CUTLER GETS HIS WISH VIA TRADE TO THE BEARS

The ongoing soap opera in Denver surrounding the souring relationship between the Broncos and their QB Jay Cutler is apparently over.  On Thursday afternoon the Broncos sent Cutler to the Chicago Bears, receiving QB Kyle Orton and some draft picks in return.   The Bears offered the best deal, though there were at least six other NFL teams interested in the 4^th year QB out of Vanderbilt.

Chicago is hoping that the highly touted Cutler can finally give the team some stability and productivity at the quarterback position.  They’ve been plagued by inconsistency at the position in recent years and the acquisition of Cutler has to be considered an upgrade over the serviceable but limited Orton.  The Broncos, meanwhile, were just trying to make the best of a bad situation that was at least partially of their own doing.  Orton will very likely become the starter in Denver, at least for the time being.

Bears GM Jerry Angelo said that he was happy to get Cutler and didn’t have any concerns stemming from the circumstances of his departure from Denver:

"I don't have any concerns. Coach (Lovie) Smith] and I talked about that. We did, like a lot of people who were interested in Jay, a lot of work going back to not just when he was with Denver but going back to his days at Vanderbilt."

“We felt that [Cutler] is a very good person, a good leader. He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognized those, but we treated them as just speed bumps, part of the growing process. He's highly competitive, he's highly emotional. That just comes with the territory."

The Bears’ defensive leader Brian Urlacher was surprised by the news, and had some praise for Orton:

"I guess the Bears felt like we needed another quarterback, so they made a move. They gave up a lot. Cutler must be pretty good."

"I guess we got better as a team. You get a quarterback who is a Pro Bowl guy. But I will say this: I think Kyle Orton is a good quarterback. He's a great teammate. I hope he does really well in Denver."

Before heading to Chicago to join his new team Cutler expressed some degree of surprise that the situation didn’t reach a resolution:

"I was surprised they decided to trade me this soon. I didn't want to get traded. This wasn't me. They [the Broncos] had been going back and forth saying things, wanting me to be their quarterback and then they didn't. I really didn't want this. I love Denver. I really like my teammates. I didn't want it to get this far."

Cutler could have certainly displayed ‘thicker skin’ during the ongoing saga, but much of the blame also has to go to the bungling efforts of first year Broncos coach Josh McDaniels to trade for the New England Patriots Matt Cassel.  He tried to swing a deal for Cassel, denied it when it didn’t materialize and tried to ‘spin’ his own starting QB that it never happened at all.  McDaniels is apparently of the mistaken belief that being a head coach in the NFL is all about moving around ‘X’s and O’s’ when much of the foundation for success at the job involves building relationships and establishing mutual trust with your players. 

At Friday’s press conference introducing Cutler to the Chicago media he stated that he hopes to be judged by his performance on the field as a Bear and not by the situation that brought him to town in the first place:

"I think in time, everyone will get a clearer picture of what I'm about on and off the field. Whenever you make this decision, you either have to go at it full speed or not at all because there's going to be some stuff out there that's said that might not be true."

The Bears will open their regular season at Lambeau Field against the arch rival Green Bay Packers.  The acquisition of Cutler also makes the team’s final preseason game on August 30^th a lot more interesting as the Bears will play in Denver against the Broncos.  While it’s doubtful that Cutler will see much playing time with the regular season on deck, he’ll no doubt get an earful from the fans.