Wakacha
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Because we just can't have enough Jay Cutler discussion:
http://www.vavel.com/en-us/nfl/249985-whatever-happens-this-season-the-chicago-bears-must-keep-jay-cutler.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Have at it
:jackson:
http://www.vavel.com/en-us/nfl/249985-whatever-happens-this-season-the-chicago-bears-must-keep-jay-cutler.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
There is no more isolating position in world sport than an NFL Quarterback. No other position in any other team-driven game is analysed so much, discussed so often and so openly favoured in budgets and tactics like an NFL quarterback.
Aside from Tim Tebow(if you can consider him an NFL quarterback ), there probably isn't a passer more scrutinised than Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears.
In a sports obsessed city that despite the Blackhawks Stanley Cup magic is still resolutely a football place, Jay Cutler is the most opinion-splitting athlete by a long way. He currently has competition from Derrick Rose, but when the PG goes back to scoring 25 points a game then the Windy City will re-adopt him. Cutler however, has no such guarantee of production, and that's the problem.
For a franchise as storied as the Bears, to have only one truly great QB in Sid Luckman in it's entire history is a travesty. The Bears passing misery is so much that Cutler, he of 4 average seasons as Bears signal caller, is closing on passing records for completion and attempts already.
Cutler arrived as the savior for a team starved of offensive excellence, the guy who will change the franchise's identity from a defence-led team and drag Chicago into a new era of airborne passes and modernity.
What has happened instead, is four seasons that have ranged from mediocre, to good, to downright awful. 148 sacks and a completion rate that has gradually decreased since joining the Bears(60.5% in '09, 60.4% in '10, 58.0% in '11 and 58.8% in 2012), Cutler's time in Chicago has not been the team-altering success that was hoped when the Vanderbilt graduate arrived at Halas Hall.
Not that it's all his fault, it must be said. Cutler has had 4 offensive co-ordinators in 5 years including this year's overhaul, an offensive line that has been atrocious without exception during his entire tenure as a Bear and without a certified #1 reciever until last season. Previously, Cutler had been throwing passes to converted punt returners and average WR's when not running for his life under pressure from defensive lineman all around the league.
His talent is unquestioned - his arm power is astonishing and despite his completion rate he is a very accurate passer, especially when fitting the ball into tight windows in double coverage. In terms of pure talent, Cutler has always had the potential to be considered elite in his position and one of the best QB's in the NFC(no, really) but a poor supporting cast has often prevented him from showing off his ability on a regular basis.
However, that *should* change this year. Given that it's Cutler's contract year and could well be his last opportunity to make the transition from "occasionally good" QB to just "good" or even "great", Phil Emery and his front office have gone all out to make sure Cutler has all the tools to be successful and if he doesn't - no excuses for why he failed.
He has a revamped offensive line for a start - now including a pro bowl left tackle(Jermon Bushrod), a 1st round draft pick(Kyle Long) and a guy who has started 48 straight games on a decent offensive line (Matt Slauson). Even if it doesn't match the production expected from it, Cutler should have noticeably improved pass protection and the sack count should be much reduced too.
He also has a real tight end who can catch a football in Martellus Bennet, and a fit prospect in the #2 wide reciever position in Alshon Jeffery plus Brandon Marshall and Mat Forte.
Most importantly however, he has a new coach who was specifically brought in to add variety to an offence that has been sorely lacking and to fix those all-important "mechanics" of Cutler's to transform him into the QB, franchise leader and reference point that all Bears fans want him to become.
Cutler's tendency to hold onto the ball too long has been a constant criticism of the former Bronco, who tends not to like giving up on a play because of his implicit trust in his own arm strength. Trestman's strict West Coast style should go a long way to fixing that, with news emerging that the former CFL coach has put a clock in the Walter Payton centre to limit the amount of time Cutler spends on the ball, and when to give up on a play.
Trestman will also look to move the ball around the field, making the offence less predictable and take a bit of pressure of Brandon Marshall, who often carried the passing attack on his shoulders last season. With Marshall's hip surgery meaning that the former Dolphins reciever is only now approaching a physical condition that allows him to train, having a few other guys to toss the ball to isn't a bad idea.
Cutler has it all to make the leap, and many are expecting to do that.
However, if Cutler doesn't make the leap that Emery and co are expecting Jay to make, that doesn't mean that it should be the end of the Bears-Cutler partnership. If Cutler has another average season, the Bears should re-sign him anyway.
Why? Because there simply isn't a better option.
That sounds awfully cynical and makes it sound like Cutler is the fall back option for a team that wants to move on, but it isn't. It's a statement of fact. The Bears in the long term would benefit much more from re-signing Cutler even if he didn't dazzle under centre in 2013(an average year wold actually mean that the Bears wold have to pay him less, so might be financially beneficial anyway, but that's not really the angle I'm taking) than if they looked to draft or trade again.
Unless the Bears go 1-15 then the chances of a high draft pick are low. Even if Chicago flatter to decieve and end the year disappointingly, at worse they should hover near the .500 mark. There is too much talent on the Chicago roster for an awful season, and therefore the chances of a top #5 pick in the 2014 draft is unlikely unless the Bears trade up, and the Bears should definitely not trade up.
Given the 2014 cap scenario in Chicago there is a number of players set to become free agents after this season, including the only young member of the starting defence in Henry Melton, one of the best CB's the NFL Charles TIllman and his sidekick Tim Jennings. The 2014 season will also be Julius Pepper's last contractual year in Chicago and the same goes for star wide reciever Brandon Marshall. Changes are set to be afoot in Chicago and even in the unlikely event that Emery brings back all the players I just mentioned, the need for long term replacements will become urgent by the following year anyway.
By handing over future first round picks to guarantee a top pick in the draft the Bears would tying their future to a QB while ignoring the needs of their aging defence. Only on Madden can you replace Tillman, Briggs and Peppers without any first round picks, and even then it's tricky. The Bears trying to do that in real life would be suicide.
Even if it pays off and the Bears manage to get themselves the 2014 RG3/Luck scenario, a QB won't get you all the way. The Ravens won the SB(twice) thanks to a great defence matched with good but not great QB while Aaron Rodgers, the best QB in the league has only been to one Superbowl so far and you can blame defence for why they didn't make it last season, and probably won't this year. You need balance.
By resigning Cutler for the going rate for decent QB's (around 15m a year) the Bears keep the lynchpin of their offence while allowing themselves room to negotiate their cap and protecting their future by having picks. The more consistent sides in the NFL like the Packers, the Steelers and the Patriots build through the draft and often avoid FA like the plague unless absolutely necessary, and it's worked pretty well for those guys. Yes, they have elite QB's that is very often the difference, but constant short-stop signings don't keep a franchise above water very long, sooner or later the "win now" mentality will bite you on the ass if you don't actually win now.
With Cutler and a few other key pieces approaching the end of their contracts(and for some, the end of their careers), the Bears are in a position that can legitimately regarded as now or never. However, if Cutler doesn't impress and the Bears go all out for another expensive trip to find a franchise quarterback elsewhere, the resulting collateral could mean that the 28 year wait for another Bears Superbowl Shuffe could continue for some time.
Have at it
:jackson:
