by David Funk

Created on: November 04, 2009

While the Bears may have given up a lot to get him, there's little doubt in my mind that Jay Cutler will excel in Chicago. It may not happen right away, but the Bears finally have the quarterback position secured. He's still a very young quarterback that will make his share of mistakes, but all great quarterbacks grow out of that.

Anyone that has followed the Bears knows about their recent quarterback history which hasn't been very good. However, much of the reason is the fact that many of them didn't have the mobility necessary to escape punishment in the pocket like Cutler can. The Bears have really had a tough time keeping any quarterback healthy in the last 15 or so years which I do think mobility was part of it to go along with inconsistent offensive line play.

So far in 2009, Cutler has taken some big hits, but he's also avoided his share of them because of his feet. Without being able to escape trouble, I would say he's doomed for failure in Chicago especially since there is somewhat of a transition going on the offensive line. He's got that in his favor.

Cutler has already had success in the league despite some calling his decision-making on the field into question. He does have the tendencies like Brett Favre, but he's also tough-minded and durable as the quarterback. That's what separates him from the other quarterbacks in Chicago that haven't delivered when needed to.

The Bears have a lot of youth on the offensive side of the ball that will grow along with Cutler in this offense. As pointed out before, the Bears have new faces on the offensive line which should get addressed if need be. They could use an experienced receiver, and the team has put themselves in good cap shape to get what they need in the draft of free agency.

Knowing all this, it is up to Cutler to succeed because the Bears have shaped themselves for the future on offense as well as with the salary cap situation. It's hard to think he would fail with all this in his favor, and the fact that his new contract that expires in 2013 will not serve as a distraction for performance anytime soon. Hopefully for his sake and for Chicago, he'll deliver another Super Bowl as well as go on to be one of the great quarterbacks that have played in the NFL.

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