One of the founding teams of the NFL, The Chicago Bears have always been known for their tough, physical style of play and, for many years, were known as the monsters of the midway. They may no longer carry that nickname, but their reputation for rugged play continues to this day.

The Bears have always been a defense first team and, way back in 1985 when they won the Super Bowl, they were considered one of the greatest defensive teams of all time.

In fact, one of the best defensive players in the history of the game, Dick Butkus, was, of course, a Chicago Bear , and, after he stopped playing, a proud inductee into the NFL Hall of Fame. Butkus, deserved the honor. He was great. The current group of Chicago Bears may not have another Dick Butkus on their roster, but they still have outstanding defenders and a great and intimidating defense.

The problem that The Chicago Bears have is on offense. They have never been a great offensive team, but in recent seasons they have become almost pathetic when they have the ball. Their quarterback play has been spotty and inconsistent and they have been more likely to score Field Goals than Touchdowns.

Thats not a winning formula, no matter how brilliantly your team plays defense. The fact is that even the top defenses give up some points. A winning NFL team, with a better-than-average defense probably needs to score twenty-one points or more, every game , because even an inferior opponent is going to find the end zone from time to time.

The Bears cant score. At least, they cant score enough to win consistently and to be an upper echelon team and a yearly Super Bowl threat. So what did they do after last season ended?

They made the single biggest splash in the off-season when they pulled off a trade with The Denver Broncos for a new starting quarterback. Now, of course, they didnt trade for a run-of-the-mill quarterback. No ,

The Chicago Bears reeled in a twenty-five year old stud quarterback known to all football fans for his cannon of an arm and for his ability to lead his team into the end zone, consistently.

The Bears new quarterback in 2009-2010 is going to be Jay Cutler. And every NFL fan knows that his presences under center is going to make the Bears a much better offensive team , and a big time playoff threat.

They need Cutlers big arm because the Bears play their late season home games in terrible weather, cold, windy, often snowy, just horrible. Its tough on visiting teams , tough on the home team, too. But Cutler will give them the edge theyve lacked, because he can throw through the wind.

Fans will be watching closely this year, perhaps betting on the Bears to win , now that their QB is a guy named Jay.