I guess it takes me a little longer to lose faith..

[SlickWilly]

are u fucking blind?

No, he's just stupid.

 

[Chicago Staleys]

Exactly. Bears are 14th in total offense. That isn't good, especially with our personnel, but calling that disaster is a little harsh. I feel people underestimate the injuries to our O-line and WR's. Marshall and Jeffery not 100% virtually all season, our #3WR out for the year, our #2 TE out for the year. Missing our LT for a big stretch, etc.

A little above middle of the pack isn't a disaster, its a disappointment. Some fans don't know the difference.

#14 is because we have a later bye week. Don't believe, or use as an argument, any numbers till the last team has the bye.

 

[Toast88]

Thanks for this. We always hear 'go get X' or 'go get Y'. As I always say - NAME HIM. Name the EXACT player you want. Sure, it was one thing to say 'go find a pro bowl caliber safety' in free agency. Ok, great. Name him. Who is that guy? If that guy even exists and his current team isn't going to re-sign him, also realize that there are probably 20 other teams who want him. Every fan of every team automatically assumes that their team will get every wanted FA.

Now to Jay - what other real options did they have? Stick with Dale Sveum - oops, Josh McCown - while they groom up their next Aaron Rodgers? Oh, wait, that guy isn't on the roster. McCown was a flash in the pan fluke and the dirty little secret is that he was successful playing against bum defenses. Even in the Dallas game, Dallas defenders dropped at least 4 easy picks. McCown looked anything but brilliant against STL. There was nothing to suggest that McCown would have any sustained success. He's an old journeyman QB with a nothing career who was out of football. A few nice games is not enough to warrant a signing. It would be a patchwork solution.

And of course, there's no young QB to draft. Even so, what young player options? Would have had to trade up to get Bortles - who isn't lighting it up - and the Bears will need those picks. Manziel, Bridgewater were the next picks. Neither are first round talents. Carr may be interesting. Garropolo went next in the second. No idea if he'll ever do anything in the NFL. The reality is that the draft was terrible for QBs this year and I'm not certain any will have distinguished NFL careers. No one to be excited about as it was with Andrew Luck.

So, the Bears effectively did what they had to do. The only thing they really could do. There are basically 15 guys in the world who can do that job very well. There are at least 10 teams in the NFL who would have happily signed Jay Cutler. Right or wrong, the Bears really had no other viable choice. Thank drafting and the inability to develop and coach up a young QB during the Angelo/Lovie era - well, under every Bears era ever, really. As for the money, Jay got the going rate.

Jay Cutler is the reality of quarterbacks in the NFL today. NE may have something in Garropolo, but Denver will be in that boat in a year or two. Let's say Peyton has one season left after this one, is Brock Ostweiler the next franchise QB in Denver? SD, NO and hopefully GB will probably be as well.

Derek Carr. Jimmy Garoppalo. There are a couple of guys.

Who knows if any such guys will be as good as Cutler, but you try these things early in the draft if you think your current QB isn't the answer long term. It's obvious that last year and this year Emery and Trestman believed Cutler was the answer. I wonder if that changes in time for the 2015 or 2016 NFL Draft.

Having a good QB is the single most important thing a team can do to impact success. You can acquire one one of two ways, generally speaking---via trade, or through the draft. I don't see the Bears making another blockbuster trade for a Pro Bowl quarterback, so it looks like the draft will be the answer long term for that position.

So you draft a QB. You might even use a high pick.

There are no guaranteed successes in the draft. You try anyway and take the risk. That's football. That's the draft.