Hindsight is 20/20, but that’s what blogs are for! It’s obvious that the Cutler experiment isn’t working, regardless of who’s at fault (take your pick: Lovie, Angelo, Cutler, o-line, receivers, Martz, etc. etc.). If you ran the Bears and could do it over again, would you? Vote below!
random broken collarbone
Last night, Tony Romo broke his collarbone, forcing Jon Kitna into action. Naturally, talk of a Jay Cutler trade to Dallas was being heard on the airwaves. BUT, the trade deadline ended over a week ago, so while that actually can’t/won’t happen, it shows how fickle the NFL can be and how just when you think you can’t get out from under a contract, something crazy can happen.
While Cutler won’t be wearing a blue star on his helmet anytime this season, one bad injury to the right team could open the door to a more proper rebuilding process in Chicago.
(image from: http://dirtbikesaction.com/topic/2709887/1/)
In case you were sleeping, Jay Cutler completed 4 passes… to DeAngelo Hall… of the Redskins yesterday! Those 4 interceptions were in addition to a fumble at the goal line, all contributing to a miserable 17-14 defeat at the hands of Washington.
I know this is no surprise to Denver Broncos’ fans (they’ve contacted me many times), and by now, it shouldn’t be a shocker to Bears’ fans. When you trade away stability and draft picks for volatility, you’re going to get volatility. In a league with an embarrassing amount of parity, you need a steady hand at the helm and the Bears don’t have it. Thanks to the Cutler trade, they also don’t have a future.
It’s time to reverse the process: the second that Cutler has a couple good games under his belt (assuming that will eventually happen), find a willing taker, get some draft picks, and start over. The current plan simply isn’t working.
Do you agree? Sound off in the comments section. Think I’m crazy? Voice your opinion.
Is the "C" for Chicago, Cutler, or concussion?
No, the title doesn’t represent the scores from Chicago’s last two games but rather the beating Jay Cutler has been taking since putting on a helmet with a “C” on the side. In 21 games, Cutler has been sacked a whopping 57 times! More recently, in just his past six quarters of football, Cutler has kissed the turf an astonishing 15 times. My preseason joke about Usain Bolt being the best option at QB suddenly seems almost realistic: the only human being fit to play quarterback for the Bears is the fastest human being. Jay Cutler isn’t doing himself any favors by holding the ball longer than a baby holds a bottle before bedtime, however. Still, when an OC tells you to drop back seven steps and you’re getting chased after four steps, there’s not a lot any quarterback can do.
I’ve reiterated my point time and time again, but I’ll continue to do so until Chicago fans and the Bears franchise realize that the dinner plate in front of them is exactly what they ordered. You say you want a gunslinger with an attitude? Check. You say you think he’s a franchise quarterback even though the statistics show otherwise? Check. You say you are willing to give up the near future, including this “franchise” quarterback’s protection, just to get him? Check. Wait, you say you also want to give up the only mediocre quarterback on the roster who happens to show an innate ability to win despite the lack of talent around him? Check. Now hang on a sec – you say you also want to sign the new quarterback to a pricey extension even though the likelihood of a hospital stay increases with every passing day that an offensive lineman isn’t drafted? Uhh…. Check.
Fans and front office, you got exactly what you ordered. The Bears are a 4-2 football team in a league with an embarrassing amount of parity. They are also a team with: no offensive line, no competent backup quarterback playing in a system where no starting quarterback could possibly last a season injury free, and a handful of former head coaches who are now coordinators or line coaches and don’t seem to grasp the need for a game plan that will keep the running game honest and protect the life of the starting quarterback, even if it means a few less yards here and there.
Truth be told, even with a tough second half of the schedule ahead, the Bears are still capable of finishing above .500 and becoming a playoff team. The reality, however, is that playoff team or not, there’s not enough pass protection to make this team a Super Bowl champ. What you have is a team with a better short term record than if they went into full rebuilding mode, but if and when Jay Cutler can’t take the field anymore, there will be nothing left and no pieces for which to build. That means your team has sacrificed many years of potential future success for the possibility at a slightly better than average season ending with one likely playoff game if everything falls into place.
Are you okay with that scenario? I’m not, and that’s why TradeJayCutler.com exists. We can only hope and pray that Cutler keeps his head attached to his spine and overachieves later in the year and impresses another GM. Then it’s time to cut the losses, trade him away for draft picks and/or a steady but unsexy QB and rebuild the way Chicago should have been doing the past two seasons: through the draft. When, and ONLY when, the o-line and other pieces are in place, should the Bears start looking for their real franchise quarterback. Doing so before then is hazardous to one’s health.
Wrong Richter
6.3. That sounds more like a Richter Scale reading than a QB Rating, but that was the best Todd Collins could muster yesterday. HOWEVER, the Bears won which once again illustrates my point that while it’s great to have a guy behind center capable of completing a pass, there are so many more needs that go into developing a playoff caliber NFL team.
Would the Bears have beaten Carolina with Jay Cutler at quarterback? Sure. Kyle Orton? Definitely. Rex Grossman? Yes… provided he didn’t fumble the snap more than three times. In short, Chicago has enough talent (particularly on defense and a career day from Matt Forte) to beat really bad teams regardless of the starting quarterback. Using that same logic, though, the Bears are going to be hard pressed to beat playoff bound teams like New York (Jets), New England, and Minnesota even WITH Jay Cutler.
An offensive line will give an NFL team protection, making even a mediocre quarterback capable of beating better teams. Without protection, however, the QB is irrelevant. In fact, the Bears probably would have won if they immediately went to a wildcat formation and alternated Forte and Taylor behind center.
Electric Orange from ING DIRECT USA. Make money while you pay your bills.
I knew there was a reason I had to reintroduce you to Todd Collins 6 weeks ago. Thanks to the brain scramble suffered by Chicago’s anointed franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler will ride some pine in Carolina while “veteran” Todd Collins takes control of the offense for the time being.
Carolina’s defense is far from Pittsburgh-esque, but Todd Collins will still have his hands full with a shaky O-line and an OC who forgot what running the ball meant.
Goooooooo Todd!
Honestly, sometimes it’s hard being the smartest man in the city. For over a year now, I’ve been preaching that trading away a team’s future for one quarterback was a bad move and with no protection, Cutler’s football lifespan wouldn’t be long.
I credited Cutler’s durability and toughness, and sure enough, despite the inability to release the ball before impending doom on Sunday, Jay got his clock cleaned. When sack totals in a game reach double digits, good luck finding a QB who can survive four quarters.
At this point, it’s looking like Jay Cutler will play on Sunday, but that doesn’t solve the problem of him getting more grass shoved in his face during a game than at a Phish concert. In the meantime, Kyle Orton has been lighting it up in Denver. I’m not suggesting that Orton is better than Cutler (or at least not in this particular post), but with Orton at the helm, the Bears would have had extra picks to draft additional linemen to PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK.
Instead, Chicago put all of its eggs in the Cutler basket, and it was a losing proposition before Jay even stepped on the field. Up next: 0-4 Carolina.
