It has been a few days since the Denver Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears and Chicago fans are still telling the world that they are going to the Super Bowl. Bears fans need to slow down a little. The Bears still have a long way to go before fans can pencil Chicago into the Super Bowl.
Before Bears fans get more excited about this trade, let me throw a few things at them.
1. The Bears still play in a decent division. The Bears play in the NFC North, a division that includes the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers. The Vikings and Packers will be decent teams next season. The Vikings made the playoffs last season and would have defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card game if Vikings quarterback Tavaris Jackson hadn’t committed four turnovers. The Packers would have made the playoffs if their defense had showed up. The Packers defense finished 20th in yards (334.3) and 22nd in scoring (23.8) while the offense finished eighth in yards (351.1) and fifth in scoring (26.2). The Packers defense should be a little better.
2. Who will Cutler throw the ball to? I am a huge Devin Hester and Greg Olsen fan because I love the Miami Hurricanes and watched them all the time when they played there. But when they are your two best receivers, you have a problem. Hester is a cornerback turned wide receiver and Olsen is a tight end. The Bears need more weapons at receiver. Cutler will find out very fast there are no Brandon Marshalls or Eddie Royals in the Windy City.
3. The Bears defense needs to improve. Earlier in this column, I wrote that the Packers didn’t make the playoffs because of their bad defense. Guess what. The Bears defense was just as bad. Chicago’s defense finished 21st in yards (334.7) and 16th in scoring (21.9). Brian Urlacher and company need to improve if they expect to help the offense make it to the playoffs. Remember, Cutler’s defenses in Denver held him back from the playoffs. The Bears defense is better than the Broncos but it still needs to improve.
4. The Bears traded three draft picks to get Cutler. The Bears traded a first and a third-round pick in the upcoming draft and a first-round draft pick in next year’s draft to acquire Cutler. In football, most of the good teams were built through the draft. The Bears will have a harder time getting help on both sides of the ball with three fewer draft picks.
I understand why Bears fans are excited about the Cutler trade. The trade actually gives the Bears a quarterback that can win a game for them and not just manage it. However, the trade will not necessarily get the Bears to the playoffs this season.