Da Bears...

[recstar24]

...finally got a decent QB...let's take a quick inventory of our past OB's (from at least when I was born - 1982)

Jim McMahon

Mike Tomczak

Jim Harbaugh

Eric Kramer

Rick Mirer

Shane Matthews

Cade McNown (ouch)

Jim Miller

Chris Chandler

Henry Burris (ouch ouch)

Kordell Stewart

Craig Kenzel (who?)

Chad Hutchinson

Kyle Orton

Rex Grossman

Brian Griese

...and now Jay Cutler...woot:D

[xand1x]

That is a pretty epic avatar

[riceboy]

That is a pretty good pickup considering that draft brought Vince Young and Matt Lienart, I feel Cutler was the best of that bunch.

[ecclesand]

As a Bronco fan, I am not happy with this whole mess, but what can you do? I think they will regret letting Cutler go.

[guzziguy]

...finally got a decent whiny QB...let's take a quick inventory of our past OB's (from at least when I was born - 1982)

Jim McMahon

Mike Tomczak

Jim Harbaugh

Eric Kramer

Rick Mirer

Shane Matthews

Cade McNown (ouch)

Jim Miller

Chris Chandler

Henry Burris (ouch ouch)

Kordell Stewart

Craig Kenzel (who?)

Chad Hutchinson

Kyle Orton

Rex Grossman

Brian Griese

...and now Jay Cutler...woot:D

FIFY. After the way he acted in Denver, it will be hard for him to be a leader and it won't come quickly if he does manage it.

Jim McMahon was actually a pretty good quarterback, if a total flake. The rest have been totally forgettable. I was born in the early 50s and quarterback has always been a problematic position for Chicago in my memory.

[morphsci]

Jim McMahon was the perfect quarterback for the 1985 Bears, if a total flake.

FTFY

[recstar24]

As a Bronco fan, I am not happy with this whole mess, but what can you do? I think they will regret letting Cutler go.

I think the broncos got a really nice deal. They have a 1st and 3rd round this year, and a 1st round next year. The defense was atrocious, so they really need to bulk up and with the draft picks they have tons of options. I like Orton and think he will do decent, one thing is that Orton is a very good leader, he will get tons of respect in their locker room just like he did here in Chicago, which can't be underestimated. With 2 1st round picks this year they easily can trade up and possibly get mark sanchez who they have been eyeing over.

[DieInAFire]

I think the broncos got a really nice deal. They have a 1st and 3rd round this year, and a 1st round next year. The defense was atrocious, so they really need to bulk up and with the draft picks they have tons of options. I like Orton and think he will do decent, one thing is that Orton is a very good leader, he will get tons of respect in their locker room just like he did here in Chicago, which can't be underestimated. With 2 1st round picks this year they easily can trade up and possibly get mark sanchez who they have been eyeing over.

eh, we'll see if they can get a substitute for Cutler... it's a risk trading a proven player for picks, especially a QB as young and as talented as Cutler. This will all depend on how those picks pan out.

[en480c4]

FIFY. After the way he acted in Denver, it will be hard for him to be a leader and it won't come quickly if he does manage it.

Amen. What a whiney bitch. He demanded a trade when his offensive coordinater gets canned, but complains when the team considers trading him? And his feelings got hurt, so he decides to pass up an opportunity with a coach who worked with Brady and developed Cassel into someone people were willing to pay $14M. That's a pretty good track record. If anyone's going to regret the decision, it's going to be Cutler, going to the team where quarterbacks go to die.

[Guest sacd lover]

Who will Cutler have to pass protect and to throw to? I dont follow the Bears but I cant think of anyone special. Do the Bears have any kind of a running game?

[recstar24]

Who will Cutler have to pass protect and to throw to? I dont follow the Bears but I cant think of anyone special. Do the Bears have any kind of a running game?

Running back yes - Matt Forte had a very nice rookie year and shows a lot of promise and potential. He is a 3 down back that is a good blocker and a very suprisingly good receiver out of the backfield. He exhibited good break away speed and has some pretty shifty moves to evade tackles, yet he also showed good power in between the tackles. The line, though old, overperformed last year imo, and was really surprising how well they maintained the pocket and running game, but due to age they lost steam towards the end, the running game suffered a bit, as well as the pass protection schemes.

WR is incredibly weak IMO. Brandon Lloyd showed promise but he was injured a lot. Devin Hester cannot play the position imo. Greg Olsen had a great season and is probably are #1 option, but as a TE defenses will double up on him and with no WR's to throw to it is an issue. I am hoping that Cutler will be able to maximise whatever dormant potential may exist within lloyd, olsen, and who knows rasheed davis or earl bennett may prove to be worth something. Thankfully WR is very deep in the draft and I am sure there will be a quality wr to choose from 2nd and 3rd round.

O-line - the bears did pick up Orlando Pace. He is old and his durability is a concern, he is definitely not the pro bowl/hall of fame LT that we saw years ago, but he is an upgrade at that position and will help shore up the line and mentor some of our young tackles like Chris Williams.

That is my brief synopsis. We need a WR though for the passing game to be taken seriously by opposing defenses. Last year towards the end of the season, as our running game suffered due to our aging line, teams ran nickel against our 2 TE sets, and put a nickel back or doubled up with a safety on olsen, pretty much taking him out. Single coverage on the WR's was fine because hester doesn't know where to run his route and whoever is on the other side can't separate. Defense still has another safety devoted to the run, and we were essentially stopped pass or run with the defense running only 2 LB's and a nickel back. A quality WR coupled with a QB who can throw downfield will open up everything, and I am happy that as of right now we have one part of that equation.