Hello Hubbers and Good Luck to the Cutler-Bears Lovestory

Hello!

Hello everyone! This will be my first hub of many to come. I heard about this just through surfing the web. I've had blogs before including Xanga, Blogspot, and a couple others. This seems different though. You instead have a username, and can make many different posts that are essentially their own blog. I know it's all just structural differences, but it makes each post/blog/hub seem much more important. And I feel like what I have to say is important so it all works out here.

Let's give a toast to some future hubs I'm going to create that won't put you to sleep (in the morbid sense at least) :-)

Chicago's Awakening from Hibernation

So...DA BEARS!! There was 2 whole days of coverage on the Jay Cutler deal that brought Cutler to Chicago for high draft picks and Kyle Orton. After 2 days, coverage ceased to single mentions on Sportscenter and PTI. Why??? Why doesn't the largest loyal sports city get the cred it deserves?

Because it doesn't...

Chicago has been in sports-hibernation since the Jordan years (the White Sox world series was a little stirring from the slumber...you know what I'm talking about if you are a Chicagoan). Neither the Bulls, Bears, White Sox, nor Blackhawks failed to entice any championship dreams by acquiring big-name stars until the past 2 years. The Bulls hit big on Rose, the Bears on Cutler and Forte, and the Blackhawks on the two young-guns Kane & Toews. The Cubs have always had superstar talent from Sosa to Soriano, but their failures have to be divinely-oriented. The loss to the Marlins cannot be overlooked enough.

Cutler for Future Dudes and a Cherry on Top

The Cutler deal was an insanely out-of-character move by Angelo. Angelo never went for any big FA's or superstars through trades for the past decade instead focusing on drafts and young potential. For him to make a move like this hopefully symbolized Angelo throwing in the towel to his stingy spending. Also, considering the Broncos as my second favorite team (and AFC team), I dropped my jaw the first time I saw "Cutler to Chicago" headlined across Yahoo! Sports. The best thing that could happen to me as a fan of both teams, happened.

Not only does this help our offense tremendously, it gives our football team if not our whole city a new persona in sports. The hibernation has officially ended and we have finally got a superstar worth the amount we paid for that was drafted by someone else. We got more Superbowl potential with Cutler than what we gave up with the first round picks and Orton. Denver got as much as they could for Cutler including a seasoned quarterback in Orton which satisfies them as well (at least McDaniels). VERY good trade for both teams. Easily the biggest transaction the NFL offseason has to offer, no matter what ESPN says.

There are detractors to this trade though. People say we gave up too much or that Cutler isn't Probowl material or that he has an attitude that will implode the lockerroom. I have a couple of counterpoints though...

1. Many people say, "Cutler had Marshall and Royal as well as Stokely in the slot" and suggest that our lack of proven receivers will expose him as an average quarterback. I have one question for you all: On what basis do you say this? Quarterbacks are never made from receivers. Never in the history of football has an average quarterback become a great QB by one or two great receivers. TO never enhanced Garcia or McNabb who were already Pro-Bowl-caliber. He didn't increase Romo's potential and neither will he for Edwards. You didn't see Randy Moss, possibly the greatest WR ever, increase the production of the many Raiders quarterbacks after Gannon. Good receivers need good quarterbacks NOT the other way around. Brady didn't win 3 Superbowl's with superstar receivers. He broke records like a broken record with Moss, but he was a superstar himself. And besides, I don't recall them winning a Superbowl together...

2. I can also make the point that last season, Cutler threw 4,500 yards with 25 TD's and 62% completion despite having one of the worst rushing offenses in the league (7 RB's on the DL) as well as a horrendous defense which led to only 28 minutes of possession per game. History shows that running attack has a huge influence on success of the quarterback stat-wise as well as the the team winning percentage. For Cutler to throw those numbers on a team that bad, constitutes at least Superbowl-talk excitement and a chance to prove his Pro-Bowl status in Chicago. He deserves it considering the strong running attack and defense he will be complimenting. Sure our wide receivers aren't the greatest in the league and I was happy that Angelo was even considering acquiring Boldin during the draft, but we have a great receiving back as well as the best tight end tandem in the NFL to work with along with potential outbreak status of Hester and young receivers who have potential (that is what every great wide receiver starts out as right?). And hey, there are a couple good receivers still out there no matter how stupid they are off the field. And to prevent this hub going up in flames I'll add that I don't support the signing of Burress or meat-heads like that.

3. Cutler is NOT a deutsche. Ever since getting drafted by the Bronc's, he has been the humble aspiring leader any coach would love on his team. I can't believe people bring that up with him playing in the same division as Phillip Rivers and all. What happened in Denver? What about his own QB coach Bates bolting and Shanahan getting fired; the pompous God-complex of McDaniels didn't help either. Cutler had 3 years of a good attitude in Denver; then McDaniels comes in with no head coaching experience and the conflict is blamed on Cutler by the media. And why? Maybe because McDaniels comes from a pedigree of Pats coaching that preaches team-love. Sportswriters dig that sort of stuff and thus McDaniels can do no wrong. In fact, he's all of a sudden a whiz-kid or mastermind that is plotting his way to the Superbowl. COMPLETE BS! He has proven nothing yet and drove his franchise quarterback out before the start of his first season. Hehe this is coming from a Broncos fan.

4. We gave up two first-round draft picks, a second rounder, and Kyle Orton for Cutler and a fourth rounder. Cutler is obviously a better passer with more potential than Orton (not a knock on an improving Orton) and the fourth rounder is just a speck of sand to the whole desert at stake here. So the question we should be asking is: Was giving up three high draft picks enough to justify the improvement Cutler will bring at quarterback? In order to answer this, one must look at our past, present, and potential future. Our past history will tell us that offensive first rounders have destroyed our potential and offensive growth. The weakness in our scouting if there is any will be on evaluating the higher draft picks. This seems like the only explanation for consecutive offensive first-round duds in Benson and Grossman. Defensively, we've been great, but I don't think anyone in the city of Chicago wanted to expend our top picks on defense when you look at the glaring holes in the offense. (OK I agree that all this is circumstantial hodgepodge, but what else can you do with future draft picks.) The offensive leadership that Cutler brings to the table with his abilities could be winning us NFC North titles for years. I don't see how bringing in a proven Probowl quarterback with tremendous upside to a position lacking for decades in Chicago is worse than keeping three draft picks and a "managing" quarterback.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Cutler WILL be our savior and lead us to Superbowls, I'm saying that dreaming for it is not a crime. Chicago has awakened and hopefully will gain status as the center of the sporting world. Here's to Cutler's success in Chi-town!

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Hey if you guys have any questions, comments, or advice on the content of this hub, quality of my writing, or the usage of hubs, take a stab below and I'll try to get back to you ASAP.

Peace all!

~Vikaas