Bears Blitz

Published by Abdul Yaro on January 24, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Football observers expected yesterday’s NFC Championship game to be decided by quarterback play and it was. Unfortunately, it was less about the quarterbacks that did play with Aaron Rodgers leading his team to a 21-14 victory or the third-stringer who was an interception away from writing his own legend in Chicago (Caleb Hanie) than it was Chicago’s starting quarterback, Jay Cutler. 

Cutler has made a career of rubbing people the wrong way. He did it when he was in Denver with Mike Shanahan and Josh McDaniels, and it’s behavior that seems to have followed him to Chicago. He believes in his arm strength, and unlike his elite contemporaries, Cutler will pass up the safe play in order to dazzle you with his aerial prowess.

On the field and on the sideline, his demeanor at best can be described as aloof, disengaged, petulant and pouting—pick a negative word and you’d find a fit with Jay Cutler. 

That history didn’t help him when he didn’t return after halftime in yesterday’s game, citing an unspecified knee injury. Look, I understand that guys get hurt playing football and what might not look like a big deal really could end up being something pretty serious. My problem with Jay Cutler isn’t his injury; it’s how he responded to the injury. 

In a league where all 53 men on the roster make tremendous personal sacrifices to play the game, nothing sticks out faster than someone who’s dogging it, and the first ones to notice usually are the players and they did.

Several current and former NFL players took to Twitter to question Cutler’s toughness. Amongst them were Maurice Jones-Drew, Darnell Dockett and Derrick Brooks—yes, that Derrick Brooks. Their comments ranged from sarcasm, “The Urban Meyer rule is in effect…when the going gets tough…quit” by Jones-Drew to “Josh Freeman would’ve played” by Brooks. 

At this point in Cutler’s career, even he should know that actions speak louder than words. You have no control over when or how injuries happen, but you do have control over how you choose to respond.

In the 2008-09 AFC Championship game, San Diego Chargers quarterback, Philip Rivers willed himself through a torn ACL in trying to lead his team to victory. We all recall the image of Byron Leftwich in 2002 then a senior at Marshall University being carried down the field by his offensive linemen after breaking his shin and rallying Marshall to a victory over the University of Akron. Those are the enduring images every coach, GM, player and fan wants and expects from their de-facto team leader. 

Instead, Cutler returned to the sideline resigned to his fate as his third-string backup led his team just short of victory. He looked disengaged, offered little if any encouragement to teammates and coaches or even his fellow quarterbacks. In a game many players wait entire careers to play in, Jay Cutler looked and acted like he couldn’t be bothered with anyone but himself—football’s definition of betrayal. 

In the days to come, we’ll probably learn more about the severity of the injury and how Chicago’s team doctors were forced to make a decision for him, and even then his actions will still be inexcusable. All Cutler’s ever been asked to do is give a sh*t about anyone but himself or at least fake it. He’s proved incapable of it in the past, and on the biggest stage of his NFL career, his shortcomings as a leader were magnified for all the world to see. 

UPDATE: It’s since been reported that Jay Cutler suffered a torn MCL. When compared to a torn ACL and broken shin, and coupled with the fact that the MCL tear (particularly one not requiring surgery) is one of the easiest knee injuries to recover from with players often being out three to four weeks. He could have worked with the medical staff to stabilize the knee and maybe even used a numbing agent and if he really does believe in his arm strength, he could’ve compensated for the loss of mobility because unlike other positions on the field he can make do with a limited range of motion in his legs. Heck, Vinny Testaverde and Drew Bledsoe played entire careers that way.

My argument against Cutler still stands. 

I’m a Correspondent for Bleacher Report. You can learn more about me on my blog or by following me on Twitter: @SportsFanaddict . 

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