Bedard Goes All Wobbly Over Cutler

I just about did a spit take:

The Bears, who trotted out 21 starting quarterbacks in the 16 years Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers, now have the most talented and established quarterback in the division.

It was an advantage the Packers took great comfort in having. Now it was eliminated in the blink of an eye. Aaron Rodgers showed much promise in his first year as a starter for the Packers, but he still has much to prove.

Pardon me as I puke.

Please, someone, somewhere, tell me what Rodgers has to prove that Cutler doesn't? And don't give me the 'winning a game in the 4th quarter' thing. I'm sure Rodgers would be winning games in the 4th quarter if he was getting gifts from Ed Hochuli as well. And don't tell me how Cutler's losing record is due to his defense being horrible while he was with the Broncos - two words: Bob. Sanders.

I'm sorry, I know Bedard is pumping up the drama for the sake of the story, and yes, it's a big deal. But to categorically say that Cutler just slams the balance of power in the quarterback-play department in the Bears' favor is a stretch at best, if not downright ludicrous. Give me a freakin' break...

 

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Comments (64)

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bucky's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:25 am

Bedard is just trying to get a response. Cutler is another in a long line of strong-armed QBs that everyone loves even though they never produce. I don't even think he's an upgrade over Orton, who at least knew how to avoid losing games (something Rex Grossman never learned, for example).

My prediction is that the primary impact of this acquisition is the firing of Lovie Smith by year end.

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Franklin Hillside's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:26 am

Ummmm....I'm glad I'm not the only who thought this was crazy.

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Rainman's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:30 am

Aaron,
I hope your right about this trade backfiring in the bears(always written in lower class) face, with the loss of the first round pick. But I think your underestimating Culter. That guy is the real deal. He has 1 loss on his record when his defence holds teams to under 21 points. His record in the regular season would have been much better in the regular season and in the postseason with even a mediocre defense.
As for the draft choices? Imagine a world where we don't have Rodgers would you trade our last 2 first round picks and a QB that has the upside to be called a journeyman at best for a probowl QB for the next 10 years.

Sign me up for that trade.

The bears just got better by alot and the Packers got Preston.

Don't take this to be a Thompson rant, but we are nowhere good enough a team to just make small changes to compete for a championship. We need to get some playmakers and legbreakers.

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Rich Beckman's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:32 am

Did Orton start all 16 games last season?

Will Cutler be the second or third quarterback to start for the Bears during Rodgers tenure as starting quarterback for the Packers?

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scrumptrulesent's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:33 am

OK Aaron. I get it. You're not afraid of Cutler in Chicago unlike a lot of others.

If the tables were turned....Chicago had Rodgers and Green Bay were getting Cutler I'd feel the same. Green Bay would then have the best QB in the division at that point. I hope I'm wrong in the future, but I see Cutler as the most dangerous QB in the division now.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:33 am

"The bears just got better by alot and the Packers got Preston"

Dom Capers is a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much bigger acquisition than Jay freekin' Cutler.

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Rainman's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:45 am

"Dom Capers is a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much bigger acquisition than Jay freekin’ Cutler."

I love the addition of Dom Capers and Green as well. But they are not taking up any cap space. Wouldn't Capers and some players be nice?

We are changing defences on the fly with some of the same personel that couldn't cut it last year.
I love the 3-4 and think the personel carried for this will help our special teams as well, but you need to change some personel.

And just to note if Crabtree is sitting there at 9 and we draft him instead of some defensive line help and I hear "We took the best guy available regardless of need" I will be shopping for a new TV because that godawful ugly candy bowl my wife brought home the other day is going through it.

I r

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 09:47 am

Rainman - would you rather sign FAs now and lose guys like Jennings and Kampman?

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Alex Tallitsch's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:01 am

I don't agree that Cutler is any better than Aaron, I do think this was a bold move, that will charge an organization.

If it works, I will not be all that happy.

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Franklin Hillside's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:03 am

Rich Beckman, great stuff.
He will be the third as Grossman started a game last year. So funny.

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Rainman's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:10 am

Aaron,

Are you suggesting that that the if we had 20 Million in Cap rather than 30 million that we could not sign those players? I'm not ever talking about Peppers at $14mil (overpaid at that by the way).

I don't see how signing someone who has played in a 3-4 with the ability to tackle or plug a whole is out of the question because of Jennings and Kampman. Maybe if we built a team into a championship caliber team we would not have to be the highest bidders for free agents, Ours or someone else's.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:14 am

Rainman - free agency isn't over. My bet is they sign Kevin Carter, who has experience in the 3-4, and draft a guy or two. They will be more than fine WITHOUT overpaying anyone...

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Ron La Canne's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:41 am

Bears 9-7
Packers 6-10

Who has improved in the time since the season ended? Wake up everyone! I love the addition of Capers too, but he can't get on the field and play.

Jennings and his agent are going for the big pay day. It is not likely he will sign until he's a UFA. He wants to test the market. Unless his performance falls off next year, that is. Think Uncapped! GB gets to keep him one more year and then bye-bye. Maybe that's the way it will be with all developing players at GB if the uncapped senario lasts.

Kampman is getting up in years (30 at the end of the year) and will be at a salary level that will make him in the same category as other long term players whose salary has already progressed beyond their value.

Don't get me wrong, I want to keep both, but is likely that they won't be signed during this year's Cap Period. With Kampman more likely to sign than Jennings.

Pass Rushers and Run Stoppers will have the same impact for GB that Cutler will have for the Bears. It's probably too late for the FA market, but remember there is such a thing a a trade. Man am I a dreamer or what?

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Cheezer's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:49 am

Aaron,

Cutler is also 6th in DYAR for 2008 and 8th in 2007. That's pretty significant.

MCS

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PackerBelle's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:56 am

I think Cutler is an improvement over what the Bears had. But that isn't saying much. He is also more of a known factor than Rodgers for whatever that is worth.

But I don't think that means Cutler is automatically better than Rodgers. How much of Cutler's success was due to the talent on Denver's offense? More than a little I think and he won't have anything even close to that in Chicago.

And finally, Cutler tends to throw interceptions. He was second only to Favre last season. I have a feeling our secondary might be in for some fun when we play Chicago.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 10:57 am

Ron, no way Jennings gets to UFA.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 11:36 am

bucky - you don't think Cutler is an upgrade over Orton?! Do you even watch football? See Cheezer's post for evidence of what Cutler has produced.

Aaron - While the Rodgers had to deal with a bad Packers' D, Cutler had to deal with a historically bad Broncos' D. From Football Outsiders: "Based on Football Outsiders' advanced defense-adjusted yards above replacement stats (explained here), Cutler was one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL last season. He holds very little if any blame for Denver's 8-8 record and late-season collapse. Cutler was the only full-time starting quarterback who didn't have a single game below replacement level in 2008. Denver was losing games because its defense was horrible. Our DVOA ratings go back to 1994, and over the past 15 seasons, the only defense to play worse belonged to the 2008 Lions."

Yeah, Cutler is pretty freaking awesome.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 11:46 am

Keith - how do those stats help the Bears' stop anyone on defense? The problem in Chicago last year was NOT quarterback play. Yes, they have historically struggled at QB and they have let that history force them to mortgage their future.

Remember how the Bucs gave up all those picks for Gruden? It was two ones and two twos. They won the Super Bowl that first year, with Dungy's roster, and then never sniffed it again as they threw money at free agents because they couldn't get any quality players in the draft. This is a mini-version of that deal. They better win the Super Bowl this year (newsflash: they won't) or it's going to get late real early in Chicago...

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Ryeguy812's picture

April 03, 2009 at 11:48 am

Keith: Remember these words from your post "He holds very little if any blame for Denver’s 8-8 record and late-season collapse" for when all the Rodgers-haters come back with argument that A-Rodg is lousy because he's 6-10 as a starter.

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Ryeguy812's picture

April 03, 2009 at 11:50 am

Also, Aaron: I'm bit worried that you've been too rough on Bedard lately. Did he forget to send you a postcard when he was on vacation 2 weeks ago? ;)

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jerseypackfan's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:21 pm

Lets go get Cutler the night before his game in GB and buy him drinks. Heard he is a big fan of the drink.

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Glorious80s's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Should make the Sunday night opener a must see. This move should lift the level of competition. I like our team, I'm not worried.
Rodgers seems to have more maturity, greater self discipline, yet he's intensely determined to succeed. An interesting season ahead, surely.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Ryeguy - as it happens, I've been having a very healthy back and forth with him via email this morning. Trust me, he has taken note ;)

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Franklin Hillside's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:32 pm

You're thinking of the other QB in this deal. Orton is a huge fan of the Jack Daniels.

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scrumptrulesent's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Aaron: I believe a QB like Cutler can help take pressure off the defense. Chicago has had a pretty good defense the past few years but they've broken under that pressure from time to time.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Ryeguy: I don't hold win/loss record against QBs when they've only played one or two seasons in the NFL.

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jerseypackfan's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:40 pm

Well they could have just swapped both the booze hounds and a third round pick. But my god two numbers ones????? Just seems way too much.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Aaron: So those were the only picks the Bucs had? They didn't have any other draft picks? The best teams have a knack for acquiring talent with their later picks. Obviously the Bucs couldn't do this. Also, unlike Gruden, Cutler will actually be on the field making plays.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:44 pm

jerseypackfan: Cutler is the Bears' #1 pick this year. They essentially "traded up" to get him. So it was really only a 1st and 3rd in '10. Orton was gravy because he's superfluous for the Bears now.

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Cletis's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:48 pm

It's impossible to say today who is the best QB in the NFC North, but at least there is a discussion to be had for the first time in 15+ years. I thought Bedard carefully chose the phrase, "talented and established" just to bring in the fact that Cutler has started more games so is arguably more "established" as an NFL QB. Its going to be fun to see how this plays out. It will really add to the rivalry in a very meaningful way. One area in my opinion where Rodgers is pretty clearly superior is leadership / maturity. I just can't say enough about the way Rodgers handled an extremely difficult pressure-cooker situation last season and I think he has the team very solidly behind him. I don't think Cutler can say the same and it will be interesting to see if he can ever develop a leadership role on a team that is historically very defense-orientated. Certainly he's going to have his work cut out for him joining that offense after working with Shanny the first three years of his pro career.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:51 pm

Cletis - my GOD man, it's as though there's more to playing QB well in the NFL than a rocket arm...

In other words - well stated.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 12:55 pm

Keith - I'm sorry, but it's not that simple. I know that's what Lombardi is spouting over at NFP, but you have to take away whomever the Bears would have gotten this year, which now you will never know, though after the draft plays out you can probably get a good feel for who they might have taken. And Orton is not 'gravy' - he played well for them last year. What happens if he goes to McDaniels' system and leads them to the playoffs? Is that gravy? Hardly.

They gave up way, way too much...

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bucky's picture

April 03, 2009 at 01:36 pm

I think Cutler is a better passer than Orton, although it should be noted that Cutler had Brandon Marshall to throw to, while Orton had guys pulled out of the IM leagues at Northwestern and the U of C. However, I do not think that Cutler is a better quarterback than Orton.

Orton's job with the Bears was to not lose games, and he did that pretty well, in general. He took too many sacks, but only threw 2/3 as many picks as Cutler. His game management fit into what the Bears were trying to do, which was keep the game low scoring and close, and he was successful enough at it to get the Bears to 9 wins, more than the Broncos even with the Eddie Guns opening day gift.

I see the Bears dropping to 7-9, 6-10 this season, as Cutler learns what it's like to have juco quality receivers and no pocket. Cutler will throw for 23 TDs and 27 picks, and the coaching staff will be cleared out after the season, as Jerry Angelo now has a fall guy for the Bears' continued failures.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 01:46 pm

I stand by my initial statement. Did you watch the games Bucky? Orton could have had Jerry Rice and John Taylor... he overthrows open receivers and isn't terribly accurate. Please don't be so ignorant to say Orton threw less INTs when he threw significantly more passes. Even with all of the attempts, Cutler still completed 62% of his passes to Orton's 58%. Cutler is capable of making plays that Orton can only dream of. I had the NFL Sunday Ticket last year and I watched Cutler a ton because he was on my fantasy team. He's an incredible talent who had some games that were out of this world. Watch the game against the Jets in the Meadowlands where there was freezing rain and 30 MPH winds. Kyle Orton could never dream of playing that well, I don't care how much McDaniels coaches him up.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 01:48 pm

I also think you guys need to acknowledge how historically terrible the Broncos defense was last season. What everyone forgets is that Jay had the Broncos to a comfortable lead in that Charger game and the defense almost blew it. The game should never have been that close.

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 01:51 pm

Ok, one more and then I'll bow out. Did you ever think that the Bears asked Orton to "not lose games" because they believed that was all that he was capable of? As a coach you build your gameplan to put your players in the best position to win. If the Bears had a better QB, maybe they wouldn't have had such a vanilla offense.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:06 pm

Keith - go watch the Bears/Falcons game from last year again and tell me that's a quarterback being asked 'not to lose'. Give me a break. Orton won that game - and then the Bears defense gave it away. You sing Cutler's praises because it suits your argument while showing you haven't watched Orton at all outside of his games against the Packers.

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Ron La Canne's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:18 pm

And now the Bears may have a receiver - NYG's cut Plaxico.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:22 pm

As long as they put Woodson on him and not Harris... ;)

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:40 pm

Aaron, I did watch Orton a lot last year and he wasn't that good down the stretch. He had a great start to the season, but he was pretty brutal down the stretch. Now, some would say that it was the ankle injury, but others could say that his completion % was way higher than his career numbers so it was a regression to the mean. I'm not saying Orton is terrible, but he's just not on the same level as Cutler. It's not even close.

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jerseypackfan's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:41 pm

i couldnt believe that match up after 5 catches i was ready to break my TV

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Keith's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:42 pm

For what it's worth:

Cutler: DYAR: 5; DVOA: 7
Orton: DYAR: 21; DVOA: 25

And these are stats that neutralize for oppponent.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:43 pm

I'm not saying he's "on the same level" - at all. And if you don't think the ankle had anything to do with his play down the stretch, you've never played quarterback.

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MC's picture

April 03, 2009 at 02:47 pm

Ever the pessimistic Packer fan, I'm going to say the addition of Cutler automatically makes Chicago, along with Minnesota, the NFC North's Top 1-2 punch. The Pack is poised for 7-9-ish mediocrity while Lovie Smith, a pretty damn good coach, will have a bona-fide stud QB for the first time in his Chicago career. When I heard this news last night, I said "ouch." None of this bodes well for the Packers.

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gratif's picture

April 03, 2009 at 04:21 pm

Here's a hypothetical for you:

What would you have wanted to happen if the Bears had came to GB with the same offer for Rodgers?

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MC's picture

April 03, 2009 at 04:29 pm

Gratif: I would have told the Bears to keep their draft picks and their bearded Boilermaker. Time will be the ultimate judge of this deal, of course, but in terms of immediate impressions, Denver blew this thing. (They got plenty of help from Mississippi's most interventionist/weasel sports agent, of course.)

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Ron La Canne's picture

April 03, 2009 at 06:58 pm

And B J Raji might get to #9 now. NFL drug test for the Combine showed "POT" levels. That fact alone gives us an idea of his Wonderlick score. What kind of moron uses dope before a scheduled drug test?

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Boothie's picture

April 03, 2009 at 07:50 pm

I personally don't think that QBs can move around on football teams with no penalty for the different offenses. While I believe that Cutler will eventually be successful, (he's got great motivation), he hasn't played in the Bear's offensive system. He also doesn't have the best set of WRs to throw to...

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Boothie's picture

April 03, 2009 at 07:51 pm

What do y'all think? Will Raji fall to the Packers? and Should the Pack take him?

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MC's picture

April 03, 2009 at 07:59 pm

To hell with Raji. I'm still annoyed that we took A.J. Hawk instead of Haloti Ngata three years ago. I know, I know -- hindsight is 20/20. But I lovingly sung Ngata's praises on my defunct Packers blog three years ago. (Don't make me dig through the Wayback Machine to prove it!)

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MC's picture

April 03, 2009 at 08:06 pm

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buckslayernyc's picture

April 03, 2009 at 08:28 pm

Rodgers arm is nothing to sneeze at, having Cutler in the same division will be good for him, I am sure he will find it motivating.

McCarthy is a great offensive coordinator compared to the Bears'

I think I would rather see the bears pass the ball than run it on us.....

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Slickster's picture

April 04, 2009 at 07:45 am

The Bears still need recivers, so Cutler has nobody to throw to. I guess they can use their number one pick to get a solid receiver. Oh wait, they don't have that. They can still get one with their number one pick next year. Oh, maybe not. They traded that as well.

The only thing I like about this deal is that the Bears are looking for a couple of blue chip players with Cutler and Pace. Since Ted dominates the last three rounds of the draft, we should have all the depth we could ever need now. This should be a year where we say we need just a couple of blue chip players to put the last couple peices into the puzzle. Bad news is we are not there yet. Still need help all over the defense (safety, line, linebacker, etc.)

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reynoldspainting's picture

April 04, 2009 at 09:37 am

How about win in the 4th quarter? I like Rodgers but he is a year behind Cutler. He is more careful with the ball which I like but may be the best in the division. I can't say he definitely isn't.

Time will tell.

PS Orton played very well in the cold and wind at Soldier Field. Cutler may not be as good in those conditions.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 04, 2009 at 09:40 am

Cutler's problems won't be with the cold and wind...

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Franklin Hillside's picture

April 04, 2009 at 09:55 am

The best thing that could have happened for the Packers was that Raji failed that drug test.
No one ever said you needed to be a rocket scientist to be a nose tackle.

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PackerBacker's picture

April 04, 2009 at 01:59 pm

I agree Franklin, we should grab Raji if he falls to 9. I am still interested to see if Harrel can't make something out of his career. We really could use his size up front this year. I'm not optimistic, but we'll see.

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jerseypackfan's picture

April 04, 2009 at 02:51 pm

Raji is going to Cleveland. We are taking Michael Oher and then trading with Cleveland for Shaun Rogers and our second pick.

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nateinnashville's picture

April 05, 2009 at 09:23 am

that was a long list of things cutler is better at than rodgers. i think bedard forgot to mention that cutler is better at taking the snap under center, running onto the field and being dreamy.

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joshywoshybigfatposhy's picture

April 05, 2009 at 12:45 pm

yeah. a little overblown perhaps -- from bedard's daily on 4/5

"But the arrival of Cutler in Chicago definitely changes things. The Packers, who have lost seven of the past 10 meetings to Chicago when it had terrible quarterbacks, have to get pressure on Cutler. If they don't, he'll pick them apart continuously and the Packers won't sniff another win against the Bears for some time."

so i'm not one to take this lightly, but ... can we not beat any team with a good qb? "sniff another win for quite some time"?!?!?!? we beat this guy last year, right? his team, with better receivers? this is getting absurd, i agree. i also remember us beating peyton manning's team last year, and i think few would argue he's quite a bit better than cutler.

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Franklin Hillside's picture

April 06, 2009 at 12:25 pm

Way to go, Aaron. You really pushed him over the edge today.

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PackerAaron's picture

April 06, 2009 at 12:31 pm

Yeah - I couldn't help but think today's PDB was a somewhat direct rebuke. Like I said above, we hashed it out over email and have, of course, agreed to disagree. I've let it go. He can't. ;)

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grhombe's picture

April 06, 2009 at 12:42 pm

Okay, Greg Jennings cannot be an unrestrited free agent until 2011 the way things stand right now. Why one might ask? Because the way the collective bargining is structured 2010 will be an uncapped year, if this uncapped year happens a player will have to have 6 yrs with a team before he can be an URFA. Plus we can fanchise his a$$ untill the cows come home.

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grhombe's picture

April 06, 2009 at 12:43 pm

Also I think its funny when people think Chicago is worse weather wise than Denver. I mean come on people!!

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