Jay Cutler is a Chicago Bear

I am as shocked as anyone to have typed that headline and not have it be an April Fool’s joke.  Maybe the joke will be on the Bears and the words of all the naysayers and Jay Cutler haters will prove true, but at least the Bears did something and actually made a bold move in an effort to stabilize the quarterback position that his been in dire need of repair for the better part of two decades.

Here’s a download on the trade details from the AP off YouTube:

Perhaps it was Christmas coming late or maybe Easter coming early, with our very own JC – Jay Cutler and not Jesus Christ – the new messiah in Chicago, arriving a week early.   This messiah may not have to walk on water, but given the offensive talent around him, it may be the equivalent of turning 5 loaves and 2 fishes into enough to satisfy 60,000+ followers each week on the shores of Lake Michigan.  But enough with the religious metaphor for now.

"“We had a big day as everybody knows,” Angelo said during a conference call with the media. “We’re very happy with the outcome. It just all came together, and really it came together unexpectedly.”"

Unexpected is just the tip of the iceberg.  Fans in Chicago have been getting itchy all offseason, hoping, praying in fact, for GM Jerry Angelo and the Bears to do something, anything, that would make us believe that they were serious about taking the Bears back to the Super Bowl.   Well those prayers were answered in a big way on Thursday with the trade for disgruntled Denver quarterback Jay Cutler.    Maybe it’s purely coincidence that it was the last day for season ticket holders to renew for the 2009 season.  Some people have already feared that this may be a PR move, but it was one that was needed.

When Jerry Angelo failed to give Kyle Orton his vote of confidence in his post-season press conference and expressed the organization’s “fixation” on “stabilizing” the quarterback position, the speculation on Chicago’s 22nd starting quarterback since 1990 began.  With free agents like Jeff Garcia and Byron Leftwich still on the market, fans wondered how serious those claims were.  If Thursday is any indication, the Bears were serious.

"“I came to the conclusion after talking to Lovie and Ted as well as ownership that I felt like we needed to pursue this,” Angelo said, “and if we decide to get in it, we want to get in it to win it."

Sure, they gave up a lot to get Cutler, trading two 1st round picks, a third rounder and starter Kyle Orton to get Cutler.  But when the last legit quarterback was Jim McMahon and most of your franchise quarterback records date back to World War II era’s Sid Luckman, a bold move was needed.

"“My understanding is that there were quite a few teams that were in this; to what degree I can’t answer that. I do know that we really didn’t know for sure where we stood in this whole process until maybe an hour before it got done.”"

I’ll break down the deeper implications of the Cutler trade and what it means to the Bears in the days to come.  Now I’m off to blow up my mock draft and start over.