Sooo, Chicago’s Jay Cutler signed a 2-year contract extension today, loaded with $30 million in new money and $20 million guaranteed.  This seems like an appropriate time to analyze how Cutler stacks up with his trade-bait counterpart in Denver, Kyle Orton.

Full disclosure, I fully admit bias – I’ll give you my Bears tickets if you can find one person who says I was on board with the trade back in April.  I knew Cutler could play, and I also knew I’d hated him since college.  I knew there was a reason that a lot of other pros just didn’t like him.  It wasn’t just limited to San Diego where Cutler was strongly disliked.

Jay Cutler: “I’m warning you, I’m pretty much a total pr*ck”

I could go on, but it’s pointless.  He’s the Bears’ QB and I’ve got to root for a guy I don’t like, it’s that simple.

Who I did like before the trade was Kyle Orton.  I liked rooting for him, even though his numbers weren’t top-shelf.  I thought that when Orton was given a set of options in a situation, chances were that he was going to make the right decision.

It’s how he turned the Bears’ doomed 2005 season into a playoff run his rookie year.  Lest ye Bears fans hath forgotten that year, starter Rex Grossman broke his ankle in the 2nd preseason game in St. Louis.  Grossman’s backup, Chad Hutchinson, played so terribly in the next two preseason games that he was cut prior to week one.  That left the Bears no choice but to turn to the 4th-round rookie from Purdue, Kyle Orton – who, after starting 2-3 (only a game worse than the Bears are today), he engineered an 8-game winning streak, before being thanklessly benched at halftime of a home game against Atlanta in December, a game he surely could have won if he’d made it past halftime.

Kyle Orton, wondering why he got the boot twice in Chicago with a 21-12 record.

But Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo saw an opportunity to showcase their QB with a big arm, who they’d saved a roster spot for all year instead of putting him on injured reserve.  Instead of rewarding Orton for saving their season and their asses, they shoved a clipboard in his hands and put in Rex, who played in more regular-season game and then got pounded in the playoffs by the Carolina Panthers.  It squandered the home-field advantage and the 11-5 record that the rookie built for him.

Angelo and Smith decided that it was time to ditch Kyle again after the 2008 season, trading Orton, 2 first-round picks and a third rounder to Denver for the big-guns Cutler.  It’s what Chicago fans wanted.  There were no vigils for Kyle Orton; Chicago couldn’t wait to embrace it’s new melo-drama QB.

It just so happens that the Bears signed Cutler to this extension after 5 games, which is ironic, when you look at the last time that Chicago had a legit offense, even though I still hesitate to even use that word now. The last time would be the first 5 games of 2006, before that fateful night in Arizona.  Before the Monday Night Miracle performed by the Chicago defense in Week 6, the Grossman-led offense was unstoppable.  Grossman was never the same after that night (0 TD, 4 INT), and hasn’t matched that stretch since.  Here’s some numbers to crunch:

KYLE ORTON 2009

6-0 record, 100.1 passer rating, 244 yards a game and 9 TD’s with 1 INT.

JAY CUTLER 2009

3-2 record, 86.9 passer rating, 240 yards a game and 10 TD’s with 7 INT’s.

REX GROSSMAN 2006 (through first 5 games)

5-0 record, 102.6 passer rating, 248 yards a game and 10 TD’s with 3 INT’s.

Can you imagine if Grossman was signed to an extension after Week 5?  Me neither.  Thank the Good Lord.

My point is that as it stands right now, the Bears got grifted in the trade for Cutler.  While Denver uses Chicago’s surprisingly high 1st round draft pick next season and the Bears are left with huge holes on the offensive line and linebacking unit, Josh McDaniels will laugh as he solidifies his squad for years to come with multiple 1st-round selections.

To their credit, the Bears got to eat up much of the guaranteed value of the deal with the cap space they have available this season, so it is a mutually beneficial deal for both parties.  But the real motivation behind the signing was that Angelo wasn’t going to give up what he traded for Cutler and let him reach free agency, where he’d either have to overpay him or let him go after two years, which isn’t an option.

The fact that Cutler even complied scares me.  I’ve seen enough Bears play their asses off until they get their first big contract, then hit the brakes in just about every way imaginable.  I do believe in Cutler’s competitiveness, but can he find that fire after pocketing a $12 Million signing bonus?  Was he too easily swayed into getting his value now instead of waiting until after the season, when the true sociopathic narcissist would assume that they had been brilliant and worth more?

Denver got a cerebral team guy who doesn’t have Cutler’s cannon or mobility (or ego), but they’re undefeated and Chicago is two games back in their division.  I think the Bears can even with the Vikings before season’s end, but the Broncos don’t look to be slowing down after taking out New England two weeks ago and winning a tough division road game in the 4th quarter in San Diego.

Meanwhile, Chicago newspaper reporters are one more multiple-interception performance away from baiting Jay Cutler into a public meltdown so they can rip his play and his personality at the same time.  They lost a heartbreaker in Atlanta for the second year in a row and the natives are restless.  The running game is being crucified, and Cutler is next because the defense will ultimately get a pass for Urlacher going down Week 1.

If the Bears don’t win in Cincinnati this Sunday, Chicago will turn on Jay Cutler.  This is the town that forced Rex Grossman to the bench a mere two games after he started in the Super Bowl.  Don’t think Cutler and his facial expressions will last long, especially if Orton keeps outplaying him in Denver.

Lovie Smith, Jerry Angelo, and offensive coordinator Ron Turner all pretty much have their jobs wrapped up in Cutler’s success, and while I don’t want to see Lovie Smith be let go, he should be if Chicago misses the playoffs.  They all should be.  And then let some other regime come in and try changing Jay’s diapers.

contact email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com

Tags: chicago bears, denver broncos, jay cutler, Jerry Angelo, Josh McDaniels, kyle orton, Lovie Smith, nfl expert, nick thomas