Take it easy

As a lifelong resident of Chicago, I have seen many things come and go regarding the Windy City's sports scene.
The entire world knows all about the yearly disappointment that is the Chicago Cubs. Not to mention the Bears, Bulls and Black Hawks in recent years.
True, the Black Hawks did much better this past season and it was about time!
The Bulls had a phenomenal run during the 1990's and yours truly had the great honor to be a part of the championship teams in '91, '92 and 1993 as a sound director at the old Chicago Stadium on the city's west side.
The White Sox actually did the impossible and won the World Series in 2005.
That brings us to the Chicago Bears, who lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI by a 29-17 count. Rex Grossman was the starting quarterback on the 2006 team and the defense was tremendous that year.
Now for my observations regarding the Monsters of the Midway as we approach NFL 2009.
In particular, the most important position on the field... quarterback.
Chicago has been going all "ga ga" over the arrival of Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos this off season. In a sense, one could say that Cutler was the Bears' draft this past spring.
A word of caution however, is in view due to the fact that Cutler has NEVER been to the NFL Playoffs as a starting quarterback.
In fact, Cutler wasn't even the best quarterback in his old division, the AFC West. That honor has gone to San Diego Chargers' QB Philip Rivers as evidenced by his posting the top passer rating in the NFL last season.
Not to mention that the Chargers have made the playoffs each season Rivers has been the starting quarterback. The last time I checked, the Broncos and Cutler were being thoroughly crushed by the Chargers last December in the season finale, which propelled San Diego to the playoffs and left Cutler and company sitting on the sidelines for the post season yet again.
The Bears defense should be good enough to keep them in games once again this season. The running game is improving as evidenced by rookie running back Matt Forte last year.
The receiving corps is another story. The Bears need help there.
So, the point is Cutler, as the Bears' starting quarterback entering 2009, does not have the quality receivers he enjoyed in Denver. The offensive line in Chicago is nowhere near that of Denver's as well.
Cutler should put up respectable numbers and will wow Bears' fans with his rifle arm. He will also frustrate the Bears' faithful with untimely interceptions he is accustomed to throwing in his short career.
As training camp edges ever so closer in the coming weeks, the scrutiny of all things Cutler will continue and all of the nonsense that goes with it will find its way onto the sportscasts and in the print media.
Take it easy Chicago (fans and media alike) and just let things happen as they will.
Hopefully, for the Bears, Cutler will be able to deliver.
What he delivers is yet to be determined.