Culter's Future... McCown, Rookie QB

[Chi town]

With each passing game that Cutler is out and McCown wins it looks more and more likely that Cutler isn't worth a big pay day and that Trestman is an offensive genius.

IMO we can win in the the playoffs with McCown. Marshall and Jeffrey are the best receiver duo in the league and you add in Forte's versatility and Bennet's production and our offense is really good. Obviously our Oline needs all the credit for this big turn around.

The problem now is our defense can't get off the field and doesn't give our offense enough plays to put up big numbers. Therein lies our need to move the funds and picks around to rebuild our defense quickly like we did our Oline.

Cutler isn't worth the big contract someone will pay him. I do think he has gotten better under Trestman but he still can become BAD JAY and lose you a game he shouldn't. The real reason I would not resign him is due to all the hits he has taken and how IMO he will be hurt even more in the future. Touch Jay is actually DUMB JAY as he hurts the team when he plays hurt and tries to be a super hero. It makes it even easier to let Jay walk when you have McCown that can start and play at a high enough level to win the division and advance in the playoffs.

This draft a rich with quarterbacks and I am sure Trestman could do work with. Draft the QB you believe in whether thats in the first round or later on. Let him sit and learn under McCown his rookie year and then see what happens in year two. Take Jay's money and invest it in the D.

Obviously the Bears have a lot of work to do on Defense and not a lot of money. Peppers needs to be cut and that money reinvested into another DE. Melton needs to be resigned on a value contract and the Bears need to draft and sign more players on the D-Line.

[bearadonisdna]

We've seen this train go totally offtrack.
We possibly may see losing urlacher and peppers in consecutive offseasons. At that rate there no bones about having to lock both starting corners or we're really starting from scratch.
Melton is probably still a starter.

Regarding Jay, he really got the short end of the stick vs the lions and was treated like a ragdoll by the officials. Jay still gives us the best chance to win but not sure at what price. Definitely cant give him Flacco money, but McCown himself should be entrenched as the backup with Jay making 10 or more million per .

[heir_jordan22]

Cutler is worth at least one more year. If we can't re-sign him to $10-12M/year then we stick the franchise tag on him. Build the defense through the draft and get a long-time Qb backup late in the draft and let him learn from Cutler and McCown for a year.

In 2015 we will either already have Cutler already signed, sign him after a year on the tag, or let him walk after a tag year and draft a QB in round one if we do get rid of him.

[clancyphile]

I'm for franchising Cutler, and working on the D-Line in the draft. The good news: McClellin's developing, and Bass and Ozouwgu are showing some good flashes, and there's Wootton. The injuries at DT are worrisome.

Peppers, I am not sure what to do with. Part of me is inclined to wait and see what sort of D-Line is available in the first round. If a DE, slide Peppers to DT. If a DT, keep Peppers at end. But looking for D-Line help will have to be priority #1.

[micromonkey]

Jay only if cheap--so no.
McCown or a journeyman can do good enough and Jay doesn't add enough extra to justify what he'll likely get. For the extra skill you also get a ton more mistakes--he is what he is - he's always going to throw too many picks IMO.

Plus we basically have to throw the defense to the scrapheap--so we will need money there; can't overpay Jay or even pay him market. The value/money proposition does n't work IMO--because for the added skill you also get more INTS and bad passes in general

[MAQ]

How cheap on Jay, though?

I'd like to keep him if the money stays in the 14-16 range. 13-15 would be more ideal, but I can't see him really taking a 5-7 million dollar pay cut. Truth be told, I can't really see him taking a 4 million dollar paycut either. And I do believe some team would offer him near 20 million.

Trestman's offense looks good in terms of moving the ball. Short yardage situations are a total different grade though. And it's not a good grade. You have to have talent to make the offense work. I don't think we should just shrug at what McCown is doing. The guy looks great out there...Moving in the pocket well. He doesn't turn it over too often. And he's more than respectably accurate. Arm strength isn't the best, but I do believe he gets the ball there quickly, and has looked better at that as he's gotten more snaps. This isn't a chump QB running around back there. I realize McCown has never been impressive in his career, but he is playing really well right now. I wouldn't expect just anyone to go back there and reproduce this type of play.

[micromonkey]

^^MAQ You got a good point--McCown is doing better than just filling in. I think Trestman has been able to take Journeyman and slightly better guys and give them real good seasons. McCown has played enough games to say it isn't a fluke. He has looked better under Trestman than Jay has (relatively speaking)

So maybe get a good 2-year deal for McCown--people won't be tearing down his door--but lock him up for a few
years and try and redo what we can to minimize damage of Peppers deal to cap. Then use FA money for defense primarily.

Draft Qb/RB on offense--rest on defense (not anything new for us). By mid year 2 of McCown deal--new QB could be ready. Or based on Trestman's record--we go after decent low-mistake journeymans?

On further review I don't think Cutler takes the kind of money I'm thinking of. I would not pay him more than 10-12 range--he still throws too many INTs to invest big money in.

[League Circles]

I don't know much at all about the intricacies of the NFL salary cap or what is good value for Cutler, but I'm pretty sure that any big, long term deal for him would be a mistake. He's really just not that good. I mean, is he above average? Sure, I guess. But there is no reason to marry yourself to a guy who is too old to improve, gets injured a lot, makes some bad decisions, and holds the ball too long.

I actually really like Cutler as a competitor and leader, and I appreciate that his arm is better than we've seen on this team in a long, long time, but he's no elite quarterback, and we're not close enough to being a great team to think that we have to secure him in order to contend.

If he can be kept for a year I'm not against that. Otherwise, draft a damn QB and bring back McKown and/or another QB to compete with the rookie for the job. This team has a horrible defense that needs to be addressed with some $.

[blumeany]

I'd have to go find the article again, but I believe there is a CBS sports article claiming that the Bears are sort of screwed when it comes to McCown. Apparently, they signed him to the bare minimum contract @ 800K, which means their ONLY option this year is to offer him a 1 year deal worth the same. Even if they wanted to pay him more, they can't. SO, unless McCown gets no other offers or he decides that he just loves Marc and Jay so much that he doesn't want to leave, McCown is a goner.

Again, I haven't seen anyone dispute this yet, so it's possible that they may be mistaken. But, if true, this is really bad for the Bears. It means that they are pretty much married to Cutler AND they won't have a viable backup.

[RedBulls23]

It will be funny if some team offers Mccown a big enough contract to play in a system that isn't as good as Trestman's.

History shows that he is a backup for a reason.

[patryk7754]

The Blake Bortles situation seems to be like the Mike Glennon situation. A lot of hype around him towards the end of the season and draft season. Some people were saying he might go in the 1st or 2nd round. The difference is that Brotles is now projected to go top 5 by a lot of experts. There has been a lot of praise around him even one saying he has a Favre arm. I've only seen him play once but I didn't see anything that kept me from agreeing with the experts. There's a chance he drops to our pick and depending on how Cutler preforms I would take him

[chitownsports4ever]

I'd have to go find the article again, but I believe there is a CBS sports article claiming that the Bears are sort of screwed when it comes to McCown. Apparently, they signed him to the bare minimum contract @ 800K, which means their ONLY option this year is to offer him a 1 year deal worth the same. Even if they wanted to pay him more, they can't. SO, unless McCown gets no other offers or he decides that he just loves Marc and Jay so much that he doesn't want to leave, McCown is a goner.

Again, I haven't seen anyone dispute this yet, so it's possible that they may be mistaken. But, if true, this is really bad for the Bears. It means that they are pretty much married to Cutler AND they won't have a viable backup.

I thought it was that they cant EXTEND him anything but another one year deal before free agency but after free agency starts can offer him whatever they want the catch being they would be bidding against other teams and his price could be driven up

[micromonkey]

Now I'm down to 4M for Cutler.

I don't think he's worth the money--sign him and trade to Titans or whomever really wants him for extra picks
Roll with McCown or another journeyman on a 2 year deal-draft Rookie.
C'ya Jay


If we can't do a deal with McCown because of whatever reasons then get another journeyman that Trestman hand picks. Trestman's records with guys like Ganon and now McCown--I mean with our wide outs and the system I think we can get by with an average skill level QB.

We need to draft a guy with upside and take the time to develop him. QBs have FBIQ and arm--Cutler is all arm, McCown has a tiny bit of IQ and no arm--get a kid who has all the tools and right mindset and FBIQ. Bring him along slowly--don't crown him right away--make him earn it.

The thought of being tied long term Cutler just makes me throw up in my mouth at this point.

[Licensed to Il]

I have always defended Cutler and hoped the team would build around him. His arm talent and toughness are elite. The thing that has changed that for me is that Trestman's system calls for a quick processor who distributes the ball quickly and without discrimination. Cutler, despite all his talent, holds it and forces it downfield. When its factored in that Cutler will require the tag or attract Flacco/Stafford money from the Titans, Vikes, or Browns My gut is that the Bears move on.

The only thing IMO that keeps him here, is if Trestman is adamant that Cutler can be his guy. Emery and Trestman have played some great poker so far and who knows what they really believe.

Having said all that, If Cutler plays anything less than a perfect game this week and the Bears lose at home, I just can't see the front office bringing him back.

[blumeany]

I think Cutler's biggest problem is his predictability. I honestly think defenses salivate when they play him because they know exactly what they are getting: A guy that is going to sit in the pocket all damn day and wait too long for a particular receiver to come open. When teams had to actually game plan against McCown, they had more trouble. He processes information quickly, gets the ball out, escapes the pocket before it collapses to extend plays. Cutler's tendency is to sit and wait in that pocket and, more often than not, he's staring down a receiver in the process. Take a look at McCown's highlights. He's looking around, he's pump fakings, he's looking one way and then throwing another. He's giving the defense things to think about. Jay? He just stands there for the most part and makes a perfect target.

Teams also love to play Jay because he melts down. Once you get a good hit on him, his mechanics go out the window and he starts flinging it even more. He also becomes even one dimensional because he leans on Marshall to pull him back into it.

[RedBulls23]

blumeany talking about Mccown like he's Tom Brady

Mccown did a good job subbing in and played the greatest ball he has EVER played in the NFL. The way he played wasn't even close to what kind of player he has been over his career. It likely was just a hot streak. There is no potential in playing Mccown really. He's an old, life time, back up QB that is thinking about retiring next year.

When he started the season out healthy, Cutler was very good this year. Injuries derailed him. Now if the arguement is that we shouldn't pay Cutler a big contract because he can't stay healthy, I can't disagree with anyone on that. Infact, I have my reservations on that as well. But the way guys are creating this Mccown myth, just to trash Jay is quite ridiculous. If he finishes the season out strong, the Bears should definitely look into bringing Cutler back next year on their terms. To say that Cutler isn't good enough is just wrong. Franchise him and draft a QB. Or sign him to a short 3 year contract.

[blumeany]

Stats this year: Cutler, McCown
Games started: 10, 5
Games played in: 10, 8
Record: 5-5, 3-2
Comp. %: 63.1 (12th in NFL), 66.5 (6th in NFL)
TD: 17, 13
Int: 11, 1
Yards/attempt: 8.2, 7.2
Yards/game: 239, 228
QB Rating: 88, 109
ESPN QB Rating: 63, 85
Sacks: 18, 11
Longest pass play: 58, 80

Looks fairly mediocre to me, especially considering you have someone else on the roster who is schooling him in all the right stats and showing you what a better QB in this system could do.

McCown is the answer. No, not as in he should be the quarterback for you team. He's the answer to the question: Is Cutler really worth paying and treating as a franchise quarterback?

[blumeany]

I am just a newly reformed former Jay supporter. McCown helped me realize that we can expect better out of our QB, and thus far Cutler has not consistently shown us he can be any better than he has been.

[RedBulls23]

Stats this year: Cutler, McCown
Games started: 10, 5
Games played in: 10, 8
Record: 5-5, 3-2
Comp. %: 63.1 (12th in NFL), 66.5 (6th in NFL)
TD: 17, 13
Int: 11, 1
Yards/attempt: 8.2, 7.2
Yards/game: 239, 228
QB Rating: 88, 109
ESPN QB Rating: 63, 85
Sacks: 18, 11
Longest pass play: 58, 80

Looks fairly mediocre to me, especially considering you have someone else on the roster who is schooling him in all the right stats and showing you what a better QB in this system could do.

McCown is the answer. No, not as in he should be the quarterback for you team. He's the answer to the question: Is Cutler really worth paying and treating as a franchise quarterback?

Cutler's playing with injuries take effect into his number's this year. When he was healthy he had a 97 QB rating, and was on pace to throw for 4300 yards with 32 TD's.

Again, the health thing is the stickler and should be the real only reason why the Bears don't want Cutler at a big long term contract. Which is perfectly reasonable.

[CBS7]

Don't forget McCown's best 3 games came against bottom 5 pass defenses.
I'm not Jay's biggest fan, I just don't think McCown is the answer either.