Protecting Cutler has to be a priority now, so the offensive line has to be improved.
Look back over the list of Super Bowl winning QBs. Most of the QBs that won a Super Bowl were home grown, i.e. came from the draft to the team they played on. Yes, there are exceptions, but most came to the teams that won through the draft.
How frequently have we seen a high profile first round QB who played a few years and was then traded to another team, and then lead the new team to victory in the Super Bowl?
Jim Plunkett is probably the only one. Elway never played a down for the Colts, so effectively he was a pure rookie for the Broncos. Curt Warner came from the Arena league so he was a rookie to the NFL, and only got a start when Trent Green went down. Dilfer was not a high profile QB, and he got a ring only because of the great defense of the Ravens, and your Bears defense is now fully on the decline. You had your shot when your defense was great several years ago. McMahon was drafted by Chicago. Doug Williams was a fluke. Steve Young came from the USFL, and he had to sit for years behind Montana.
Look at the list:
Up through Bowl XLII, the winning starting quarterbacks have been:
Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers - SB I
Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers - SB II
Joe Namath, New York Jets - SBIII
Len Dawson, Kansas City Chiefs - SB IV
Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts - SB V
Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys - SB VI
Bob Griese, Miami Dolphins - SB VII
Bob Griese, Miami Dolphins - SB VIII
Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB IX
Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB X
Ken Stabler, Oakland Raiders - SB XI
Roger Staubach, Dallas Cowboys - SB XII
Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB XIII
Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB XIV
Jim Plunkett, Oakland Raiders - SB XV
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers - SB XVI
Joe Theismann, Washington Redskins - SB XVII
Jim Plunkett, Los Angeles Raiders - SB XVIII
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers - SB XIX
Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears - SB XX
Phil Simms, New York Giants - SB XXI
Doug Williams, Washington Redskins - SB XXII
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers - SB XXIII
Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers - SB XXIV
Jeff Hostetler, New York Giants - SB XXV
Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins - SB XXVI
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys - SB XXVII
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys - SB XXVIII
Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers - SB XXIX
Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys - SB XXX
Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers - SB XXXI
John Elway, Denver Broncos - SB XXXII
John Elway, Denver Broncos - SB XXXIII
Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams - SB XXXIV
Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens - SB XXXV
Tom Brady, New England Patriots - SB XXXVI
Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - SB XXXVII
Tom Brady, New England Patriots - SB XXXVIII
Tom Brady, New England Patriots - SB XXXIX
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB XL
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts - SB XLI
Eli Manning, New York Giants - SB XLII
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers - SB XLIII
Quote from nitro:
First, in no way should the fact that I linked to that mean that I agree with the statement. I was just throwing out there for perspective.
I think the answer is someone should do a study, and it is an interesting question to ask. I could give you my opinion (giving up first round picks should be done only in extreme situations), but I simply don't know what I am talking about.
BTW, notice that the Bears are reading Michael Lewis. They got a pretty good tackle on Cutlers "blind side".
http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Side-Ev...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239624937&sr=8-1