You mean like last year year when they swept the division, with a non-existant offense (that has been beefed up like no other in the off season)? The Steelers arent going to be a problem. Big Ben still has to play 12 games, and I'm confident he can lose 8 or so of them. The ebst strategy will be to take out Heath Miller, so he has no one to throw the ball to.
The Bengals had a very good running game and defense last year, and there's no reason that shouldn't carry over. The biggest question mark is whether the O-line can protect Palmer, and if Palmer injuries have had any lasting affect. I'm a Browns fan though, so I don't have that blinding optimism that confuses Bengals fans. One thing I always cracked me up about Bengals fans is that they love moves like this, until it goes south. Then they all claim that they were against it from the beginning, and knew it would blow up in there faces. Pacman's going to get a DUI in Kentucky (coming back from Deja Vu), and at some point T.O. will get into a fight with Chad or Carson. Oh, and I know that Browns are going to be bad again, so there's no reason to rub it in my face Frebis & Kubla. I get enough shit from my friends back home.
This is about as true a statement as you can make. Hopefully the offseason moves to beef up the O-line and having TO and Chad down field will be a good combination. Who's taking bets on whether or not they dance the moonlight fandango together in the endzone before the season is out?
And now Tebow is going to sign a 5 year 33million dollar deal with Denver. Whoa. I certainly hope he shines in the NFL like he did in Florida or they just fucked themselves. Can this shit start already? I'm tired of waiting.
Word is that it all hinges on Josh McDaniels ability to bring the spread offense to Denver. The concern leading up to Tebow being drafted was how readily he could adapt to a pro style offense. Instead of bringing Tebow to the game, McDaniels would bring the game to Tebow. It's been tried before without much success, so who knows how well it'll work. Given that McDaniels pretty much used the spread most of the time with that juggernaut Patriots offense in '07, he's at least familiar with it.
That's well and good, but Denver also has Orton. I don't say this because Orton is good. He isn't. He is decidedly average, and likely a serviceable backup on most other teams. However, if McDaniels goes to the spread offense, that plays into Orton's strengths. He has a strong, fairly accurate arm at short lengths and routes, but isn't very good with the long ball. On top of that, a more spread-out offense out of a shotgun is a lot like what Orton ran at Purdue when he was running up good numbers and spent half a season as a Heisman candidate (before he fumbled that away on an ill-advised scramble). Denver drafted Tebow to be their starter next year, and I think they'll spend this year working on integrating a more spread offense, with Orton at the helm. I think Denver is going to have a problem come training camp next year, however, if Orton has any kind of a decent season and has success in a spread offense. He doesn't even really need to be great to make a problem for Denver next year. He needs to be good. While this off season will be fairly boring for Denver, at the QB position anyway, next year might turn into a circus if Orton is any kind of good. Of course, he has to be any good. As a Bears fan and Purdue Alumni, I can tell you it is a bit of a long shot. As for the Bears, I truly don't know what to expect this season. They drafted a potential all star TE in Olsen, and then brought in Mike Martz to run an offense that will rarely use him. Instead, most Martz offenses rely on wide receivers being smart, running crisp routes, and a QB having a lot of faith in them. I don't doubt Cutler. I think he can do it, and I do think he is one of the best QBs in the league. However, I don't think anyone will accuse Devin Hester, the number 1 wide receiver, of being "smart" or a "Good route runner." He is fast. Knox is fast. Neither are polished route runners... that just isn't their strength. On top of that, you need a decent offensive line to keep Cutler upright long enough to make the throws. Last year, the Bears O-line was, on most days, a glorified turnstyle. They sucked. Basically, they brought in an offensive coordinator to run a system that plays to the opposite of their strengths. They SHOULD have beefed up the O-line, and focused (again) on establishing the running game. Forte, despite a shit year last year, is still a decent RB, plus they added Chester Taylor as a very, very solid 3rd down/goal line back (anyone who saw Forte at the goal line last year knows you probably shouldn't hand him the ball within the 5). They establish the run early, and it will set up play action deep throws to Knox and Hester, from a QB with the arm and accuracy to pull it off. That forces the defense to start worrying about playing deep, further opening up the running game. I see their attempts at the Mike Martz offense crashing and burning spectacularly. I see a lot of INTs for Cutler, when he isn't getting sacked into last week. Unfortunately, I think it is going to be a long year to be a Bears fan, but fuck do I hope I am wrong.
Chicago's main problem is that the division is going to be too tough. Minnesota's championship window is closing, but they'll still be a damn good football next year, and when you compare the bears to the packers or vikings they're inferior on both sides of the ball. The offense is a complete mess. Cutler is still going to be the third best QB in the division, the receiving corp is awful, the o-line sucks, and I'm far from sold on Forte. He's good in space, but he's not an every down back. Even in his rookie season that had so many analysts impressed he only managed 3.9 per carry. Cutler has a lot of talent, but let's be real. He's never proved he's one of the best QBs in the league. I told people that Orton would have better stats last year (in no small way because he was on a better offense) and everyone thought I was nuts. Chicago sacrificed too much to get Cutler, especially considering the options they would have had in this draft if they didn't trade away all those picks, and didn't already have their 'franchise QB.'
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Hey, he put up good numbers (and was a pro-bowler) in Denver. Last year, he put up decent (not great) numbers with one of the shittiest receiving groups in football, a turnstyle for an offensive line, and absolutely no running game. Is he on the same level as Manning or Brees? No (and in retrospect, "best" should have been 'better') but I'd put him one level below, along with guys like Romo and Rivers. P.S. I am aware that he is pretty much a douche as a person, but this isn't about the kind of person he is, it is about the kind of QB he is.
Cutler has nowhere near the leadership of Romo or Rivers. Those guys aren't just the QB of their respective teams; they're also their leaders. Jay Cutler is no leader. Until he can evolve his game in that regard, he'll continue to be mediocre/above average. His really good year in Denver was in spite of his shortcomings; even Denver fans saw this. On the field, he's far too eager and confident in his abilities, which leads to many mistakes, and pictures like this. The Pro Bowl argument is misleading. Derek Anderson was a Pro Bowler.
I really don't buy the whole 'leadership' thing. Everyone was giving Eli Manning shit for not being a 'leader' when they won a superbowl with the Giants. On top of that, with the Mike Martz system, he HAS to be confident with his ability to make the throws. The system is predicated on timing, and him having confidence in his ability to make the throw and confidence that his receivers will be there. Mike Martz's system is the one place where Cutler's overconfidence might actually be an asset. Look, I won't debate that he made some awful decisions last year. I am a Bears fan, I live with that stuff all the time, and I see it all the time. There were times I wanted to punch him in his sulky little face. However, I can understand it a bit. Look at it from his perspective: He can't depend on his running game to do shit for him. Forte had a god awful year, and their running game was in the basement of the league. On top of that, his offensive line sucked. His number one wide receiver could basically run two routes, (go and deep post), and he was relying on a cast of unknowns (Knox, Bennett) and journeymen (Aroumashadu) to be his wide receivers. It wasn't like he had a Brandon Marshall or an Eddie Royal, where he could just throw it up above or behind or around defenders and rely on his receivers to go get it. His receivers weren't CAPABLE of going to get it, so he had to make tougher throws, which led to more turnovers. I can recall a few times where analysts talked about how a WR cut his route short or fucked up, which led to the interception. If he had decent wide outs last year, not only would his stats have improved, they'd have won a few more games. That is what really pisses me off about the Bears this year: they're going into the year with the same bunch of Wide Receivers, and they really haven't upgraded much from of anything (offensively) from last year. They changed their offensive system to one that doesn't really fit (see my previous post) their personnel. Lookit: I'm not saying Cutler is Peyton Manning, and is going to almost single-handedly win them games. I'm saying if I were to put QBs into tiers, the first tier would be Peyton, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees. The second Tier would be Aaron Rodgers (who is getting close to the first tier, IMHO), Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Matt Shaub, and Cutler (not necessarily in that order). He is one of the better QBs... I'd put him in the top 3rd in the league. That doesn't mean he is the best, but he can certainly get the job done and lead a team to a Superbowl, if he has a decent supporting cast.
Dear Whiny Bears fans, You have a QB with a cannon of an arm, being overconfident is being used as a negative term (after most QBs would need a shrink after a season like last), and his potential has no limit. On behalf of the Buffalo Bills organization, I'd like to offer you this trade: Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick and they'll resign J.P. Losman to include in the trade, for Jay Cutler. The grass is always greener, Dave
Hey, I was defending Cutler. My Whining isn't aimed at him, it is aimed at the Bears as an organization and their inability to surround him with anything resembling good talent. It is Cutler throwing to a bunch of WR that would be 3rd or 4th on the depth chart on almost any other team, if they even made the roster (Aroumashadu has been passed around more than a joint at a Greatful Dead concert).
I caught that, sorry if it came out aimed at you. Breaking Rob and Wheelz collective balls more than anything. I guess I shouldn't have addressed my letter to the Bears fans on here... I hadn't had my coffee yet.
I think they might be Broncos fans, which can easily explain the Cutler hate (If I were a Broncos fan, I'd hate him, too). Of course, if they are, it means they now have to root for Orton and Tebow... that is punishment enough.
Rob is, HW is a Chargers fan. It's why he laughed so uproariously at you praising that over-hyped third-tier mopey-faced crybaby bitch, Cutler. As both a Vikings and Chargers fan (Grew up in MN, lived in SD for 5 years), I was happy with the Cutler trade last year for BOTH of my teams.
I'm on all the Bills feeds, and in the last two days, I'll I'm getting are updates that the offensive linemen are getting hurt. Today it's announced Wang needs surgery (Bills' Wang needs surgery? I either gotta laugh or cry at that). What's in the water up there these guys can't stay healthy? Hate to tell you Cowboy fans, that 'high ankle sprain' that ol Dez Bryant got... high ankle sprain is 9 times outta 10 code for torn muscle.
Josh McDaniels entire offense is basically the NFL evolution of the spread option mixed with elements of the Earhart-Perkins and West Coast offenses. Tim Tebow should have very little trouble adapting here, and in fact one of the things that sold Josh on Tebow was that during one of his scouting trips, Tebow had picked up on the Broncos nomenclature and was actually able to take to Josh in those terms. This article has some pretty cool info on the offense itself. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.footballtimes.org/Article.asp?ID=217" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.footballtimes.org/Article.asp?ID=217</a> Believe it man. Trust me. Jay Cutler was NOT well liked inside the Denver Broncos locker room even before his little bitch fit, and after that he basically had just Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler on his side. Hell Mike Leach, our former long snapper, got more public support than Cutler ever did. Think about that. A FUCKING LONG SNAPPER! My extreme hatred of Jay Cutler aside, you can pretty much count on him being a poor man's Brett Favre. He'll make plenty of jaw dropping plays but it's a toss up on whether or not you come out on the winning end of that jaw dropping.
Oddly enough, hardly anyone gave him shit for not having any talent that same year. That you'd put him in the same tier as Philip Rivers is an insult to Rivers. Then again, it's probably best not to reopen the Eli debate, after all the nonsense that went down on the last board.