Chicago Bears 2009 Odds Still +165: Jay Cutler Overrated?
Ever since the Minnesota Vikings announced the acquisition of quarterback Brett Farve earlier in the week, the Chicago Bears 2009 odds have remained stable. For those gamblers who think the Bears can win the 2009 NFC North at +165 for a payout potential of $165 on every $100 bet at SBG Global. The Vikings, meanwhile, were at even odds and Green Bay at +170.
All the talk is Chicago is about Jay Cutler. But not all of that talk is good.
Mike Florio over at ProFootballTalk.com had this to say:
"Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has been doing a lot of clarifying lately.
"But in both examples involving unwise comments from Cutler followed by clarifications, there wasn't really any clarifying going on. Instead, Cutler seemed to simply be trying to say that he didn't say what he had said.
"It started with his comparisons between Bears fans and Broncos fans. He openly dissed the denizens of Denver -- and then he simply pretended that he didn't.
"More recently, Cutler called out receiver Devin Hester (justifiably, we might add) for failing to do enough to break up an interception during the team's preseason opener at Buffalo.
"But then, after the poo hit the propeller, Cutler was at it again, clarifying his remarks."
"'Things get taken out of context and blown out of proportion all the time,' Cutler recently said, per Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune. ‘He has done a great job. He's a No. 1 receiver and he has done a heck of a job on the field and in the classroom.
"'He's a go-down-the-field-and-get-the-ball [receiver]," Cutler added. "It was a bad ball. I didn't give him a chance. I have to throw it down there and let him run under it.'
"Jay, you're a quarterback. Act like one. Say what you mean and then stand behind it, even if it becomes a point of contention."
Melissa Isaacson of ESPN.com:
"We will be told not to read too much into the Bears' 27-20 loss Saturday night to the Buffalo Bills. Fine. But we're also told that at many positions, game performance will have the biggest impact on the final roster; that winning is important any time someone is keeping score; that we're going to see a ball come out of the hands of Cutler that is so much more special than anything we've ever seen from a Bears QB, it will be dressed in black tie and tails. So excuse us for being a little disappointed."
Can Cutler get the job done in Chicagoland? It remains to be seen.
Even with injuries last and holes in the quarterback position last season, the Bears still managed a 9-7 record.
Unfortunately they are now going up against a stronger Vikings team and the Bears defense is becoming unraveled.
The Bears winning UNDER 9 regular season games at -125 is starting to look more enticing now.
Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
