Olsen - not in Martz's plans?

Well, fans of Jay Cutler, you can’t blame the Bears for remaining stagnant this offseason.  As fun as it might be to blame Cutler’s shortcomings on the lack of talent around him, the only way to change that without any high draft picks is through new coaching and free agency.  This offseason, the Bears did as much as they could to address those issues.

Mike Martz gives Cutler the so-called “genius” offensive mind a star quarterback needs to get to the next level, or at least that’s the prevailing belief.  Julius Peppers and his 9-figure contract certainly can’t hurt on the defensive end and should help increase the chance at a “W” for Cutler.  Chicago fans better hope that Peppers’ deal doesn’t follow the same overpaid path of Alfonso Soriano on the Cubs.  One bad monster contract can hamstring a franchise for years.

On Cutler’s side of the ball, Martz got a big blocking tight end to fit his schemes better than Greg Olsen.  Lastly, Chester Taylor finally gives the Bears a solid second running back to complement Forte’s game and, more importantly, take a little pressure off Cutler and the passing game.

Did the offensive line get better?  No.  Did the options at wide receiver get better?  No.  Were those two of the most important needs this offseason?  Yes.  Still, you can only fill needs with what’s available, and last I checked, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald weren’t free agents this year.

Things can always be better, but at some point, you just need to get on the field and win.  This season, Jay Cutler should have a better chance to do that than last year.  If he doesn’t get it done yet again, will you still consider him a franchise QB?  Sound off and let me know.  I’m curious as to how many years a player has to prove himself in a league where a career is usually less than a decade.