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Jay Cutler, the latest in a string of Chicago Bear quarterbacks is here to stay, at least for a while. Cutler received a two-year extension that will make the Bears qb till 2013. The extension is worth $30 million dollars, $20 million of which is guaranteed. I am sure there many people not happy with this deal.
However, I am not one of those people. There has been a lot of talk lately about the Broncos being 6-0 with new qb/former Bear Kyle Orton. The supportons (courtesy of Waddle and Silvy) seem to be questioning the move of trading for Culter. Honestly, there really is not much of a debate here. For anyone that has been a Bears fan for a long time, here are the reasons.
The first reason is, with Cutler, the Bears have a chance to comeback in every game they play this year. It is hard to believe that any Bears fan would think that with Kyle Orton at the helm. The numbers may not back it up this year for Cutler, but even in his terrible games (which both happened to occur on Sunday nights) the Bears could have won those games. It is great as a fan to have that feeling your team could always mount a comeback. With the running games woes this year, with Orton the Bears probably have one, maybe two wins.
Speaking of wins, just because Kyle Orton is 6-0 out in Denver, does not mean he would be 5-0 here. Denver's defense is playing extremely well, much better than any expert thought they would play. None of the defenses that Cutler played with in Denver were any good. Cutler put up numbers out there and the defense cost Denver a lot of games. Orton is in a system that better suits his talents of the mid range game well. As Bears fans saw, Orton is not a let it losse, take chances kind of guy. It also helps that Orton has Brandon Marshall as a target to throw to every game. So, lets stop the comparisons of the two teams win loss records. Who would fans rather have long term?
This leads to the next point, Cutler was not brought in to win now as Brett Favre was for the Vikings. It would be nice if he did, but Cutler is here for five more years now. The Bears will build around him through free agency, the draft, and maybe even some trades. Whether Kyle Orton fans like it or not, the Bears never thought he was the long term solution.This is a guy that won 10 games and loss his job to Rex Grossman. If Orton was the answer, Cutler never ends up in Chicago and the Bears. That is the reason many people have called Cutler a franchise quarterback. Stability is something the Bears badly needed at the position and they will have that for a while. How much more could you deal with hearing rumors about qbs, such as Donovan Mcnabb?
Now, this is nothing against Kyle Orton, but the Bears will be better off in the long run with Cutler as their qb (picture Lovie Smith saying, "Jay is our quarterback."). Kyle could be the long term guy in Denver and thats great for them. However, the Bears are much better off. They have a chance to win every game. They will build around Cutler, bringing in receivers and other weapons that suit his talents. So the debates about Cutler vs. Orton need to stop. Hopefully this blog will help people figure out why this is the answer.
-Mike Moreau
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I agree wholeheartedly. If you look at the Steelers game and the Seahawks game especially, I don't think Orton makes a lot of those throws that Cutler makes. Especially late in games, we saw Orton miss crucial throws in the past few years. Cutler has been absolutely nails in crunch time. I also really like this extension. By dealing a 2nd rd pick for Gaines Adams, and spreading some of the extension over this season, we end up saving money. There was cap room this year, so might as well defer some of the guaranteed money. And we save a big bonus that would have had to go to the 2nd rd pick next year.
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