Ah, Jay Cutler. Everything's different with Jay Cutler around. No longer do Bears fans have to hear the tired old trope: "Yeah, but who's going to play quarterback? Defense only goes so far." The answer, my friends, is Jay Cutler. Jay Cutler's going to play quarterback. That feels nice to say.
The new question -- which is really more of an old one that just seems to matter more now -- is: "But who will Cutler throw to?" This is a valid query.
The Bears have very little in the way of wide receivers; their No. 1 returning guy is Devin Hester who, it can be argued, isn't really a receiver at all. Their best receiving draft pick, Juaquin Iglesias came in the third round, 99th overall, and anyway, most non-elite rookie wide receivers typically face an uphill battle in their first season. The best wide receiver still left on the free agent market? Plaxico Burress. Asked about Burress this weekend, Jerry Angelo -- who previously dismissed the option altogether -- doesn't seem quite as opposed to it now:
"As I said, we'll look at every option," Angelo said. "[His] situation is different because there are circumstances. We'll monitor it."
[...] "But obviously, they are things that have to happen now for him to play in the league, get on with his life. There are a lot of hurdles to cross before you can really seriously sit here and use that as a viable option."
Those aren't necessarily a "no." Angelo did say the Bears were not one of two teams reported by Drew Rosenhaus to be interested in Burress, but if they're not, they should be. Yes, his gun charge could cause an eventual suspension. Yes, there's a chance he could go to jail. Yes, he did something really, really stupid. But it would be slightly hypocritical of the Bears not to grant Burress a second chance when they've granted them to so many less talented players (Tank Johnson and Cedric Benson, among others). Maybe Burress is a bad egg; if you think so, keep the contract offer down. Make it incentive-laden. Make sure he has to pay any salary back for games he doesn't play thanks to court dates or jail time. It's really that simple.
For the trouble, the Bears immediately get a No. 1 receiver to go with their top quarterback and stud second-year running back. Sounds worth it, right?
