Can we at least agree on Torry Holt? Or, dare I say it, Plaxico Burress?
When I say “we,” I mean the mob of pitchfork- and torch-holding Jay Cutler true believers on one side and, on the other, me — apparently the only person in the Chicago area who didn’t lose control of bodily functions upon news of the Bears’ blockbuster trade last week.
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Can we agree that Cutler could use a lot of help? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we — pitchforkers and mere innocents alike — could reach common ground on the need for real, live receivers in Bears uniforms?
Ah, Plaxico — the repairer of relationships, the Great Unifier! Dr. Philaxico. OK, Burress is not going to happen, not here, but I want you to wake up and see how important it is that Cutler be put in a position to succeed.
My concern for you, dear Bears fans, is that the Cutler marriage is going to be like a lot of marriages these days, in which the wedding day is by far the highlight of the relationship, and every day after is downhill.
But I understand: You’re in the first blush of love, and although Cutler announced at his introductory news conference that he’s no savior, Bears fans couldn’t help but notice that his initials are J.C.
(You might recall that on the day he was introduced as Cubs manager, Dusty Baker said he was no messiah. Fans refused to believe him at the time. Then, eventually, they very much believed him.)
It’ll be easier to become a Cutler believer if he has someone to throw to other than a tight end.
I was a bit jarred the day after the trade by a guy on the radio screaming, “Bears fans, you have your franchise quarterback!” Really? This is based on what? His two years as an NFL starter? The fact that, as a starter at the college and pro levels, he never has had a winning record in any season?
There I go again, not being “on board.”
OK, where was I? Wide receivers. Yes. The Bears need them. Badly. I know, I know: Cutler is going to turn Devin Hester into an All-Pro. Rashied Davis will become the next Michael Irvin. And Earl Bennett, the guy coach Lovie Smith wouldn’t put on the field last year, will become reliable.
Such apparently are the curative properties of Mr. Cutler.
But let’s say that, for some odd reason, his miracle-working powers go on vacation in 2009 and that Hester, Davis and the others are what they were last year. If the Bears are going to maximize their investment in Cutler — two first-round picks and a third-round pick — they need to give him some targets.
Holt, 32, has eight seasons of 1,000 or more receiving yards.
Burress, 31, has four. He also has a gun charge hanging over his head from an incident last year in which he accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a nightclub. The New York Daily News reported Saturday that the Manhattan district attorney wants Burress to serve prison time. A player can get away with that sort of thing while he’s a Bear, but not even the ultra-forgiving Smith will bring in a player who still could go to the joint or serve an NFL suspension. Alas, no 2009 shotgun-offense jokes here.
Holt, then. Smith knows him well from his time as a coach in St. Louis. He’s a pro, and he still can play. True, he’s not getting any younger, but there are no guarantees the Bears’ current crop of receivers is getting any better.
Or why don’t the Bears try to pry Anquan Boldin from the Cardinals?
People have gone on, ad nauseam, about the Bears’ lack of a star quarterback over the years. How about the lack of a star wide receiver in what seems like forever? Who would it be? Johnny Morris?
The Bears need a receiver with unquestioned talents. They’re not easy to find, but I’ll borrow from general manager Jerry Angelo’s pronouncement about the Bears’ decision to pursue a Cutler trade: If Angelo is going to be in this, he has to be in it all the way. Cutler wasn’t Cutler without Brandon Marshall. Who was Kyle Orton’s Brandon Marshall? He didn’t have one.
Who’s willing to look at Hester after last season and say he’s on the cusp of greatness?
No one can expect Cutler to come in and make the offense whole all by himself. That would imply that football isn’t a team sport, that one player can change everything. What coach or general manager is willing to say that?
If you want to erase the risk of Cutler’s petulance rearing its ugly head again, give him some weapons. If the Bears don’t do that, it won’t be pretty, chemistry-wise.
Nobody wants to hear that, of course. Everybody wants to hear sweet nothings when it comes to the new quarterback.
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A biologist informed me I misused the word “larva” while describing Cutler’s maturity level in my column Friday. I would say that’s nitpicking, but I don’t want to get the entomologists fired up too.
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