Why Jay Cutler’s Poor Leadership, Tantrums Will Cost the Chicago Bears
Published by Chris Roling on September 13, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
When the Chicago Bears took on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thursday Night Football, Jay Cutler‘s immaturity and lack of leadership qualities were on full display.
It showed before a national audience why the Bears are doomed in 2012.
To be fair, the epic rivalry kicked off with more sacks than points for the majority of the first half. Both Aaron Rodgers and Cutler were abused thanks to lackluster play from their respective offensive lines.
Especially bad was Bears’ left tackle J’Marcus Webb, who was routinely embarrassed by Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews, leaving Cutler exposed to massive hits and disrupting entirely the rhythm of Chicago’s offense.
After being sacked for a second time, Cutler proceeded to verbally assault Webb for the entirety of the trip to the sideline, with a national television audience watching the entire episode.
Cutler has every right to be angry, but directing a temper tantrum toward one of your offensive linemen is not exactly the way to win over fans or, more importantly, teammates.
As Bleacher Report’s very own Matt Miller points out, Cutler’s tirade was not exactly the image of a leader a team would rally behind:
Boy, that Jay Cutler is one hell of a leader #ThingsYouNeverHear
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) September 14, 2012
Cutler’s list of fans continued to dwindle as the game wore on, and Joe Goodberry echoed Miller’s sentiments, also via Twitter:
I would have a tough time as a player following Cutler as my QB.
— Joe Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) September 14, 2012
Of course, the juvenile display put on by Cutler in Green Bay is yet the latest example of the Bears quarterback showing a lack of anything resembling leadership.
What Cutler fails to understand is that body language is key when leading a group of men. It is the exact reason you didn’t see Rodgers throwing a fit directed at his offensive line when he was being decimated by the Bears—he ended up leading his team to a critical win.
Players rally around Rodgers. Players rally around a leader like Pittsburgh Steelers‘ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who for years has had even worse protection than Cutler but still led his team to Super Bowl titles on the strength of his leadership.
Players don’t rally around Cutler, and if his career to date is any indication, he won’t change his ways. Could he use some help? Absolutely. His demeanor on the field, toward his teammates and toward the media are doing nothing to make things better in Chicago.
At this point, it is clear the Cutler we all know and love is not going anywhere, which is bad news for the Bears.
If the Bears disappoint in 2012, look no further than Cutler to place the majority of the blame. Chicago has deficiencies on the roster, but the biggest issue is at the quarterback position.
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