Barooo?!?!
Line forms to the left. To the degree any of these wealthy players or franchises can be a loser here, Cutler’s the loser. He just went from a stacked offensive team to one that has been renowned for decades for its offensive ineptitude and poor quarterback play. Cutler won’t exactly be throwing to Brandon Marshall in Chicago.
After throwing the challenge flag and reviewing this whole turn of events, I’ve actually come to accept this trade. Yes, we lost a once-in-a-decade superstar quarterback, but with the vile cesspool of ineptitude that is our defense, maybe an exchange for a very average but possibly capable QB and the possibility to fill some of our gaping, pornographic holes on D could actually be an improvement to this team overall. Don’t get me wrong, we definitely got worse this year, but assuming that we don’t completely molest our next two drafts, we’ve finally a spot of hope for the future. If we can get a solid NT and a good starting linebacker or two, we will probably be competitive in two or three years. There’s still that whole ‘quarterback’ debacle, (Orton is a bookmark at best, but he is no Greise and we’ll survive), but my hope is that the Bears tank just for this year and we get a good shot at landing McCoy in the '10 draft. I only hope we don’t do something stupid like trade our two first rounders this year to move up and get Sanchez. He will never be a Cutler (and IMO will be a highly paid backup in 2012) and we would’ve lost a great opportunity to fix our disgusting defense.
And I’m actually sort of glad we didn’t go for Quinn. Yes he’s better than Orton… probably, but I’m still maintaining just as I did when the Browns took him, that he is more Jason Campbell than Joe Montana. He’ll eventually be a starter, but nothing to go google-eyed over and he would be just good enough that we wouldn’t feel a pressing need to replace him.
Yup. He goes from an offense ranked 2nd in the NFL to the 29th (or somewhere in that area… I’m to lazy to look it up). Talk about dumping the prom queen for the nerdy AV girl with the acne problem and “a nice personality”…
At least we’ll finally get to see if Devin Hester is a Dante Hall or a Steve Smith now that he has a QB with the arm strength to hit him on the fly. The Bears do need another decent receiver, preferably the 6’2", 225 type who can snag anything thrown within a ten yard radius…
Sorta like Brandon Marshall…
Don’t push it, bub. McDaniels might want rid of him, too…
A very valid point. If I start hearing Marshall’s name coming up in trade rumors I’m blaming this board.
Also, because I noticed this after the edit window closed and I’m completely insane so I must correct it…
Too.
Ahh… much better.
As a Bear fan, this excites me.
As Kyle Orton’s neighbor, I’ll miss him. Always thought he was a good guy and my pup will miss playing with his bulldog Bubba.
I wish him luck in Denver.
2nd to 26th. Curiously enough, though, if you go by points per game instead of yardage, the Bears were 14th and the Broncos were 16th.
Am I the only one that sees this as a trade that makes both teams worse?
Yes, Cutler was a whiny bitch, but he was Denver’s whiny bitch. You don’t trade a young pro bowl QB, period.
And the Bears need way too much to be dealing away all those picks. And now the aforementioned whiny bitch has no receivers and a lame scheme. How’s that gonna go down?
This keeps Lovie Smith safe for 2 more years. Bears fans can decide if that’s good news…
Kyle Orton’s record as a starter: 21-12.
Jay Cutler’s record as a starter: 17-20.
Kyle Orton’s leading wide receivers: Devin Hester/Rashied Davies/Bernard Berrian (now gone)/Mushin Muhammed.
Jay Cutler’s leading wide receivers: Brandon Marshall/Eddie Royal (2nd only to Boldin in rookie receptions)/Brandon Stokely
I know these are not fair comparisons based on the team’s respective defenses. But it did bring a smile to my face.
Forgot Rick Mirer already? 
Hordes of idiotic Browns fans want to trade away Braylon Edwards for table scraps. The organization has been listening to offers for him…
I don’t want him gone, but he may be pissed enough that he’s going to leave next year as a FA regardless of the offer we make him.
If I’m a Denver fan (and I’m not), I’m thinking this is about as good an outcome as could possibly have been expected, given Cutler’s whiny-bitchness. In fact, I would probably be happy to see him gone, as I don’t have the patience for prima donna bullshit like he (apparently) pulled. Not returning your coach and owners phone calls for 10 days? Please. Get over yourself, Cutler.
I know you love him, but I’d be awfully concerned about his performance last year. I really can’t recall a guy with good hands turning into a guy with butterfingers so quickly.
Why was Cutler obligated to return the calls when McDaniels was being a cunt? When the issue first cropped up, McDaniels should have said “No, we will not be trading Cutler for Castle” not “Yeah, what are you offering?” And then when McDaniels found out Cutler was upset, he should have said “I’m sorry” and made the necessary overtures, not “Nobody on this team is safe, not even you.” I don’t think Cutler was entirely blameless, but McDaniels did absolutely nothing right in this debacle. He went in, swinging his dick around, trying to put every player in their place, and ended up losing one of the finest quarterbacks in the league.
I, for one, am impressed with his leadership ability.
The coach’s job is to put the best team on the field, which can include listening to trade offers. Jay Cutler is not exempt from that; players much better and more proven than Cutler have been traded over the years. I understand why he was upset about it but if he wants to be a team leader, the smart thing to do is to get over it because it’s a condition of his chosen profession, and go out and do his job. What’s going to happen if things don’t pan out in Chicago over the next year or two? Are the Bears required to get Cutler’s permission before they consider finding a different quarterback, or can they do their jobs and ask him to do his without pitching a fit? Trades get discussed and made. McDaniels didn’t handle Cutler well, but he wasn’t wrong to field an offer.
What franchise quarterback who is better than Cutler and wasn’t coming off a serious injury has been traded before his 30th birthday?
I would’ve much preferred that Cutler were still a Bronco, but que sera sera. Yes he was our resident Whiny Bitch, but the dude could chuck a football.
IMO both sides handled this situation like 3rd graders. Cutler was so wrapped up in himself that the mere possibility that anyone would even consider trading him sent him into a temper tantrum. My only defense is that he’s still very young. He’ll grow out of his Whiny Bitchdom, mark my words. McDaniels tried to overcompensate for his age and lack of experience and show everyone that he is the boss and will not be pushed around by players. What he doesn’t see is that the dickhead “my way or the highway” approach does not earn you respect. Any experienced coach would’ve sat Jay down and said yes, we tried to trade you, it’s a business and I apologize if it hurt you. But I do respect what you can do and now I really want to move forward with you at the helm. He would’ve known enough, especially with one as sensitive as Cutler turned out to be, to show a bit of love and stroke the ego a bit, while still maintaining that air of leadership. Instead he not only lied to him, but was a complete dick about it and and lost us our franchise QB.
For his sake, the Broncos better have the best draft in franchise history.
He’s always been like that, he lead the league in drops in his 16 TD year. He regressed because he spent most of camp/preseason injured (another thanks to Mr. Stallworth), his quarterback had a nasty concussion and sucked, his coaching staff was terrible, the team was falling apart, and for the last 6 games of the year he had Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski throwing to him.
Not that he played great despite this, but he’s a lot closer to his 2007 numbers than his 2008 numbers in terms of talent.
They won’t go out and have the best draft ever, but it’s almost a given that they’ll be targeting Sanchez with their first rounders.