The addition of Jay Cutler finally gives the Bears a legitimate quarterback to compete at a high level in the NFL. Still, the Bears QB package is not getting much respect in the rankings. Fox Sports released their rankings of the NFL’s quarterback packages and the Bears fall at a dismal 19th!

Here is what the ranking had to say about the Bears QB situation:

Well, at least now the Bears finally have one legitimate, top-shelf QB. They just may not have anyone behind him if Cutler ever gets hurt. First, how good is Cutler? Critics point to his off-season pouting in Denver, his 18 interceptions in 2008 and fact that he’s never led a team to the playoffs. But he did have a horrible defense in Denver, which on paper the Bears should be an improvement. But Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez as backups? Chicago’s front office should be ashamed to head into the season with no proven backup.

Now, I understand that the Bears have no contingency plan in case of a Cutler injury, but I still think 19th is a bit low considering the Pro Bowler will be the starter. Looking at the list, it is almost irritating to see some of the teams ahead of the Bears.

The Texans QB package, led by Matt Schaub come in at number 13. Matt Schaub has had a lot of hype surrounding him since joining the Texans, but his first two seasons have been less than stellar while there. He is certainly an efficient quarterback, protecting the ball and keeping drives alive when needed, but he has yet to really pan out into a big threat.  Plus, he hasn’t stayed healthy for a whole season while in Houston.

Then there are the Texans backups: Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman, and Alex Brink. Seriously? If the Bears are knocked because Caleb Hanie and Brett Basanez aren’t solid backups, how can these guys be any better? This is what the ranking said about Orlovsky and Wrecks:

Orlovsky often gave the terrible Lions their best chance at winning in ‘08 and Grossman did lead the Bears to the Super Bowl once. It could be worse.

Orlovsky often gave the Lions their best chance at winning? Obviously Adrian Hasenmayer at FoxSports missed this game last season:

That play will forever be burned into my memory in terms of complete hilarity. You don’t see many worse QB plays than that one.

The Texans backups have NFL experience, which Hanie and Basanez lack, but Orlovsky and Grossman are absolute garbage.

Then, at number 12 are the Bills Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gibran Hamdan, and Matt Baker. Edwards isn’t bad but who the hell are Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker? Hamdan is 1 for 2 in his NFL career according to espn.com, and those pass attempts came in 2003. How can this package be 7 spots in front of Cuter, Hanie, and Basanez?!

The top 10 is pretty good, except for the Panthers at number 6. Their package includes Jake Delhomme, Josh McCown (who looks a lot like Zack Morris on Saved By the Bell), Matt Moore, and Hunter Cantwell. Now, I’ve been saying for years that Delhomme is the most overrated player in the NFL today. I will stand by that for the rest of his career, or until he actually leads his team to a superbowl win, which ever comes first. With the exception of 2 very good stat seasons, the rest of his career has been slightly above average. But, people don’t let go of those numbers he put up 3 years ago so now him and his crappy backups fall in at number 6 in the rankings.

Tony Romo is probably number 2 on my top overrated players list. He and his backup Jon Kitna fall in at number 5. A bit high if you ask me, but I don’t want to get into a big rant about them now. I’ll let this picture do the talking:

Anyways, ranking the Bears at 19 is a bit ridiculous.  I know the backups are unproven, but Cutler alone should move the Bears into the top 15, ahead of Matt Cassel and the Chiefs.  Cassel has only played one season on the best team in football.  The guy could turn out to be complete garbage, who knows.  I say he will.

And last and definitely least on the list, the Denver Broncos!  Kyle Orton, Chris Sims, and Tom Brandstater.  Again Denver, we here in Chicago can’t thank you enough.  Way to take a big step back McDaniels.

Earlier this week, I heard that the Cubs were in talks with the Indians regarding former Cub Mark DeRosa.  As amazing as it would have been to see DeRosa in a Cubs jersey again, that ship has likely sailed as Mark DeRosa was traded to the Cardinals on Saturday.

Unfortunately this means the Cubs will have to face the fan favorite for two more series before the year ends.  Hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite the Cubs.  The NL Central division race could be a close race in September when the Cubs and Cards will match off for a three game series.  If DeRosa proves to be a key factor in a key series against the Cubs, I truly wouldn’t be surprised.  How bad would the move to dump DeRo look then?

It’s really too bad the Cubs couldn’t find a way to get him back.  He would definitely provide a nice spark.

I really think the Cubs needed this win tonight.  The team has been playing very well over the past week, and a win tonight over the AL Central leading team would have been big.  Instead, Kevin Gregg blew the save in the 9th after serving up a 2-run shot to Ryan Raburn, who was batting .225 coming in to tonight’s game.  This game should have been in the bag.

With the season we have had so far, and the way I see it continuing, the Cubs can’t afford to lose many games resulting from blown saves.  Unless someone runs away with the division, there are only going to be a few games separating the division winner and second/third place teams.  Given this, every win the Cubs blow in the 9th inning will come back to haunt them.

Gregg simply isn’t the guy to get it done at the closer position.  He just is not overpowering enough to dominate and get three quick outs.  When he does get a save, the performance is shaky at best.  However, I’m not calling for Gregg to be dumped just for having a bad outing tonight.  My point is that I don’t think he has the stuff to be a good closer in what will be a close race for the division this year.  So, what do the Cubs do?

There is no clear solution to the problem.  I think Marmol should get a few cave opportunities to see how he does.  He has been battling control problems all season, but he doesn’t get hit too often and could potentially be quite effective in the role.  I would at least like to see him get a few chances and see if he makes the most of it.  Maybe the Cubs can work a deal before the trade deadline to acquire a more consistent closer.

I’m just not comfortable with Gregg as the closer and I really think in the long run this season he will do us more harm than good.

Finally, Randy Wells is able to enjoy his first major league win.  I’m sure he was sweating a bit in the 9th when there were 2 runners on, but Gregg was able to close it out for the win.  Congrats to Randy Wells.

There were more good signs of solid offense today.  Soto went deep, Lee kept his hit streak going with a nice RBI, and Jake Fox delivered a big RBI double in the 5th inning.  Milton Bradley also seems to be heating up now, going 2 for 3 today and extending his hit streak to 10 games.

The Cubs have been playing some very good baseball over the past few days.  The starters have given good performances, the bullpen has been holding opposing offenses down, and the offense is really coming alive.  If this continues, there is no reason why the Cubs can’t make a serious run to the top of the division.  There is still a lot of ball to play this season, but some good signs are finally starting to emerge from the Cubs.

The Cubs just finished up a 6-5 victory over the Indians.  This marks 3 straight victories, but more importantly, shows signs of life are emerging from the Cubs offense and general playing.  Today’s win was great all around.  Lilly pitched well enough to keep the Cubs in it, the bullpen shut down the Tribe for almost the remainder of the game, and the offense was hitting at the right times.

Also, I am excited to see some stolen bases attempted by Cubs base runners.  Good things can happen when you get the runners moving.  In our case today, Fukudome was able to get to third on a bad throw when he stole second.  He was then able to score the tying run on Andres Blanco’s single.  As the Cubs move forward this season, I hope to see more of this type of baseball.

Derek Lee Celebrates His 2-Run Homerun

I’ve been pretty hard on Derek Lee lately.  For now, I’m going to take it easy on him since he has been hitting everything and coming through with big home runs when needed.  Hopefully he continues this and the Cubs can ride this offensive surge to a nice streak and gain some ground on the Brewers.  Fukudome and Theriot also are showing signs of breaking out of their slumps.  Getting those two going is essential to the Cubs success, because Lee can’t do it all himself.

Alfonso Soriano is still in a bit of a funk, going 0 for 5 today.  He needs to snap out of this and start hitting soon so that offense can really get moving.

Overall, great wins the last three days.  I am starting to feel a bit more confident when the Cubs are down by a  few runs late in the game.  For well over a month it has been tough to watch the Cubs down by even one run.  You almost knew the game was over.  Now, they seem to have the confidence and ability to battle back and win those close games.

Still, one thing bothers me.  Why did Lou put in Marmol with the bases loaded in the 7th inning?  He has walked 32 batters in 32 innings this season.  Playing the numbers, you had to expect Marmol to walk in a run with the bases loaded.  That was a dumb call by Lou if you ask me.  Lou must be having memory problems and can only remember Marmol in his dominant stages of early 2008.  Carlos Marmol does have some good stuff out there on the mound, but right now he is just too wild to bring in with a one run lead and the bases loaded.

Fortunately the Cubs were able to put the Indians away in extras.  I’ll take the win however it comes, including a passed ball with a runner on third.  I’m glad the Cubs are starting to get those types of breaks and take advantage of them.

Unfortunately I lost all content prior to today when upgrading my site software.  Starting fresh again now.