So the Bears have done a miserable job of judging talent, and now they are a good judge of talent by trading away picks for Cutler? LOL!!! Stick with soccer or whatever other girly man sport you follow... Anyone who thinks NFL draft picks are nothing is a fool. Just ask Dallas how the Herschel Walker for picks trade worked out for them... http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_did_...sota_Vikings_when_they_traded_Herschel_Walker
Yes, this is a question that has been brought up before, even prior to this trade. Lovie's demeanor on the sidelines during games and in press conferences has earned him the nickname 'The Human Valium' by a lot of Bears fans. People question if he even cares due to his seemingly laissez-faire attitude. All I can offer is that his overall record is good, but the last two seasons have been mediocre, so there is some added pressure this season. From purely a fans perspective, he appears to be more defensive minded. Not sure about what Cutler would prefer. Part of the trade rumors were that he was pissed off about the re-structuring of the coaching staff in Denver. While a lot of people give Ron Turner sh*t at times, he does a solid job of developing his offense based on its strengths (seems fairly obvious, but i've seen too many coaches who are set in their ways and not willing to adjust).
I think there is about a 50% success rate league-wide with first round picks. I suppose it gets lower in later rounds, although it might not drop off as much as you would think. The big attraction to building through the draft is that it is cap friendly, except for maybe the top five or so. QBs are a real crap shoot. I don't have the percentages, but they can't be even 50%, even for top five picks. It's a lot easier to evaluate a defensive tackle than a QB. Was it obvious that Matt Ryan would be vastly better than Matt Leinart or Demarcus Russell? That Matt Cassel, who rode the bench at USC, would be a franchise QB? Should you name your kid "Matt" if you want him to be an NFL signal caller? Is Cutler that much better than Matt Cassel? To me that is the big question. If the Bears were going to trade for a better QB, why weren't they willing to go after Cassel? KC basically stole him, getting him and Vrabel for a second. Of course, he comes with a franchise QB contract, $14 mill for one year, but if you trade for a guy, you should be willing to give him a long term deal.
You made little progress showing it was a "terrible example." 1) yes both QBs unproven - therefore stupid of the Giants to make such an uneven swap. They did it because he was the brother of Peyton. So in reality, it was an excellent example. In fact (WK): The trade sent the right to sign Ole Miss quarterback Eli Manning to the New York Giants, and the right to sign North Carolina State University quarterback Philip Rivers, in addition to several additional draft picks (used to pick future Pro Bowlers Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding), to the San Diego Chargers. So in other words, the Chargers got two future Pro Bowlers on the draft picks from the Giants, which was essentially a trade of 2 unproven QBs. Stupid on the Giants part. 2) Chargers win superbowl vs. Chargers did not - yes, if you leave out the other 44 players, the coaching staff, the choices, etc. etc. Very useless comparison on your part. Does the QB move the defense????? 3) Cutler being durable - that and a quarter will not get a decent cup of coffee. Obviously, it is the future being talked about. A QB has a target on his back and is always. How many times was Donovan McNabb hurt - a huge, strong, person with an excellent past??? Now if you were talking about a KICKER, who is rarely hurt - maybe.
1) Yes, both QB's unproven for a lot of draft picks vs. a proven pro bowl QB for a lot of draft picks = bad example. They gave up picks 18 and 84 for Cutler which is actually less than Denver gave up to draft him originally, plus the 2010 first round pick. In other words, the Bears chose to trade 18 and 84 for a proven player rather than drafting a guy with those same picks. That next years 1st rounder, that's the one that you can argue until you're blue in the face. Do you want the chance or do you want the proven commodity? Evaluating our team prior to the trade would suggest another 1st mid-round pick next season. So you decide. Franchise QB or mid-first round pick. 2) The Giants have won the superbowl since that trade, the Chargers have not. That is the bottom line. Championships. However it needs to get done. In the Bears case, we didn't have the QB to do it in '06-'07. 3) Injuries...they are a concern for every player. When making a trade, when drafting, when evaluating, etc...Yes, it's in the future, the best we can do is look at their past. I still don't get your point. That is the chance you take with ANY NFL acquisition involving players. How many games has Merriman missed due to the use of steroids vs. Cutler to injury? Let me know.
You're confirming why this was a fair trade, AAA. Assign the chances of receiving a bona fide NFL ready QB in the 1st round as .5 So the Bears gave up two first round ".5's" in return for a guaranteed "1.0" The 3rd vs 5th round swap effectively cancel each other out and Orton was expendable. Not to mention this draft class is very weak for QB's-hence Sanchez and Stafford coming out early to beat the 2010 glut. Would you rather have Cutler or poss Lion Stafford, Aaron Rogers or the Vikings mess? Plus Cutler didn't rack up his numbers in the bleepin NFC North but against tougher AFC competition. EOD you're playing against your division and this is a big, big upgrade in a particularly weak passing division.
Yes, but those are league-wide averages. The teams that are blowing first round picks are not likely going to Super Bowls. Brady was a sixth rounder. Cassel was a low pick. So was Romo. Those two first round picks could have turned into the best receiver in this year's draft and the best offensive tackle in next year's, both huge needs for the Bears. Maybe you get lucky and Orlando Pace returns to form and you find a receiver somewhere. It happens.
Good trade for the bears, they have limited time to get it done with that defense. Started to get tired last year. Forget the draft, take a shot. Probably would have been better to spend all these picks on a great running back, that is what Chicago needs, but oh well. They will compete with New York and Dallas for best in conference.
Goodpoint for the "O", if Lovie can improve the "D" we make it to playoffs,and no further unless we get some recievers