliable weapons down the field. Intuition also says that regardless of the skill of the quarterback, the quarterback needs time to throw the football. Our offensive line has been consistently weak and only growing older since the last glory days of the Bears back in the Superbowl. Grossman didn't have much time to throw. Orton didn't have much time to throw. Since last year's team, two core players left the offensive line. This leaves us with not a lot of talent. Cutler is going to need time to throw the ball, especially with our receivers who have a knack for not getting open. We lost a quarterback that could manage the game and gained a quarterback that has the potential for the big home run plays if put into the right situation. Unfortunately, the Bears are along way away from being in the 'right situation'. Their opportunity to better the team was through the draft. Now they lost three draft picks of which they could have given Orton weapons and time to throw the ball.

There is more to Jay Cutler than the football side, however. Cutler is nothing more than an oversized and overpaid infant. The way he handled the fall-out in Denver perhaps the most unprofessional act in sports in recent memory. At the end of the day, football is a business. The team that pays you has the right to seek to better the team by moving you. The job of the athlete is to shut up and perform to the best of their abilities regardless of the situation placed upon him. Cutler whined, moaned, and demonstrated selfish behavior that every kindergarten teacher scolds her students about.
All in all, we'll have to wait and see how this trade works out by the progress and development of this chicago bears team over the course of the season. At the moment, I'm not sold in it.
Grade: D