Once the 2013 regular season ended in the National Football League it didn’t take the Chicago Bears that long to answer the most intriguing question around their franchise as they re-signed starting quarterback Jay Cutler. Cutler’s deal to remain with the Bears is reportedly worth $126 million over the next seven years with $54 million guaranteed. Money aside Cutler’s legacy with the Bears will more than likely be determined in Chicago if he can lead the Bears to a championship.
After three successful seasons with the Denver Broncos, Cutler was traded to the Bears in 2009. Cutler’s first season in Chicago was tough as he led the NFL in interceptions with 26. Cutler bounced back in 2010 to lead the Bears to the NFC Championship Game.
But since joining the Bears, Cutler has played on some incomplete teams. When Cutler first arrived in Chicago, the Bears lacked play makers at the wide receiver position. In Cutler’s first season with the Bears, Devin Hester led the team in receiving yards with 757. The problem is that Hester is primarily a kick returner and he should not be the feature guy in a team’s passing game. After the 2010 NFL season former Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz convinced the team to trade their only valuable receiving threat in tight end Greg Olsen to the Carolina Panthers due to the fact that in Martz’s system he did not utilize the tight end. In his first three seasons with the Bears, Cutler threw to the “curtain jerkers” of the world until 2012 when new Bears general manager Phil Emery acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins and drafted wide receiver Alshon Jeffery to give Cutler legitimate threats at the wide receiver position. Cutler hasn’t played behind the best offensive line since he joined the Bears which has led him to being injured and being sacked 167 times during his time in Chicago. Out of 80 possible starts for the Bears, Cutler has missed 13 games due to injury as he has only made all 16 starts in a season with the Bears once.
This past season wasn’t an exception to that as injuries to his groin and ankle forced Cutler to miss five games. Heading into the regular season finale last Sunday the Bears had a chance to win the NFC North, but they lost to the Green Bay Packers 33-28. In the loss to the Packers, Cutler was 15-of-24 passing for 226 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, but the Bears defense was unable to make the unnecessary stops to get the team to the NFC North Title. Some fans in the Windy City have never warmed up to Cutler and the only way for him to be fully accepted is by winning a championship.
To some Cutler may come off as brash or arrogant, but his teammates have always taken up for him as being someone that they are willing to go to battle with every Sunday.
Cutler received unfair criticism during the Bears loss to the Packers several years ago in the NFC Championship Game. Cutler suffered a sprained MCL and missed the majority of the second half of the game and received a ton of unwarranted criticism for it. But former Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher was one of the first to come to the defense of Cutler as people were attempting to question his toughness.
When Cutler first joined the Bears the team was under the guidance of a defensive minded head coach in Lovie Smith. During Smith’s tenure with the Bears he would tend to rely too much on his defense and special teams feeling that he could get by with a mediocre offense. That approach got Smith and the Bears to the Super Bowl during the 2006 NFL season, but it wasn’t enough to win as they lost Super Bowl 41 to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17. The Bears are a team in transition of their identity from being a defensive oriented unit to a squad that can light up the scoreboard with any team in the NFL. Emery fired Smith following the 2012 NFL season and hired an offensive minded head coach in Marc Trestman. Trestman knows that he has something special in Cutler as he feels that they can combine to lead the Bears to a championship.
For fans of the Bears they must remain patient as Cutler can lead this team to a title. In five injury filled seasons Cutler is already the Bears all-time leader in passing yards with 14,193. Cutler has given the Bears franchise stability at the quarterback position for the first time since the days of Jim McMahon during the 1980’s. Since McMahon played his last game with the Bears in 1988 until 2009 which was Cutler’s first season with the Bears, the franchise employed 21 different starting quarterbacks.
Aside from keeping Cutler healthy and upright the Bears must become better finishers. In the past three seasons the Bears are 6-9 in the month of December as they have seen playoff hopes consistently slip through their grasps; partially because Cutler has been hurt. Cutler got paid like an elite quarterback and heading into next season he will look to solidify that with a Super Bowl Championship for the Bears.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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