[CBFF] DePaul finally wins one :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears - Sent using Google Toolbar

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DePaul finally wins one :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES ::
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DePaul finally wins one  Angelo credits personnel chief for getting Cutler
deal done  Recommend (1)
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 April 3, 2009
BY MIKE MULLIGAN <mmulligan at suntimes.com> mmulligan at suntimes.com

It takes a village to swing the biggest deal in team history. Just ask Bears
general manager Jerry Angelo, who pulled off a career-defining trade by
acquiring 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler.

''It was a true team effort,'' Angelo said when asked about the role pro
personnel director Bobby DePaul played. ''Bobby was our conduit between us
and Denver. He had a familiarity with one of the personnel people. I wanted
Bobby to help facilitate that, given that he had a relationship with some
people with Denver. They're a new crew.''
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DePaul's connections were just one of the subtle factors that tipped Cutler
in the Bears' direction in a bold deal any Bears fan would have laughed off
as an April Fool's joke.

How did the Bears pull this one off? Where did they grow the length of neck
needed to be stuck out in such a bold move?

Angelo deserves to take a bow today, but there are plenty of people -- some
obvious like DePaul, others hidden in the shadows -- who also deserve a
bouquet thrown their way.

First off, the Bears can thank Kyle Orton for their new quarterback. The
price of playing poker with Denver was two first-round picks -- that was the
ante -- but the most important chip on the table was having a starting
quarterback that new coach Josh McDaniels could build his system around. The
Broncos may ultimately have determined that Orton was a better option than
Washington's Jason Campbell, whom the Redskins tried to deal.

''I can't sit here and talk for Denver,'' Angelo said. ''But just going
through all the back and forth, Kyle was very much an integral part of this
trade. I talked to Kyle's agent, David Dunn, as well. [Denver] did a lot of
work on Kyle. They spent an inordinate amount of time watching the tape,
breaking down the season. With the technology the way it is, you can
facilitate that now very quickly, and they felt very good, and I think that
was a key component to make this happen.''
Even Favre had a hand in it

If Orton was the key to the trade for the Bears, then Brett Favre may have
been the key to another deal that didn't happen. Multiple sources say the
man the Broncos wanted after deciding they had to trade Cutler was Browns
quarterback Brady Quinn. Quinn played at Notre Dame for Charlie Weis, who
was the Patriots' offensive coordinator before McDaniels.

McDaniels had figured he could have immediate success with his scheme in
Denver with Matt Cassel, who played well filling in for Tom Brady in New
England last season. But Cassel wound up going to Kansas City for a
second-round pick. Cutler, who commanded two No. 1s, a starting quarterback
and the swap of a fifth-round pick for a third-rounder, obviously is deemed
a much more valuable prospect than Cassel. But McDaniels wants to run a
certain type of system. Quinn, like Cassel, would have allowed him that.

There are two stories making the rounds about what went wrong with a deal
for Quinn. One is that the Browns didn't want to pony up the ante and then
trade Quinn. The other is that Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, told the Broncos
that the player wouldn't even consider playing for the Browns because he
wanted no part of coach Eric Mangini. Cook represented Favre, who suffered
through a tough year with the Jets under Mangini's iron-fisted rule. Cook
didn't want another client to suffer at the hands of Mangini, who was fired
by the Jets and hired by the Browns.

Angelo knows getting Cutler in the fold is as significant a move as the
Bears could make. Cutler already has started 37 games, set a single-season
passing mark for the Broncos, and proven he can win with a little help from
his defense.

Cutler's career hasn't been easy. Forget the wretched way in which he left
Denver. He also went through the difficulty of being diagnosed with Type I
diabetes and learning to live with the disease.
Diabetes 'under control'

''All those questions and all those things that he had to deal with, he
dealt with in Denver,'' Angelo said. ''That's totally under control. He had
severe weight loss. Once they diagnosed what it was, he's addressed it, he's
got his weight back and he's probably heavier than he's ever been, and
that's all under control. I talked to our medical people and they said he's
gone through all the speed bumps, so we feel real good going forward that
that should not be an issue.''

Now that the Bears have pulled off a miraculous feat, the only hitch is
producing the happily-ever-after ending. They also agreed to terms with left
tackle Orlando Pace on a three-year, $15 million deal that will net him $11
million in the first two years. Pace, 34, was a cornerstone of the
''Greatest Show on Turf'' teams in St. Louis and should be revitalized by
joining a team with a young quarterback star.

Cutler's former blindside protector Chris Williams will move from left
tackle to right tackle and the quarterback also will reunite with wide
receiver Earl Bennett, a favorite target from their playing days at
Vanderbilt.

The Bears still hold eight picks in the draft, including their own
second-rounder, which seems earmarked for help at wide receiver.

''I think it will bode very well for everybody,'' Angelo said. ''I've always
said this: you win because of your quarterback. He's always been the
centerpiece of most great football teams. Our goal like 31 other teams is to
be the best we can be and win a championship.''

For a team that got a slow start to offseason building you have to say
they're suddenly the impact bunch of the NFL. Who ever would have thought?
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