Jay Cutler and Earl Bennett, together again. If you’re one of those (few, I assume) people that’s both a Vanderbilt fan/alum and a Chicago Bears fan, then you’re bouncing off of the walls right now.
Cutler’s finally been dealt (thank you [insert deity here]), and it’s a deal that works out quite well for all parties involved, at least on paper.
What the Chicago Bears get: A guy who’s proven himself in the league already and still has his best years ahead of him, someone who can hold down the position and hold it down well for the next decade. Wonder how he looks in a headband?
He’ll be sad to leave Brandon Marshall (no Jay, you can’t take Brandon with you, or Eddie Royal, either), but what he’ll have in Chicago is what he didn’t have in Denver last season - a running game and a defense. Thanks to Matt Forte, Cutler won’t have to throw 616 passes like he did last season, which his arm will be happy about. And, if Chicago’s defense plays like it’s capable of, that’ll be even more of a load off.
Hopefully the acquisition of Cutler is a sign that the Bears are looking to pretty it up a little more on offense. If so, the next step is to make an addition to the receiving corps. Too late to make that happen through free agency, but there’s depth in the draft.
What the Denver Broncos get: A first-round pick in 2009 and 2010, which will come in quite handy when there are so many holes to fill on defense. Third-round picks can come in handy too, because some quality talents can drop to the early part of the second day. For a team that’s rebuilding in a number of areas, it doesn’t hurt to have plenty of high picks at your disposal.
Oh, and there’s Kyle Orton, which equates more than just not having to worry about having to turn to Chris Simms, unless Orton happens to get hurt (knock on a forest full of lumber).
Orton isn’t a sexy choice (well, Lindsay Lohan may think so), but he could make Josh McDaniels wish he’d gotten this done sooner. He may not have gotten ‘his guy’ like he wanted to in the beginning (See how we could have avoided this whole mess? See?), but he does get a solid alternative. Downgrade from Cutler? Sure, but if he gets the job done, and they make the most of those picks, then it’s a move that works out well for the good of the franchise and its future.
Orton shapes up to be a nice fit in the present, and at 26, he‘s still young enough to be the future. Considering what he did last season with a pedestrian receiving corps (58.5% completion rate, 2,972 yards, 18 TD, 12 INT), he should be absolutely giddy, especially if Denver can run the ball more next season than they did last season.
What we get: Freedom from the soap opera that had stretched on much longer than it really should have.
And, in five to ten, a good laugh if Orton happens to work out better for Denver than Cutler does for Chicago.
And the winner is…: The needs were different for both teams (hey, Denver didn’t need a quarterback until they threw the one they had under the bus), and it’d be a bit silly to grade this trade until we see what the Bears to do build around Cutler, what the Broncos do with the draft picks they get, and how Orton pans out with his new team.
