Weekly Musings from an Optimistic Blogger (4/6)

This week, I have stories on the newest Bears blogger, a quick opinion piece on Orton and Cutler, the bogus story about NCAA players failing drug tests, Plax being Plax, Brian Dawkins reaching out to an Eagles fan, and the Cretin of the Week.

Let's start, shall we?

Greg Olsen, the new Bears blogger

I was contacted over the weekend by a representative from Player Press, who informed me that Greg Olsen has a new blog. Olsen started blogging about three weeks ago, and he already has a post up about his reaction to the Cutler trade. I encourage all of you to take a look at his blog. Soon, we will have a link to his site on the left toolbar of WCG.

Best of luck, Kyle Orton

I am really excited that Jay Cutler is our quarterback, don't get me wrong. I can't wait to see what Jay can bring to our team. But, in some ways, I'm sad to see Kyle go.

As a lot of you remember, I was one of the people who wanted Orton to be our 2008 starter. I was a big Orton supporter. He came into his rookie year and was thrown into the starting role due to Rex's injury. He wasn't good, but he didn't lose games for us.

Then, he sat. Sat behind Grossman during the 2006 campaign. Sat behind Grossman for most of 2007.

He finally won the starting spot in the 2008 training camp. Again, was he great? No, but he did pretty damn well. He, unlike Grossman, didn't get flustered under pressure. He was pretty accurate in the short passes. He didn't make many key mistakes. However, he doesn't have the strongest arm and touch on the long ball.

By many accounts, he was a leader in the locker room. I felt that Orton got the short end of the stick in 2008 with piss-poor offensive linemen and wide receivers. Had this trade not happened, I thought Kyle would have improved with some of the OL additions and (hopefully) a good WR in the draft.

Kyle, thank you for everything you've done for the Bears. You weren't always the flashiest QB, but more times than not, you got the job done. Thank you for being the consummate professional, and I'll be rooting for you except for when you play the Bears. All the best, fella.

Did some NCAA players really fail drug tests?

There was a story last week regarding the failed drug tests of B.J. Raji, Vontae Davis, and Percy Harvin (marijuana) and Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing (steroids).

There has been an incredible backlash since that story was first reported on NFLDraftBible.com. Pete Carroll (USC HC) went on the offensive early, and Ron Zook (Illinois HC) wasn't too far behind.

Since there is no substantial proof of the positive tests (unnamed sources and one anonymous NFL team does not count), we have taken down the story on Windy City Gridiron.

Are we sure we want Plaxico?

This story is pretty hilarious IMO. Plaxico Burress was pulled over on March 18^th for speeding and, in essence, driving like a crazy man. Once the deputy sheriff pulled Plax over, here's what the conversation went like:

"F- - - you!  You're going to be in a lot of trouble. I know the sheriff personally," Burress reportedly told the deputy sheriff who pulled Burress over on March 18.

Per the police report, Burress followed every question and command by telling the deputy, "F-k you."

Plax is a loose cannon and has the maturity of a ten year old. I'll pass on this one. At this point, I'd rather watch Rashied Davis continue to drop balls for the Bears.

Brian Dawkins reaches out to fired Eagles employee

When Brian Dawkins signed with the Broncos, Dan Leone (a part-time Eagles employee) posted "Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver ... Dam Eagles R Retarted!!" as his Facebook status. He took down the status a few days afterward, but was fired by the Eagles over the phone.

Dawkins is giving his two-ticket allotment to Leone when the Broncos visit the Eagles during the 2009 season.

Obviously, [Leone] made a decision and out of emotion said something," Dawkins said, according to the Daily News. "He was one of probably thousands and thousands of Eagles fans who felt that way. That didn't surprise me, that someone said that on their Facebook. It did surprise me that he was let go, though. That really did surprise me. I felt it would be a good thing, to reach out to that individual and just let him know how much I appreciate it.

Stories like these remind me that football players aren't just focused on money.

Cretin of the Week

Before I start, let me say that this section of my weekly column is meant for humor more than anything. Now, onto the good part.

This Cretin award is worldwide and involves a lot of people: Anyone who thinks the Bears wound up with the short end of the stick of the Cutler trade.

Numerous stories have been written about this very topic, all saying the same thing: "The Bears gave up too much for a whiny QB. And Kyle Orton is already a good QB."

I disagree. As GeoMak has pointed out, we essentially gave up two first-round picks on an established QB who was taught by one of the elite offensive minds of the NFL (Mike Shanahan). We know he's established, instead of giving Jerry the keys to two year's worth of wasted 1st round picks. Cutler immediately makes the Bears better. How much will he make us better? Time will tell.

Kyle Orton was an OK quarterback, but he possessed weaknesses in his game...lack of arm strength and accuracy on intermediate-to-long passes the most apparent. With Cutler, Hester can actually run deep routes. With Cutler, Turner can open up the offense more. With Cutler, our offense has a chance to be potent.

To those Bears fans who are Negative Nancy on the Cutler trade, I'm sure you'd be the first to complain if Angelo didn't make a trade.

Last Week's Winners: Mike Singletary and Officer Robert Powell