Well, it's a pretty sophisticated argument, Leash, surprised you're not getting it. It goes something like this: "Cutler is better than Zach Mettenberger, therefore Cutler is good."

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2013 CSFMB ROY

How does it help your argument? Are you saying Cutler is durable? I don't really understand. Use your words.

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Yes, I'd take many of those QBs too, but what's your point? We're not going to employ any of them, so we're stuck with Cutler. As for money, and I'm not entirely sure about this, but I think the worst has already passed when it comes to cap damage. So whatever burden Cutler represented has decreased or something (again, I think) so he's not as much of an issue on the cap as he used to be. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

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Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
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2013 CSFMB ROY

I'm good. My feelings on Cutler are very, very clear around here.

You just refuse to get it.

edit: did I even mention "durable" tonight??

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So the argument supporting Cutler is that other teams started bums making less than him in the final game? Yikes...

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

Jay did a lot better with backup wideouts and TE's than the immortal Aaron Rodgers has.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

PART of the argument in support of keeping Cutler is to look at the quality of the people that are starting for other teams around the league.

It makes sense, ignore the noise.

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No numbnuts

Unless you think more turnovers and less TD's and less wins is somehow better.

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2013 CSFMB ROY

Nope
I'd take Rodgers over Cutler any day.
Does anybody say differently?? That'd be crazy.

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Maybe we'd only win 5 games with one of those bums .

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

We COULD play that game if you really want to.

How many games SHOULD the Bears have won with Cutler this year???
Six??

Or a few more?

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Feel your own nuts for numbness. Bears have finished higher than GB in offense this year.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

JP, those kind of detailed stats don't mean anything. Look at you: you're trying to point out that the Bears ranked higher than GB in some offense categories even though the Bears are going home and the Packers are in the playoffs. It's foolish. Who cares? Same thing with your Ron Turner thread earlier today - it doesn't matter if his offenses finished with more YPG than Gase or whatever. There's much more to YPG than just the idea of a QB completing passes. Perhaps he's throwing more because he has to make up for INTs he threw earlier to put the team in a hole, and so on.

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Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
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2013 CSFMB ROY

you specifically mentioned QB's that started today. That is the noise. The final game of the year obviously features an assortment of back-ups and rookies. Throwing salary into the mix actually hurts this argument. It does matter going into 2016. (As an aside, I actually do agree that the Bears should and will keep Cutler next season unless they intend to undergo a complete rebuild).

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

WTF? The last line is great!!

So why bother with the rest?

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Zippy is not a Bears fan, I'm sure Farvefan and Redskingreg want Cutler to be on the Bears too.

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I think they have little choice in 2016. That's not a defense of Cutler. His Cap hit makes cutting him difficult without a complete rebuild. That is why dismissing his salary is foolish. Ultimately he does not help them win a SB IMO.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

Yes it is.
If the list of "better options" is short or non-existant, it is ABSOLUTELY a defense of keeping the guy you have long term.
It's not just 2016.

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That was my argument for keeping Dick Jauron...not so much for Cutler.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

No such thing in the NFL, IMO. You're always a good coach and one season of roster adjustments away from competing for a spot.

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2013 CSFMB ROY

Nice edit. I essentially said they are stuck with him because of salary...which you seem to think doesn't matter.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

It's not a "nice edit".
All of the factors, including salary, are real and they all matter.

The fact is, you can list all of the negatives about Cutler that you can dream up - if you ultimately say they "should bring him back", I agree!
I've agreed with that the last few years.

My stance stance is not crazy:

He's good enough.
They have MANY other needs that are more important.
He gets cheaper every single year.

It's not crazy.

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at least you are consistent. You believe they have the coach so next year will tell the tale.

I disagree that you can't commit to a rebuild however. QB is the most important position in sports. If you choose to dump a known veteran and go with a rookie then you are (in a sense) rebuilding. Most are not good in their 1st season.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

Well, it doesn't have to all reside on the QB's shoulders though. More than any other league, crazy stuff happens in the NFL. Kaep is the next best thing one year, in the Superbowl, and now he's a bum. Eli Manning is erratic as hell yet he's got two rings, and Flacco is nothing special yet he's got a ring as well. I think these cases demonstrate that if you've got a well-balanced team, and if you remain healthy, then you can win with just a guy at QB who can on occasion make key throws. You find a guy who has got a decent floor and then things can happen. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't try to draft the next Rodgers because you can win if you find some guy who plays like Manning, but this is to say things don't necessarily have to go backward in a "rebuilding" year, which is why again I have a problem with the concept in the NFL. Even if you're good but not great, then you're just an Aaron Rodgers MCL tear or a Tom Brady knee injury away from advancing further than you probably should, and then NFL randomness takes over.

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2013 CSFMB ROY

Having a stud QB minimizes randomness. It also generally means you're in the playoffs year after year...meaning injuries are less of of a detriment to winning a SB at some point. This also could apply to a standout defense but they tend to have shorter shelf lives.

_________________
“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

The problem with Jay Cutler is that he is the worst possible quarterback to have. That isn't hyperbole either. There is a reason that no quarterback with his level of production is still on the same team for this long. The closest is probably Tony Romo, but Romo is at a higher tier than Cutler. The results haven't been great for them either. Joe Flacco may be getting there but he won a ring at the right time.

Last year, they were just good enough to not be able to get Mariota or Winston who may fail or may end up being franchise quarterbacks. This year, they almost certainly will miss out on one of the top two quarterbacks. This puts them in the terrible position of playing the later round quarterback lottery or reaching in the second round for a guy that no one thinks will be good but will cost a high draft pick. Then, next year, Cutler will return, and the Bears probably are good enough with him to go 7-9 or 8-8 and the cycle repeats again.

He is now a .500 quarterback for his career, and only 3 games above .500 as a Bear. Now, I'm not putting that all on him but it also goes to show that having him has not really resulted in anything worth celebrating whether it is his fault or not.

It's not a whole lot different than the current Forte situation. Forte is a productive player. He just doesn't really fit with the future of the Bears and the Bears probably need to try something new. The way out is easier for Forte though, which is to either let him walk or sign him to a discounted contract if Forte is willing after he sees his options. The Bears are locked into the Cutler contract for another year unless Gase is willing to make the decision to finally do a true rebuild.

There just comes a time when you realize that a player is not ever going to work out here. All they are doing is delaying the start of the next era of Bears football so they can keep on being a team with a ceiling of .500. Hopefully a team is willing to trade for Cutler this year and take a one year flyer on him.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I guess that's a problem to some

Cutler keeping the Bears in the middle of the pack (i.e. NFL hell or what have you) is I think a good counterargument to the idea of keeping him because he's decent. But unlike the NBA I don't think you need to tank a season just to position yourself to draft a top 5 prospect. You can find gold anywhere in the draft, even at QB. Check out the draft positions of some recent SB winning QBs:

Brady: 6th round (will concede this as an anomaly)
P. Manning: 1st pick
E. Manning: 1st pick
Flacco: 18th pick
Roethlisberger: 11th pick
Wilson: 3rd round
Brees: 2nd round
Rodgers: 24th pick

And in any case I'm not for the Bears keeping Cutler, I'm just for them employing a competent QB if they're unable to acquire an elite one in a trade or something. It just so happens that Cutler is that competent QB for now. As soon as they find one available in the draft or free agency, they should absolutely pull the trigger.

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Carr, Cousins, Bridgewater all 2nd rounders I believe.

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