Jay Cutler traded to Chicago

[Powdered Water]

The Bears gave up an awful lot for a guy that has never won a damn thing.

[Yoda]

The Bears gave up an awful lot for a guy that has never won a damn thing.
Well, Cutler's only played two full seasons, for crying out loud, and he can't exactly shore up Denver's crappy defense. The thing most in his control -- their passing game -- was ranked third last year.

Dunno if it's a good trade (those draft picks loom large), but I think Cutler's a fine young quarterback, if nothing else, and the Bears could certainly use one of those.

[BobbyB]

Well, Cutler's only played two full seasons, for crying out loud, and he can't exactly shore up Denver's crappy defense. The thing most in his control -- their passing game -- was ranked third last year.

Dunno if it's a good trade (those draft picks loom large), but I think Cutler's a fine young quarterback, if nothing else, and the Bears could certainly use one of those.
Cutler is a born loser though. He lost at every year he was at Vandy and he's done the same in Denver. Not once in his last 7 years of starting has he had a winning record.

And the defense struggled, but Cutler put so much pressure on them with the way he turned the ball over 20+ times with fumbles and interceptions. I mean, when you have 40 yards to work with instead of 80, it makes it hard on the defense. They start feeling like they need to play catch up and make more aggressive breaks on the ball, which they're bound to miss from time to time, leading to big plays.

Cutler had the best pass blocking line in football, a top 3 running game in terms of YPC, one of the best young receiver tandems in football with Royal and Marshall, he played in the weakest division in football and he was playing December games in cities like San Diego. With all that, Cutler still only went 8-8. Which, by the by, the 50% winning percentage is the best he's experienced in a season since he turned 18.

Now, considering his team finished barely average with all that working for him, imagine him playing away from the Mile High altitude perfect for deep passing games, not a single realistic passing threat, a good, but still unproven starting running back, a much less talented offensive line, a bend/don't break defense, a cold weather division, and having to play twice a year against one of the nastiest defenses in football.

And the Bears just traded away a winner (Bad stats or not, the Bears won football games when Orton was under center) a third and two number 1s? Yikes.

Denver fleeced Chicago here and if Cutler became discontent in Denver, what is offered in Chicago that will prevent him from doing the same.

[Yoda]

Figured I'd move this into a thread. Hope ya'll don't mind.

Cutler is a born loser though.
Come on. The idea that there's something innate about certain atheles that makes them "losers" is unabashed crazy talk. We had a similar discussion about Peyton Manning...right before he won the Super Bowl.

By the by, the "born loser" Cutler went 26-1 in High School, including 15-0 during his senior year. So we're supposed to believe his inherent loser-ness kicked in right after that?

I blame former coaches and so-called analysts, who are constantly affixing silly labels to players to try to make sense of a sometimes chaotic game, or create a narrative where there is none. But that doesn't mean you and I have to listen to it.

He lost at every year he was at Vandy and he's done the same in Denver. Not once in his last 7 years of starting has he had a winning record.
Vanderbilt also didn't have a winning record in any of the 22 years before Cutler came along; it's not exactly a premier program. And what should he have done, I wonder? Averaged better than a 125 QB rating there? I suppose Ernie Banks sucked, too, because he played for the Cubs all those years?

Denver's gone 7-9 and 8-8 with him as their full-time starter. Technically, no winning seasons, but perfectly respectable both years. We both know that a 7 or 8 win team is usually only a few breaks away from being a 9 or 10 win team, and there's nothing about Cutler's genetic helix that stopped that from happening.

And the defense struggled, but Cutler put so much pressure on them with the way he turned the ball over 20+ times with fumbles and interceptions. I mean, when you have 40 yards to work with instead of 80, it makes it hard on the defense. They start feeling like they need to play catch up and make more aggressive breaks on the ball, which they're bound to miss from time to time, leading to big plays.
Well, not to be too pedantic (or any more than usual ;)), but it's not actually 20+; his totals were 16 and exactly 20 the last two years. But I digress...

In 2005, Kyle Orton completed only 51% of his passes (11% lower than Cutler's lowest full-season mark), averaged more than 2 yards less per reception, threw less than half as many touchdown as either of Cutler's two full seasons, and had 15 total turnovers. Their offense was outscored by 26 other teams.

But Chicago had the best defense in the NFL and gave up something like 40 points less than the next-best defense (which is insane), and won 11 games anyway. And all this makes Orton a "winner" and Cutler a "loser"? Seems to me like Orton was pretty crappy, and the Bears D bailed him out.

Cutler had the best pass blocking line in football, a top 3 running game in terms of YPC, one of the best young receiver tandems in football with Royal and Marshall, he played in the weakest division in football and he was playing December games in cities like San Diego. With all that, Cutler still only went 8-8. Which, by the by, the 50% winning percentage is the best he's experienced in a season since he turned 18.
It's a lot easier to have a top-3 running game in terms of YPC when you're 28th in actual carries.

And maybe Royal and Marshall were one of the best young receiver tandems in football because of Jay Cutler. I'll be glad to crawl out onto a limb by saying that the quarterback is a big part of the success or failure of a given passing game.

And the Bears just traded away a winner (Bad stats or not, the Bears won football games when Orton was under center) a third and two number 1s? Yikes.

Denver fleeced Chicago here and if Cutler became discontent in Denver, what is offered in Chicago that will prevent him from doing the same.
He became discontent in Denver because, by basically all accounts, they jerked him around. And given that you're still upset that T.O. left Dallas, I'm not sure I understand your sudden discontent for discontented players.

I'm not saying I like the trade -- as I mentioned before, the draft picks are huge -- but Cutler's a much better QB than Orton. The fact that the Bears won games with Orton under center tells us almost nothing about Orton, and certainly not more than his numbers tell us. Since when is it impossible to win in spite of a player?

[mikeython1]

The Bears need to go out and get Anquan Boldin or Marvin Harrison this year. All the Bears really have now is Devin Hester.

[Sedai]

Wasn't Cutler one of the top fantasy QBs last year? I seem to remember him having close to top dog stats... He's young, and has tremendous potential in another system not run my Mike Shannahan, who shuffles his players like a card mechanic.

[Slug]

All I know is, I'm picking Favre as my back up quarterback again next season.
The was one game I used him last year, and he threw six touchdown passes.
I think I still lost.
:(

Maybe I should play baseball.