...when in reality I wouldn't really put him at that level and why I really wasn't too keen on the Skins mortaging the future to attempt and grab him last year.
I think Cutler's season last year was more of a product of the ineptitude of his surrounding cast than anything else. Granted, only one aspect of that has been improved on since last year, but that was a big one.
And let's face it, Cutler doesn't have to be all-world to be the best QB the Bears have ever had. Look at last season, when he had a "bad" year.
He now ranks #2 all-time with the Bears for yards in a season. (an interesting stat on that is that his completion percentage last year is the third highest single-season completion percentage for a Bears QB who threw for more 2000 yards in a season, which has sadly only occured 27 times in Bears history.) He is ranked 3rd for single season touchdowns from a Bears QB.
Now, for the next batch of stats, remember that the Bears have feilded more starting QB's over the last 20 years than any other team in the NFL.
After only one season, Cutler now ranks 18th all-time in
career passing yards in a Bears uniform. 19th all time for career passing touchdowns.
He's the fifth Bears QB to pass for over 3,000 yards (Erik Kramer did it twice, the others have only done it once). And only the second to pass for over 3,200 yards.
Now, I'm not saying Cutler is one of the best QBs to ever play the game or anything silly like that, but he's definitely in the running for the best QB to ever wear the big orange C.