Boilermaker Rick wrote:
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.
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.
I agree you don't need a top 5 pick to get a franchise changing quarterback. It just makes it more likely. I'd rather be picking the first or second best rated quarterback than the fourth best rated. The fourth best rated may end up being the best but with quarterbacks it really is about percentages and playing the percentages.
The biggest problem though is that when having Cutler the Bears don't even try to find the next one. I guess we'll see what they do this year though before I throw Gase in the group. If I had to make a prediction now though, it's that he is going to roll with a third or fourth round pick of a quarterback which means they get someone that probably sucks or at least needs to sit for a few years to improve the flaws they have.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
