Bears Blitz

Published by Luke Carlton on January 24, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

It’s the biggest game in your NFL career to date.

It’s against the Green Bay Packers, your arch-rivals.

It’s the biggest rivalry game in your teams history.

It’s my understanding that as a captain of the team, that you should lead by example.

Jay Cutler has other ideas.

Instead, Cutler rallied his team by being himself, his emotionless attitude spreading confidence to fellow Bears…

Though Cutler was just being himself, you have to think how his attitude is affecting team. Many Bears have come out and said that his attitude is not a problem and he’s not what the media thinks he his.

How many true fans genuinely thought that Todd Collins or Caleb Hanie could realistically come back from a 14-point deficit, against the team’s biggest rival, against a team famous for its fast, furious and confusing defense in the NFC Championship Game and lead the Bears to the Super Bowl?

The fact is that whilst you may be injured or potentially tore your ACL, it doesn’t mean you relinquish your duties as a leader. No matter what they say, the players don’t want to see their leader quietly sit on the bench.

Every team needs a leader, someone who they can turn to when times are hard and think to themselves, “Don’t worry, they will turn it around for us.” They are the go-to guy. They are the playmaker. They are the people who give all the other players confidence and belief.

In times of desperation, leaders will rise up and make a play. Look at Lance Briggs’ interception. Look at Brian Urlacher’s interception. Look at Julius Peppers busting a gut to make a play, every play.

This is a defence which caused two interceptions from Rodgers, a boiling hot quarterback who had just come off arguably the best playoff showing from a quarterback.

Rodgers had thrown 22 TDs and only two INTs since Week 8, and one of those interceptions went to Charles “Peanut” Tillman in Week 17. The defence had an outstanding game, conceding only 14 points, giving the Bears a great chance of winning this game.

As for Cutler? Can you really suggest that in times of desperation, you can turn to him and believe everything will be alright? Therefore, prompting the question:

Will the Chicago Bears ever win the Super Bowl while Jay Cutler is at quarterback?

There are no questions about his ability, he’s easily got the talent to be one of the best in the league. Sure, his mechanics are a little loose and he consistently throws off the back foot, but it works for him most of the time. The one thing which separates Cutler from the rest of the best quarterbacks is his mentality and attitude.

Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Drew Brees. Even Ben Roethlisberger.

The one word which can combine all of these is “clutch.” You can guarantee that with the game on the line, these four “elite” quarterback can give their team a chance to win the game when the pressure is high. They make plays. They orchestrate the offense to a position where either they or the kicker can win the game.

In other words, they matriculate the ball down the field, to quote Hank Stram.

But Cutler? Since he joined the Bears, I can’t think of a single do-or-die, end of the game situation where he has delivered the goods. Even the times when he has delivered, he has needed a helping hand of the defense or special teams to put them in great field position.

It took a Tim Jennings interception against the Bills to set up a game-winning score in Canada.

It took an Adrian Peterson fumble to help the Bears win in overtime last year against the Vikings.

It took various penalties and a Brian Urlacher forced fumble to help tie and then win the game against the Packers earlier in their year.

My point?

Can you legitimately suggest that if the Bears were down by four at the two-minute warning on their own 20-yard line that Cutler would take them down the field and put it in for six? I can’t. And that is coming from a Bears fan.

Call me pessimistic, but Cutler isn’t a clutch player. When the pressure is high, he doesn’t rise to the occasion. I hope he can prove me wrong, but as it stands, he will never be classed as an “elite” quarterback until he can prove that in those tricky situations, he can find a way to win. Though you might not have played your best game, you can find a way to get it done.

To relate back to Cutler’s sideline behaviour, I can clearly remember times when Brady and Manning called the players together on the sideline and given a speech to them. This is the sort of thing leaders do. They give each other that kick up the behind to make sure everyone is doing their job.

So when you are injured and on the sideline and the team doesn’t know where to turn, you step up, be a man and install confidence in the rest your team.

If you can’t do that, you don’t deserve to be a leader.

And if you not a leader at quarterback, your not going to win the Super Bowl. No matter how good your team is.

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