ON A FUNNY NOTE

I don't know if fans in Wisconsin feel the same way that I do, but growing up in New York, I have a severe hatred of the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick and his dirty cheating ways have made me despise of that entire franchise. Not to mention Josh McDaniel's running a franchise quarterback out of town the second he got to Denver and sending him along to the Chicago Bears. That is why I find this, via FanIQ, absolutely hilarious.

MY TAKE ON THE JAY CUTLER DEAL

So by now it is old news that Jay Cutler has been traded to the dreaded Bears. I talked about my thoughts of possible trades to the NFC North the other day. Acquiring Jay Cutler definitely helps Chicago, but I think that they definitely slowed their all around team improvement process by making this deal:

Chicago Gets:
Jay Cutler
2009 5th Round Pick

Denver Gets:
Kyle Orton
2009 1st Round Pick
2009 3rd Round Pick
2010 1st Round Pick

So they improved at a position that has basically been a revolving door since Jim McMahon. They desperately needed a quarterback. But what about the rest of the team? By giving up two first round picks and a third round pick, they have drastically lowered the chances of actually getting a wide receiver for Cutler to throw to. Right now he has Devin Hester, a realistic number 3 receiver, as his number one option. The defense has been very questionable over the past few years, and could definitely use some new blood to regain the physicality and fear it had just a few years ago during their Super Bowl run.

They also signed Orlando Pace yesterday in an attempt to sure up the left tackle position. I'm on board with this move for Daaaa Bears. They needed somebody, and a seven time Pro Bowler can be the answer. But if I'm Jerry Angelo, I'm not done yet. They need to take a serious look into acquiring Torry Holt or Marvin Harrison. Neither is at the skill level they once were, but Angelo can't give up so much for a top-tier quarterback and then leave him out to dry with no options. Trading for Jay Cutler was a great move for the Chicagoans, but by giving up so much to acquire him, he has become just the first step in a number of moves that must be made to justify this blockbuster deal.

RIGHT ON TIME MR. SILVERSTEIN

In yesterday's Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Tom Silverstein wrote an article entitled "NFC North Still Has Call to Arms." While his point is well made and well taken, the news out of Denver this evening is disheartening for any Packer fan. Broncos CEO and president Pat Bowlen released the following statement:

"Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by Head Coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful.

A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos.

We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded."

Yes, that's right; Jay Cutler is officially on the block. And why should this concern Packer backers? BECAUSE THE OTHER TEAMS IN OUR DIVISION ALL CURRENTLY HAVE INADEQUATE NFL QUARTERBACKS ON THEIR ROSTER:

Detroit -
Daunte Culpepper - washed up.
Drew Stanton - Detroit beat writers say he'll struggle to even make the '09 roster.
Drew Henson - tenure probably over, as QB coach (same one he had at Michigan) left for South Florida

Chicago -
Kyle Orton - has a neard (neckbeard).
Caleb Hanie - wait who? What's his name?
Brett Basanez - played at Northwestern. Believed to be signed strictly "for the fanbase."

Minnesota -
Sage Rosenfels - maybe the most legitimate of all with 30 TD and 29 INT in career. Not saying much if he's the most legit.
Tarvaris Jackson - Mr. I Play OK But Will Never Be Good Enough. Or more simply, Mr. Mediocre.
John David Booty - last name says it all.

So this means, in my eyes, all three of these teams should make a play for Cutler. Likely, all three will at least make contact with the Broncos, but we can only pray that for the Packers sake, a team like the Jets or Buccaneers makes a stronger push for Cutler's services. Thank you Josh McDaniels, for coming from the dirty New England Patriots and running a franchise quarterback out of town.

BUS COOK DOES IT AGAIN

Ahhh, and it's back to blogging for me. And while this story doesn't directly link to the Packers, Jay Cutler wants to be traded out of Denver. He and Broncos' rookie head coach Josh McDaniels have not gotten along ever since Cutler found out that he was being shopped around for Matt Cassel. Today, Cutler did not attend the first team meeting since McDaniels has taken over or participate in activities with the team. Why does this have any business being on a Packers blog? Bus Cook is Cutler's agent. Yes, that Bus Cook. Brett Favre's agent. And while I love Brett, this is another quarterback client of Cook who seems to feel that he is bigger than his organization, and that just can't keep happening. I understand Cutler is upset that McDaniels wanted to acquire Cassel, whom he coached in New England, but the NFL is a business, and not every player is going to agree with every business decision it's organization makes or looks into.

MY FIRST REAL FEELING OF HOPE... KINDA

While at the Pro Bowl, Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers admitted to NBC's Tiki Barber he wants out of Carolina, saying, "I just feel it's time to move on." He also went on to admit he wants to play in the 3-4 next season. Could this be the moment Ted Thompson has been putting off making any big free agent splashes for? Peppers has averaged over 10 sacks per season in his career, and Aaron Kampman led the Packers with 9.5 in 2008. It's hard to predict how smoothly Kampman's transition to OLB will be in Dom Capers new scheme, but bringing in a threat like Peppers could only help Aaron by taking a little bit of pressure away from him. While excited at the possibility of Peppers being in green and gold next season, I have seen Ted Thompson's lack of spending free agent dollars over his first few offseasons in Green Bay, so I try to remain realistic. Other teams in the mix according to Rotoworld.com are the Browns, Broncos, Dolphins, and 49ers.

PRO BOWL

I don't remember the last time I actually watched a Pro Bowl. Not that I really watch the NBA or MLB All-Star games either. There was a period of time where the All-Star games were so important to a sport. Usually, that was because it was the only time that fans got to see certain players (TV, the internet, and the increase in number of franchises in each sport has dramatically changed that). They're just not interesting anymore. They used to be competitive games where the players really fought to show who was the best. Now they've become just another situation for front office people to worry about the players they have invested millions of dollars in getting injured. So, I'm not ashamed to admit I didn't watch the Pro Bowl yesterday. Instead, I spent six hours in a car.

Al Harris and Nick Collins were the only representatives of the Packers in the game, and they each did well. The Journal Sentinel's Greg A. Bedard did an interview with Nick about his first pro bowl experience. Collins recorded one tackle while on defense, and two as a special-teamer (maybe we should send him on coverage and he should do that for us next year since our Special Teams finished 26th in the league in 2008). Harris had three tackles and knocked away a pass intended for Denver's Brandon Marshall in the end zone that saved a touchdown (pictured above). And don't forget Charles Woodson was elected, but decided against playing. It's interesting to see three players from a below average defense get recognized for such good individual seasons, yet their unit as a whole struggled so much. Congratulations to these three for having the types of seasons they did, and maybe some day All-Star games can get their swagger back.