Before The Kick

Chicago's Sammy Hager

My top 5 reasons why I love the Jay Cutler trade.

#5 Moral boost for Bears fans.
Regardless of whether Cutler pans out as the future of the Bear’s offense or not, right now he is good for Chicago Bear’s fans. He’s a big name, he’s young and he’s cocky. When I think of Jay Cutler I think of how Eminem described 50….take some B.I.G. and some Pac and mix it up in a pot sprinkle a little Big L inside and what the f*ck do you got?….maybe not 100% relatable to Cutler but the basic gist that he’s made up of a lot of different QB’s. He’s cocky like a McMahon, he’s a gun slinger like a Favre and on his good days can be smooth like a Brady. Bottom line is he is taking over at a critical point for Bear’s fans. We’ve been on the cusp of greatness the past 5 years with playoff appearances, #1 defensive ratings and even a trip to the Super Bowl but we were always missing the final piece. The Cutler situation reminds me a lot of Van Halen when they replaced David Lee Roth with Sammy Hager. At first old school Van Halen fans missed the energy and unique vocals Roth brought to tracks like “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher” that Hager couldn’t. However, Hager could play the guitar and write his own songs, which led to more serious tracks. This pushed Van Halen over the commercial edge and got them a whole new set of pop rock fans that took them into the mainstream. All of the Hager era albums went multi-platinum. Hopefully Cutler can be the Bear’s Sammy Hager and also one day have his own brand of tequila. When that day comes, I will be the first in line at Binny’s.

#4 This will make Matt Forte better.
We got Cutler. So What? Who’s he going to throw to? We have no WR’s. Who needs wideouts when we have MATT FORTE?! With Forte rushing for over a 1,000 yards (1231 yds) and having 8 rushing td’s, people forget one important stat of his breakout rookie year. HE LED THE BEARS IN RECEPTIONS! Not only did he lead the Bears in receptions, he was 3rd in receiving yards and 2nd in receiving touchdowns. Now carry that over to this year and add a QB that can actually throw deeper than 15 yards. Not only will Cutler increase Forte’s receiving numbers but he’ll open up the run game for him as well. Defenses have to respect Cutler and they have to respect the Bear’s passing game now. Mix in the additions of new offensive lineman Orlando Pace and Kevin Shaffler as well as a healthy and more developed Chris Williams and Matt Forte should be playing in Hawaii come next February.

#3 We got him for nothing.
Everyone keeps talking about how we gave up a lot for Jay Cutler. (in a high pitched voice) Really? (even higher pitched voice) Did we? I think the opposite. I think we got him for a more under market value than half the high-rise condos in the South Loop.

1) We gave Denver Kyle Orton. – I like Kyle Orton but I love Jay Cutler. We gave Denver a QB that was good at managing the game. In return we got a QB that can manage and make big time plays. No brainer on this one.

2) We gave Denver our 1st round pick & 3rd round pick this year and our 1st round for next year. – This is the part that gets everyone more heated than a 55 year-old menopausal woman. We had the 18th overall pick this year. Look at our 1st round draft history. Who are we really missing out on? The long snapper from TCU? (no offense to long snappers from TCU) The Bear’s late round picks are the ones that pan out into NFL stars. Look at the past 5 years as an example, 1st round vs rounds after that.

2008
1st Round – Chris Williams – Stay tuned to see how this story ends.
2nd Round – Matt Forte – FRANCHISE RB!!!!

2007
1st Round – Greg Olsen – There are exceptions to ever theory, and this is one. Stud.
5th Round – Kevin Payne – 5th most tackles and led the Bear’s D in interceptions last year.
5th Round – Corey Graham – 4th most tackles on Bear’s D last year.

2006
1st Round – No 1st Round Pick
2nd Round – Devin Hester – We all know what the impact he had on the Bears & NFL.
5th Round – Mark Anderson – Had 12 sacks Rookie year. Not so great last year but I think he was using steroids.

2005
1st Round – Cedric Benson – Enough said.
4th Round – Kyle Orton – He filled in great for the Bears and took us to the playoffs his Rookie year.

2004
1st Round – Tommie Harris – Always hurt. Still waiting for him to breakout.
3rd Round – Bernard Berrian – We should have never let him sign with the Vikings.
4th Round – Nathan Vasher – When him and Peanut are healthy we have great corners.

#2 This will make our TE’s better.
Let’s say Devin Hester becomes a solid wide receiver. It’s possible. He’s fast, duh. He can catch, sometimes. He fast? As my boy Shorty always says, “There’s no reason why Hester can’t be a Steve Smith.” I completely agree, especially with Ron Turner’s love of the screen pass.

(Sidebar.

Dear Ron Turner,

We do not have Tom Brady, nor do we have Wes Welker, nor do we have the Patriot’s offensive line or a guy named Randy Moss. Just because the screen pass works in Madden with Hester on the PS3 doesn’t mean that it will translate onto the field in real life. Just saying.)

BACK TO THE POINT. Hester will become a deep threat since he’s fast and since Cutler has a stronger gun than the spread in Contra.

(Sidebar. What if NFL coaches could enter in cheat codes before the game? For example, Lovie enters the Contra code and the Bears get 50 chances at a 3rd and 7 situation. Or the Pat’s could enter in a code that would make Tom Brady knees invincible. The Bengal’s could put in a code that would make their players never rape a girl, carry a concealed weapon, drive under the influence, burglarize a home, etc. The Bear’s could have used this against the Falcon’s last year or at least 007 373 5963 to fight Mike Tyson.)

Deep ball threat means there’s going to be holes in the middle and the flats which means Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark will get more touches. Considering Olsen and Clark were the #2 and #4 leaders in receptions, they should put up big time numbers this year. Not to mention, we use Olsen in the slot a lot. He’s basically a wideout.

#1 One less trade in Madden.
This will be the first time I won’t have to trade for a QB after week 1 when playing franchise mode with the Bears in Madden, since Madden ‘03 when we had Kordell Stewart. I traded him after the season was over.