Good fortune knocks and - what's that? - Bears answer

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good.

Two days ago Bears GM Jerry Angelo was having perhaps the worst off-season of any GM in Chicago sports history.

He was coming off two ugly seasons and had won only two playoff games in eight years.

He had made mistake after mistake and butchered first round pick after first round pick.

He had said the Bears needed a quarterback, and then turned around and said they didn't.

He had a roster full of holes but fiddled in his office for months while Halas Hall burned.

Angelo was one football season away from being unemployed.

But when a starting, Pro Bowl quarterback appeared out of thin air, already drafted and developed, something he and his coaching staff had been unable to do, rather than act in standard Bears fashion, Angelo allowed Jay Cutler to fall into his lap.

More than lucky, it's almost a miracle.

The Bears had done nothing and were planning very little.

But with a fan base screaming and the media on his back, Angelo woke up in time to make the move of his professional life.

Angelo has now staked his job and his reputation to Cutler, who brings a bit of baggage but also carries a huge upside the Bears have never seen in the quarterback position.

No, they've never had a QB with this much talent, which doesn't guarantee he will be the best quarterback in Bears history, and means nothing if the Bears don't harness Cutler and maximize his ability.

So now it's up to head coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Ron Turner to get rid of that bus they like to get off running and find a jet to get off throwing.

It's their responsibility to get out of Cutler a minimum of a North Division title in 2009, or they may find themselves in a heap of trouble.

The Bears do have the easiest schedule in the North, and you have to think more moves will follow after the signing of free-agent tackle Orlando Pace.

Perhaps, wide receiver Torry Holt will be next.

They need him because at the moment Cutler has no one to throw to and until Thursday no left tackle to keep defenders off his back.

His offensive line remains old in spots and unproven in others.

And Cutler will have some work to do as well. He's going to have to prove he's not a me-first guy, a label he must shake now that he has thrown a fit and forced his way out of Denver.

Maybe he had good reason, but it doesn't change the simple fact that he did it.

He doesn't have to prove his toughness, having overcome Type 1 diabetes to become an NFL QB and having survived some beatings in Denver that should prepare him for life in Chicago.

But he does have to win, and win fast. Saviors bear quite a burden in Chicago, and the pressure will be enormous, something made worse by all the help the Bears need on defense.

So there is some heavy lifting to do and miles to travel before anyone starts talking about a Super Bowl.

However, there is no real downside to this trade provided Cutler can stay upright. He's a better quarterback than Kyle Orton, and Angelo generally wastes first-round picks, so giving up a pair of those is no loss at all.

Not all will agree and it will take some getting used to, this idea of the Bears doing something aggressive and exciting.

This management and coaching staff is among the dullest we've seen, from the drafting to the playcalling and everything in between.

For the most part, they react only when faced with obvious decisions and unmistakable choices, so seeing them proactive is a shock - an earthquake - that shakes the foundation.

It is the biggest and most important trade the Bears have made since they sent Wally Chambers to Tampa, netting them the first-round pick that landed Hall of Famer Dan Hampton in 1979.

Granted, if not for suffering a public-relations beating this off-season, and if not for the pressure placed on them by fans and media, it's likely this never would have occurred.

And if not for the pure luck of the bizarre situation in Denver dropping a 25-year-old, Pro Bowl quarterback in their laps, the situation certainly never would have presented itself.

Nevertheless, he did drop in their laps, and the Bears were smart enough to recognize the opportunity.

After so many sleepy years that left you scratching your head, Jerry Angelo had himself one fabulous day Thursday.

You can say it was a no-brainer and a gift, and that's true, but don't sell short the guts it took to make a decision - and a phone call - in a building where doing nothing is less philosophy than it is religion.

Yes, sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

At least on this day, Jerry Angelo managed to be both.

brozner@dailyherald.com