“Look, I love Jay, and I understand he’s a great player who can take us a long way, and I still have faith in him,” Urlacher said. “But I hate the way our identity has changed. We used to establish the run and wear teams down and try not to make mistakes, and we’d rely on our defense to keep us in the game and make big plays to put us in position to win. Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback, but the guy is a winner, and that formula worked for us. I hate to say it, but that’s the truth.”

Wow.  I mean Urlacher is not playing right now, but you know he is around the team and that he is still a respected figure in that locker room.  The last thing Jay needs now is for Urlacher to be questioning his leadership and what he brings to the team.  Not to mention that Urlacher is COMPLETELY WRONG.  He’s not wrong that the identity has changed, he’s wrong that somehow Kyle Orton was the key to that identity.  The key to that identity was a run game that was remotely functional and a good defense.  We have neither of those.  How would Orton’s “game management” make a difference?  Sure he could “manage” the Bears to a 37-10 loss, but at least Cutler gives us a shot at getting back in games.

Hey Brian, SHUT UP.

• Bronco fans seem pretty happy with Orton.  I hold no grudges against the guy.  He’s doing exactly what we’d expect: managing games. [Predominantly Orange]
• A great analysis of how to draft in fantasy basketball taking into account the ever-difficult to gauge percentage categories. [GMTR]
• Jay Cutler series-by-series breakdown from yesterday’s game. [Jay Cutler Superstar]
• I will always link any post I find anywhere on the internet calling for the firing of Joe Morgan.  You can print that. [Sharapova's Thigh]
• The Bears are third in average ticket price at $88 a ticket.  First place? The Cowboys at $160.  That’s fun for the whole family (if you mortgage your house and sell your car). [2009 Team Marketing Report]
• The Jewish Jordan has retired.  I heard rumors he was never that great, but it was still fun to have a “Jewish” Jordan.  I guess. [BDL]
• Some girl gets Mark Grace tattooed on her back.  Apparently she is one of his many road beef.  Oh Gracie, still impressing us after all these years. [HHR]
• Is DeRosa pondering a return to the Cubbies?  Calm down guys, its just talk right now. [Tribune]
• The Packers were not at their best this week against the Bengals.  Nice. [Midwest Sports Fans]

That was on the field, though.  Off the field, Orton’s antics were beloved by all.  He loved to drink, party with young, attractive women, drive an electric car, and grow the greatest neckbeard of all time.  At this point it is unclear how Jay Cutler’s off-field shenanigan’s will measure up.  Beyond the whining and boasting about his laser arm, we just didn’t know what to expect.  Until now, that is.  I found this picture on facebook.  It is at a downtown Chicago restaurant/bar called Hub51 and apparently Jay and his new tight end Greg Olsen were boozing pretty hard:

Let’s just call this picture a caption contest.  The most hilarious one in the comments will be posted later this week.  By the way, as fun as this is, it’s no neckbeard.  Not yet at least.

I’m really shocked by the news.  The Bears always seemed like also-rans in the deal and I really expected Cutler to end up in Washington, Detroit, or even to stay in Denver before Angelo would make a move for him.

Kudos to Jerry Angelo, I didn’t know he had it in him.  This changes a whole lot on offense for Chicago.  Cutler is a legit NFL quarterback and in my lifetime, I barely know what that is like.  So there goes the speculation about who the Bears are looking at in the first round; they already made their first round choice and it’s Jay Cutler.

I think Stormin’ Norman peed himself when he heard the news.  The only downside for me is that the Bears got rid of both their fun quarterbacks in the same year.  Still, what a move.

**Orlando Pace was also signed today.  After a slow start by Angelo in free agency, these two moves are blockbusters.

The final pieces to the Cutler deal seem to break down with the Bears getting Cutler and a 5th rounder this year, in exchange for Orton, a first rounder this year, first rounder next year, and a third rounder this year.

Adding Orlando Pace and Jay Cutler in one day is amazing for the Bears.  Yes, they gave up a lot in draft picks, but the Bears don’t exactly clean up in the draft ever.  This is a win for both teams I think.

Thanks to Sharapova’s Thigh for the tip.

LM: After the 2008 season ended, you said that you believed in Kyle Orton and liked some of the things he did, but you needed to see more before anointing him the long-term solution at the position. You also indicated that the Bears were fixated on getting the quarterback position stabilized. With all that in mind, why are the Bears seemingly not interested in pursuing a veteran in free agency or via a trade?

Yeah, what gives Jer?  There are certainly plenty of quarterbacks out there that the Bears could try and bring in to compete with Neckbeard for the top spot, but the Bears have seemingly been idle.  Angelo said he didn’t want to hurt the progress of Orton like they did last year with him and Rex competing for the job.  Understandable, as a guy competing for the job would steal reps from Orton, but if the guy, whether it be Simms, Leftwich, or anyone else, is better than Orton, isn’t that worth the lack of reps? For what it’s worth, Angelo said they could look for a veteran back-up after the draft.  Woo!

LM: Why haven’t the Bears tried to sign any of this year’s big-name free agents such as wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh or safety Brian Dawkins, both of whom are productive veterans who seemingly would provide major upgrades?

Money.  That was Angelo’s answer in a nutshell.  The Bears didn’t want to shell out the money for a guy like T.J. at the top of his market, or to an aging Brian Dawkins.  Dawkins I understand, but you’re going to have to spend money to upgrade at wide receiver.  Angelo said Seattle’s situation was different in that they had an “inordinate amount of injuries with their wide receivers” and were looking for someone healthy and stable.  Umm, what?  Well, the Bears have an inordinate amount of suck with their wide receivers, let’s address that.  The more you read this, the more you get the feeling Angelo is the kind of guy that steals the butter from the dish at restaurants.

LM: How much of a priority is upgrading the wide receiver position either in free agency or the draft?

Angelo says they have guys they like as “twos, threes, fours and fives, and if we carried six, a sixth receiver.”  Translation: one two, three fours, and a couple five or sixes.  He says they’re in the market for a number one receiver and will likely pursue it through the draft.  You hear that first round mock drafters?  He also said that they would look at premium receivers available through free agency too, but umm…referencing the last question, I don’t think that’ll happen.  They cost money you know.

h/t: Chicago Bears and Judd!