Bears' priority should have been helping Cutler
Considering the long-term possibilities, the Bears' trade for Brandon Marshall may turn out to be one of the best moves in franchise history.
He's the No. 1 receiver they desperately needed, and assuming he can stay on the field and out of trouble, he will be worth every penny of his huge salary.
But that move seems to have given the Bears amnesia.
Suddenly, everyone's forgotten that this is all about Jay Cutler.
The draft is about Cutler. The season is about Cutler. The future is about Cutler.
Before the Marshall plan was executed, the Bears needed at least two receivers, if not three.
They needed at least two offensive linemen, if not three.
And they needed at least one tight end, if not two.
But after Marshall was acquired, the focus was shifted to defense.
Granted, the Bears have serious needs on defense, especially on the defensive line. It could certainly be argued they still need a corner, safety and linebacker, too.
But whatever happened to making this about Jay Cutler?
The Bears, picking 19th Thursday night in the NFL draft, passed on several offensive linemen and receivers, and selected 6-foot-3, 258-pound Boise State linebacker Shea McClellin.
Drafted to be a defensive end mostly to rush the passer, he was ranked as the 44th best player by Pro Football Weekly, which described McClellin as a “short-armed, overhyped ‘program' player with (a) limited ceiling.”
Bears GM Phil Emery praised McClellin's versatility and called him “a four-down player,” but at his size playing the run from defensive end is going to interesting.
While reaching for McClellin they passed on tackles Riley Reiff (Iowa) and Cordy Glenn (Georgia), guard/center David DeCastro (Stanford) and receivers Kendall Wright (Baylor), Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech) and Rueben Randle (LSU).
Wright (No. 20, Titans), Reiff (23, Lions) and DeCastro (24, Steelers) went in the five picks after the Bears.
It's understandable that the Bears were tempted by the dream of a speedy pass rusher opposite Julius Peppers, especially in a passing league and in a division where the Bears have to face Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, and all the offensive weapons they possess.
A great pass rush makes everyone behind it better and can cover a multitude of sins. So while logical, it's also shortsighted and a luxury compared to the needs on offense that have been ignored for so long.
The Bears seem to have forgotten that in the process of running the Mike Martz system the last two seasons, Cutler was hit 215 times in 27 games, and that he's been playing with second-rate receivers.
Having Mike Tice and Jeremy Bates is going to make life a lot easier for Cutler, and his protection should already be better with more max protect and a sane passing system with shorter drops and faster routes.
But to assume J'Marcus Webb is going to be a better left tackle is a huge gamble. Webb was a turnstile in 2011, allowing 12 sacks, 30 QB pressures and more than a flag a game (including penalties not accepted).
The Bears have invested so much in Cutler and yet continue to think they can drive a Lamborghini on bald tires. They have consistently saddled him with bad linemen, bad receivers and bad play calling, and now the Marshall trade has led to a false sense of security.
Emery has time left in this draft to improve the offense, and Glenn, Hill and Randle are still on the board.
But after he impressed everyone with his aggressive move to get Marshall, Emery's pick Thursday to pacify Lovie Smith seemed like something right out of Jerry Angelo's playbook.
brozner@dailyherald.com
Ÿ Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's “Hit and Run” show at WSCR 670-AM, and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.