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Six years ago today, the Chicago Bears franchise took a drastic turn. Then-general manager Jerry Angelo traded Kyle Orton, two 1st round picks (2009 and 2010) and a 3rd round pick (2009) to the Denver Broncos for Jay Cutler and a 5th round pick in 2009.
The immediate response from Bears fans was mostly positive. The immediate response from Broncos fans was mostly positive.
Chicago fans were happy to finally land a legitimate starting quarterback and Denver fans were happy to rid themselves of someone that no longer wanted to play for the Broncos.
If you want to read over the original comment thread (530 comments) you can click here. But for those of you that just want a few highlights, in a best-of-WCG style, I got you covered right now.
A Bronco fan chimed in with this nugget;
Careful what u wish for
He'll drive ninety-five yards down the field, and then throw a heartbreaker end-zone pick. That's why his yardage totals are so high, with low win-loss pct. Plus he's such a whiner and a bigger lush than orton.
Which prompted Just Dave to give us a first hand account of Captain Neckbeard.
"I once saw Orton down about 6 drinks in 10 minutes at a bar in Bourbonaiss. The guy give true meaning to the title Boilermaker."
Sam Householder was fired up about the trade;
This might be the great day in my Bears fan life!!! No one thought we could pull it off!!! I certainly didnt
**Greatest
I am too excited to type. None of my bears fan friends are around other than you guys!! I am shaking with excitement
One Bears fan had this to say;
If he plays at a Pro-Bowl type level for the 5 -10 years
It's the steal of the century
We're still waiting for 1 year of Pro Bowl level play...
Long time WCG member propheteer was fired up, "Holy *%#@$! Instant contenders!"
Dave Choate, the editor in chief of SB Nation's Atlanta Falcons site, The Falcoholic, thought the Bears made a good move.
Earl Bennett should get a huge boost in value for you guys. You gave up a lot, but this is still potentially an enormous bounty for the Bears. Cutler should make everyone on that offense look a little better.
Some Bears fans were really happy with GM Jerry Angelo.
JA I love you!
THERE IS A GOD, YES!!!!!!!!!!!
JA I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!!! THIS IS AMAZING, YES!!!Can't wait to see the first press conference on this.
Angelo has the right to strut today.JA could come on here
and rub this in our face and I would sit here and take it because he finally proved us wrong!big props to JA... he got it done.
Jerry Angelo was eventually fired, in part because he couldn't build up a better supporting cast around the QB he traded for. He thought Cutler was the kind of "elite" talent that could will his team to victory.
But back to the thread...
This guy had some good perspective;
holy shit
it was a lot, but you know what? f waiting around, they made a ballsy move. so in 5 years we may still suck if this was a bad move, big damn deal, could have sucked anyway.i am sick of worrying about "blowing the future."
With Jay Cutler at the helm, the Bears have gone 44-38, but in the last two years Chicago's record is 10-16 with Jay under center. I'd say that qualifies as "still suck."
Here's another satisfied Bears fan;
This will definitely make us Superbowl contenders for next season
We should get a WR and we are good to go. This is a historical day for the Bears. I am soo frigging ecstatic! This definitely makes JA's job secure
And another;
Super Bears!
Super Bowl!
Super Bears!
Super Bowl!
Super Bears!
Super Bowl!
And this guy too...
This is like a MASSIVE shot
of adrenaline for this team.A) They won the Cutler Sweepstakes
B) They have a Pro-Bowl type QB with a rocket arm.
It's a great day in Bear history!
The excitement was running wild!
This is the best day in Bears offseason history
hands down, haha and boy, five hours ago I thought this was the WORST Bears off season in a LONG time!
But this guy was really counting his chickens before they hatched...
Hester
Cutler to Hester will keep DC's up all night changing their underwear!
What do you guys remember from that day 6 years ago?
A word of warning, Jay Cutler comment threads tend to get wild. Enter -- and read the comments -- at your own discretion.