Crybaby Cutler Gets His Wish

I hate when this kind of stuff happens. A young guy fails to realize that sports are a business for some people, and throws a hissy-fit. He acted like an 12 year-old and got his way. If I were the Denver Broncos there is no doubt that I would have exiled him to Detroit. None-the-less he goes to a contender in the Chicago Bears. In return the Broncos get the 2 first round picks they wanted, and Kyle Orton's neckbeard.

What does it mean? Well it means that for the first time in a VERY LONG TIME the Chicago Bears have a good, young, franchise QB. And he's got weapons around him: Desmond Clark, Greg Olson, Matt Forte, Devin Hester, Brandon Lloyd, and a good O-Line. Throw in a supporting Bears' defense that we come to expect every year and I don't see how the Bears aren't now the front-runner to win the NFC North.

Now I hope they don't for two reasons. Reason 1: I've been a Packers fan my whole life. Reason 2: He bitched his way into this and made way too big of a deal out of nothing and I would hate for this to work out well for him. Regardless of his pissing and moaning however, the kids got an arm and plays hard. The Bears are looking pretty good to me. Your thoughts on how the Cutler-trade shakes up the NFC North?

2008 NFL Preview - NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers (13-3 in 2007)

Ok, so what everybody wants to know is will the Favre-less Packers be able to hold off the Vikings. I've been called a homer before but my true and honest opinion is yes. But the playingfield has certainly been evened dramatically.

Although replacing Favre with Aaron Rodgers causes the Packers to take a slight step back, if the young quarterback stays healthy he can complete a high percentage of his passes, and coolly handle the immense pressure he’ll be under from the very beginning of the season to the very end. He's really impressed me with how he's handled everything throughout the offseason and at this point I'm not so worried about his performance as I am his health. With Rodgers bringing those three factors to the table, a strong Packers squad that epitomizes the word “team” repeats as division champions. Favre alone didn't make this team 13-3 last season. The receiving corps is great, they have Grant and Jackson at RB and a quite above average D. I think they can edge the Vikes again. Schedules not too hard and they can beat up on divisional foes Chicago and Detroit.

Key Additions: LB Brandon Chillar, WR Jordy Nelson, QB Brian Brohm, TE Jermichael Finley

Key Losses: QB Brett Favre, TE Bubba Franks, DT Corey Williams

Prediction: 10-6 win tiebreaker over MN

2. Minnesota Vikings (8-8 in 2007)

Much like the Packers' season hinging on Rodgers, the Vikings season really hangs on Jackson. We all know what AP and Taylor can do, but if the Vikings are going to be relevant they have to be balanced. Jackson has made strides in my opinion. People just don't understand how bad he was last year. He had 12 picks, only 9 TDs while completing just 58% of passes when most everyone had the box stacked with 8 or 9 guys! He's better but I feel like he's just not quite there, and the injury bug worries me. Well, it actually excites me because I hate the Vikings but TJack is already running into knee problems and that's a red flag in my book.

Obviously the D is gunna be great and that will keep them in a lot of games. Had this team gotten Favre like so many Vikings fan's shasterbated about, I believe they would be a lock for the playoffs and compete for home-field advantage with the Cowboys. But, to this point they're short a QB and a WR to be great. Lucky for them they have an amazing D and Adrian Peterson to win games for them.

Key Additions: DE Jared Allen, S Madieu Williams, WR Bernard Berrian

Key Losses: FB Tony Richardson, S Dwight Smith

Prediction: 10-6 wildcard bid.

3. Detroit Lions (7-9 in 2008)

Jon Kitna ain’t getting any younger — he’ll be turning 36 in September — but the erratic veteran quarterback is still able to take complete advantage of the deadly receiving tandem of Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson. Rookie running back Kevin Smith makes an immediate impact and, along with Tatum Bell, to help balance the offensive attack. The Defense isn't very good however and that will stop this team from coming close to Minnesota or Green Bay.

Don't get me wrong, this team will be bad. They just won't be as bad as the Bears!

Key Additions: S Dwight Smith, CB Leigh Bodden, CB Brian Kelly, OT Gosder Cherilus

Key Losses: DT Shaun Rogers, RB Kevin Jones, LB Boss Bailey, DE Kalimba Edwards

Prediction: 6-10

4. Chicago Bears (7-9 in 2007)

The losses of Berrian and Muhammad prove to be a setback for the passing game, and both Orton and Grossman fail to solidify his status as the starting quarterback. The defense is forced to completely carry the team, and although it performs better than it did last season, a one-dimensional Bears squad is too inept to climb out of the cellar.

I mean for real, I consider the Bears to possibly be the least talented at the "talent" positions in the entire NFL. Think about it. At QB they have Grossman and Orton. At RB they have Forte, Peterson, and Kevin Jones. At WR they have Devin Hester & Brandon Lloyd(YAY!), Rashied Davis, Mike Hass, and Brandon Rideu. This team is BAD! Orton throws for 200 yds. +/- 5 times this year. Lemme know with a comment.

Key Additions: WR Marty Booker, WR Brandon Lloyd

Key Losses: WR Bernard Berrian, WR Mushin Muhammad, QB Brian Griese, RB Cedric Benson

Predictions: 5-11

Take Your Pick: Bears' QB Controversy

Well it's training camp time and i'm in Minnesota of all places on vacation! I don't really have time to whip up any kind of conference preview because I have to get up early to golf Longbow Golf Club in Walker, MN at like 5:30 AM so you better enjoy this.

So is it gunna be Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton? Well there's an old saying and it goes like this, "If you think you have 2 starters, you probably don't have one". Really does it matter if they go with oft-injured and the easily-rattled Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton's boring neck beard? It must not because Lovie Smith is flipping coins to see who practices with the 1st team and who practices with the 2nd team.

Personally if I had to pick I would go with Rex. There was that time in 2006 that Rex "took" the Bears to the Super Bowl. I would go with Rex if I absolutely had to pick between the two. I think the main reason why I would go with Rex is because I look at the Bears and I see extreme lack of talent at the talent positions. They have a bad corps of RB, WR, and QB (probably bottom 3 in the league in all 3 catagories!). I think the team could be seriously bad. With inexperience at RB and WR they need to take what little experience they can get and hope that Rex comes out on fire like he did the first 7 weeks of 2006.

I'm saying go with Rex here and you can always fall back on Kyle once Rex either gets hurt or cries after an interception.

Who would you pick in the Bears' QB Controversy?

Rex Grossman Isn't The Answer For The Bears

Lovie Smith must see something I don't see. How the Bears can give Rex Grossman a one year contract extension is beyond me because ever since he has been the starter for the Chicago Bears, Grossman has been extremely inconsistent. He will have days that he looks like an elite quarterback in the league throwing for 3 or 4 touchdowns with over a 100 point quarterback rating. Then there are other games that he only completes 3 or 4 passes while throwing a couple interceptions and has a quarterback rating under 10. Two years ago he somehow lead the Bears to Super Bowl, excuse me the Bears defense lead the Bears to the Super Bowl while it seemed like Grossman did everything he could to screw it up for the Bears. If the Bears have a reliable quarterback I almost would be willing to say the Bears would of won Super Bowl 41 over the Indianapolis Colts. This season he only started a handful of games before being benched by coach Smith. The move just doesn't make sense to me. Chicago should be trying to fix the problems from last years disappointing team that failed to make the playoffs. Quarterback is and always has been an issue for Chicago.

The Bears History of Bad Quarterbacks
Since the Bears won their only Super Bowl in 1985, Chicago has started 17 different quarterbacks trying to find the right fit. In the 90's the beloved Bears tried Jim Harbaugh, Shane Matthews, Erik Kramer, Rick Mirer, Steve Walsh, and Cade McNown. In the new milenium the Bears put the football in the hands of Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Brain Greise, Kyle Orton, Chad Hutchinson, Johnathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Henry Burris, and Grossman. Don't feel bad if you don't know half the guys I just mention because many only had one or two starts. Basically the Bears haven't had a decent quarterback in 20 years. I know historically the Bears have always been a defensive team but give me a break you would think they would find a quarterback they could use for more than 5 years, and can have them realistically fighting for the playoffs year in and year out right?

What's Next?
I still think you get a quarterback in this years draft. You don't have to get them in the first round, but you have to think about replacing Grossman in the near future. A couple good quarterbacks that should be on the board past the first round of the draft include: Joe Flacco, Colt Brennan, Andre Woodson, and Chad Henne. Bottom line, Grossman is not the answer and the sooner the Bears figure that out the sooner than can return to playoff form.

Nate Gonner is a guest writer for The Sports Flow. He writes his columns every Monday and Thursday for Gonners View. Check his site out here