Cuddles the Bear

Some solutions are just so obvious, make far too much sense, that collectively we look right past them.

I don't know if the fault lies with the mundane answer being too transparent? Or simply too boring?

Whatever the reason, from time to time, the route formed by the shortest distance between "A" and "B" sometimes surprises in its forehead slapping simplicity.

Case in point: Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears.

Everyone knew the Bears were interested. Everyone knew coach Lovie Smith has edged closer and closer to the end of his post-Super Bowl grace period. Everyone knew the Broncos were short on leverage except the wide interest in Cutler. Everyone knew Chicago quarterbacking with few exceptions has ranged from less than stellar to downright tragic these past couple decades. Everyone knew the price.

Hell, Cutler even grew up a Bears fan.

But everyone wrote off the Bears because of their penny pinching, because of their defense fetish, because of their distaste for flair.

Never underestimate the straight lines desperation draws.

Yesterday I mentioned Cutler represents a potential paradigm shift for some teams, Seattle was the specific example. And on the surface Cutler's mere presence on the Bears roster represents a new development, incredible resources poured into the game's most important position.

While the Cutler Rush might represent a Chicago paradigm shift from a personnel standpoint (debatable considering they've spent two first rounders on quarterbacks in the last decade), in terms of their offense, it's more of a lock than it appears at first blush.

Alternating between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton these past four seasons, the Bears have simply asked their offense to not fuck it up. They'll ask Cutler to do more, to put up points, not just play keep away while the defense takes a breather.

The offense might appear different on the aesthetic level, the underlying ideas in operation will be much the same from Denver to Chicago, from Grossman/Orton to Cutler. Namely, the onus will be on the quarterback, set apart from the rest of the team but still responsible to the defense, not to play keep away, rather to provide a cushion of sevens and threes.

It’s not that Cutler won’t add an element of beauty to Chicago’s game, rather, he’ll accomplish it by being effective at it. Consider that Cutler is simply in Chicago terms a more talented, more realized, less flawed Grossman. Whatever changes he affects on the field, Cutler won’t swing the balance back from defense to offense, precisely because football is still a team sport and he’ll be all by his lonesome (Forte and Olsen are certainly talents but they’re weapons at offensive positions that only further serve to reinforce the defensive mindset).

The larger impact is the one Cutler has on the NFC North. In a sense, Cutler announces a literal arms race in the division. For a division in which last year, a first year starting quarterback was unquestionably the best among the four teams, Cutler topples a precarious and flawed balance.

As a Packers fan, a typical reaction might be disquiet that a hated rival landed a rare talent with a bright future ahead of him. Honestly, I’m relieved the division is finally catching up to some of the terms of this century. Most of all I look forward to eight plus years of battles between Cutler and Aaron Rodgers, both perhaps bringing the best out of each other twice a year or more.

Imagine, too, should Detroit land a premiere signal caller in this or next year’s draft. It’s a plausible notion that could more easily than any other route transform the division from a rotating one horse race into a free-for-all, strength found top-to-bottom.

(Perhaps that’s asking too much of the Lions franchise, but I’ll still maintain that Jim Schwartz has thus far done nothing to undermine reasonable hopes.)

In this whirlwind, I'm trying to figure out just how exactly in the Cutler trade did Jerry Angelo say "screw you" to the city of Chicago, the Bears franchise, and its fans. Normally, it's Angelo's first priority. I must admit, that message is not as crystal clear as it usually is.

Angelo in this case addressed a huge need for the team, a need that existed as an open wound for fans in the Windy City. He jumped at a rare chance aggressively, finally putting the weight of his convictions behind its outcome, good or bad. Sometimes a fan can't ask for anything more from their team than to do something, anything, just do it decisively.

Of course, Cutler came at a considerable cost.

Chicago now only possesses two picks in the first 100 of this year's draft, selections 49 and 99 at that. Throw in next year's first rounder and Chicago lacks a chance to inexpensively shore up depth.

For a team heavily effected by injuries the last two seasons since their Super Bowl appearance, depth is a serious concern, along the defensive line, in the secondary, behind the aging offensive line... and especially in the wide receiving corps.

This only serves to further the burden on Cutler’s shoulders. That’s the gamble that the Bears are taking on Cutler, that his shoulders are big enough.

In the end, Cutler exchanges navy blue and orange for, uh, navy blue and orange. Fitting for a change not as revolutionary as it seems yet is still rife with far reaching implications.

On the flipside, what are the odds Josh McDaniels cuts Kyle Orton by the end of training camp?