Jay Cutler Injury: Why His Absence Is No Excuse for the Chicago Bears’ Loss
Published by Joseph Rapolla on January 24, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
No one in Chicago is happy right now, and understandably so. The two-seeded Bears had a fantastic year after a lowly start, yet had still received very minimal respect and/or media attention going into yesterday’s championship game versus Green Bay.
Sunday was no doubt their time to silence the non-believers, or perhaps just bring the believers out from their cave, yet the Bears put together one of the most forgettable performances in championship history. The score was close, the game was not.
Everyone is now pointing fingers, mainly at Jay Cutler for leaving the game with an injured knee. Looking at the situation realistically, however, this did not cost the Bears the game.
Jay Cutler is not a popular player, and he is not well-liked by the media. He comes off as aloof, has a tendency to make mistakes and never seems to win the clutch games. He is the easy target to pick on for why the Bears lost, yet he apparently has a torn MCL.
By saying Jay Cutler should go in with that injury and risk the rest of his career is ABSURD. Anyone who says otherwise does not understand the delicacy of the human body and/or the toughness and violent nature of football.
Also, saying Jay Cutler should have stayed in is making a statement about how bad backup quarterbacks are. They are still pros, the best in the world. How is an injured starter better than a healthy backup? If that’s the case, why travel with backups at all? Backup quarterbacks are on the team for a reason, and their job is to come in cold and get hot, quick.
Jay Cutler was miserable throughout the day no question, and so was Todd Collins when he came in. This game was not lost on bad quarterbacking by the Bears, it was won by the resilience of the Green Bay defense to shut down all the Bears’ receiving options. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Green Bay won this game because they outplayed the Bears.
They also outcoached the Bears. On the last drive with time running down, Caleb Hanie was looking impressive running the hurry-up offense. On third and three, however, Lovie Smith called a timeout that gave the Packers defense time to regroup, break up the ensuing play and force a tough fourth down (which ultimately resulted in an interception).
Jay Cutler did not lose the game for the Bears. That’s not the problem. The problem is no one won it for them. Their offense was completely overwhelmed and would not have performed any better if their starting QB with a torn MCL was playing.
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