Jay Cutler was introduced as the Bears quarterback today, and the lifelong Bears fan said he was humbled by the "dream come true" of being able to play for the NFL's charter organization.
"I couldn't be more excited," said Cutler, who grew up in Santa Claus, Ind. "I'm here to help this team win and bring a championship back to Chicago."
The Bears acquired Cutler and a fifth-round draft pick for Kyle Orton, two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick. The trade was facilitated by Cutler's unhappiness in Denver and his desire to be traded.
"Obviously there's been a lot said on my part and the Broncos' part over the last couple of months," Cutler said. "I think both sides would possibly do a few things differently, but everything happens for a reason and that's behind me."
Cutler said he was taken aback by the reaction in Chicago to his arrival after decades of the Bears not having a franchise quarterback.
"It's a little humbling to grow up a Bears fan and watch this organization for so long and then come full circle and have an opportunity to play here is a dream come true," he said. "It hasn't quite set in yet, but I'm really happy to be here."
Cutler was joined by general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith, and while Smith seemed to take a cautious approach, Angelo couldn't hide his enthusiasm.
"I'm really shocked [by the level of reaction]," Angelo said. "I knew we'd create some energy, but it's almost like a tsunami of energy.
"It's great for our fans and for our football team. I heard a Bears fan from St. Louis on Sirius radio talking about it and he could barely talk he was so ecstatic. It's very surreal in some ways and just great."
Cutler would not say how much he might improve the Bears.
"I'm not going to make any predictions," he said. "I'm going to do the best of my ability and be prepared and try to make us the best team possible.
"If you look over the roster, there's a lot of football talent and I think we're going to be really close."
Cutler laughed off an old incident from college in which there seemed to be a rift created between him and former Illinois coach Ron Turner, who's now the Bears offensive coordinator.
"I think it's kind of funny at this point that I'm back here and he's here," Cutler said. "Things happen for a reason.
"I'm lucky to be here and I'm excited to work with Ron."
all quotes from chicagosuntimes.com
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2 comments:
congratulations. as a broncos blogger, i have to say i am pleasantly surprised he went to as high character a team as chicago. i sadly question how long he will last there though, assuming that he and your offense coordinator do hold a grudge that went long back to his senior year in high school. that said i wish only the best for him and the bears next season. also just curious what is your opinion on orton? i would be interested to know more about the kid...
I think Orton was a very solid QB until he went down with an injury in the game against the Lions and he is very tough. That being said he showed alot of improvement late in the season, but he lacks two important things as a QB, the deep ball and throwing on the run. Cutler's stats throwing on the run were about 11 tds and only 1 int and an 111 passer rating last season while Orton had 2 tds and 5 ints with a 57 passer rating last season. So dont look at his record as a starter and say he is good, cause his rookie season, 2005, he started 15 games with the Bears great defense and won most of the games so the defense has a big part to play. Maybe Orton will be better with those receivers Denver has.
Thanks for the comment Garrett.
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