Cutler...the morning after

Having had a full night to digest yesterday's monumental move to bring Jay Cutler to Chicago, I would like to set a few things straight for Bears fans. To start, this move is a huge sign from the front office that we are willing to make big transactions to help this team win (I bet Donovan is shaking his head in Philly asking why the Bears could get a quarterback before he got a receiver). But it may also be a move to sweep our weaknesses under a rug for the time being. While I love the signing of Orlando Pace, Kevin Shaffer, and Frank Omiyale to add depth and experience to the o-line, we still don't have many proven weapons for the playmaking Jay Cutler to exploit. I do believe that a strong-armed (and slightly more accurate quarterback) will make Devin Hester a real deep threat in the NFL and give Greg Olsen the opportunity to showcase his immense athleticism (see Tony Scheffler). But at the same time, we don't have a big receiver to catch balls over the middle of the field. I like that Earl Bennett, Cutler's college teammate and top target at Vanderbilt, is developing as a nice slot option, but he is not a number 1 receiver. As well, in the apocalypse scenario that Forte doesn't stay healthy all season, we should probably have a backup running back who cares about the game of football. Kevin Jones was recovering from an ACL tear last year, but it wasn't his health that kept him off the field in the middle of the season, it was his attitude. The last thing the Bears need from Cutler is a guy who mopes around if things aren't going his way, we've got plenty of that already.

And for the biggest sleight of hand associated with this trade...we still haven't done anything for our defense. It's nice to think that we are going to score more points consistently now that we have a Pro Bowl qb, but who's to say that we aren't going to give up a few more. Last year, we couldn't stop anyone from passing on us (Brian Griese threw for over 400 yards against us...and yes I said Brian Griese), and we had an even harder time getting off the field on third down. Bob "Blitzin" Babich is no longer in charge of playcalling and Rod Marinelli might bring some pride back to our d-line, but we still don't have confidence in the secondary, nor do we dominate up the middle (Tommie Harris hasn't shown the same spark since the Super Bowl loss, Urlacher is getting older, and Mike Brown is gone). For a city built on toughness, I don't think that adding a glitzy quarterback will suddenly mask the fact that we are letting up 30 points a game...at home. And though my friend the Witch Doctor aka the Psychiatrist aka Sir Bricks a lot of Layups (more on that in a later post, but it has to do with pick up basketball) is absolutely correct in saying that this is more than just a trade, I think in some ways, fans should not lose sight of the fact that the best offenses in football lose the Super Bowl to superior defenses. Look at the past three years as examples. Arizona, as cute as they were in their red uniforms and heart-warming offensive show, came into the Super Bowl and lost to an aggressive Steelers defense. Tom Brady's high-scoring Patriots, undefeated until the Super Bowl, lost to Michael Strahan's gritty and tenacious defense. And finally, Peyton Manning led the Colts to a Super Bowl win over our Chicago Bears three winters ago, but if you look back at that game, it was the Colts' defense that won (and our lack thereof). So before fans go annointing Cutler as our savior, keep in mind that Lovie Smith needs to focus on reestablishing a dominant defenisve squad.

I know that Chicago has had a real problem with getting a quarterback, and maybe this kid from Indiana, who grew up rooting for da Bears, is the answer to our woes, but until the team functions as a complete unit, solid on offense, defense, and special teams, Cutler may be nothing more than a pretty band aid...but lest you think this move has actually instilled pessimism in me, Super Bowl XLIV, here we come!