Chicago Bears starting quarterback Jay Cutler hails from the small town of Santa Claus, Indiana that has a population of less than 2,500 people. But the small town Cutler has talents that have made him a household name. In college, Cutler attended Vanderbilt University where he nearly led the beleaguered football program there to a winning record in 2005. The Denver Broncos were impressed enough by Cutler at Vandy that they traded up in the first round of the 2006 National Football League Draft to select him. As a rookie, Cutler went 2-3 as a starting quarterback, but he didn’t endear himself to the people of Denver when he said that he had a stronger arm than legendary Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. In 2008 with Cutler at the helm, the Broncos squandered a four-game lead in the AFC West with four games to go to the San Diego Chargers. As a result Mike Shanahan was fired as the Broncos head coach and his replacement Josh McDaniels wasn’t sold on Cutler which led to the young gunslinger being traded to the Bears.
Jay Cutler
Upon his arrival in Chicago, Cutler was looked at as the savior for the Bears who to that point had 21 different starting quarterbacks since Jim McMahon in 1988. In Cutler’s first season with the Bears he wasn’t handed a good group of wide receivers to work with which was part of the reason that he led the NFL in interceptions that year with 26. Cutler was able to help the Bears reach the NFC Championship Game in 2010, but a knee injury forced him out of the game and he became a lightning rod for criticism because of it as the Bears lost to their longtime rivals in the Green Bay Packers. Cutler’s time with the Bears has been mired by playing behind porous offensive lines which is evident by him being sacked 187 times since coming to Chicago. Part of Cutler’s woes were attributed to previously playing under an offensive coordinator (Mike Martz) that only believed in the deep pass which led to his quarterback taking a beating. Cutler appeared ready to turn a new leaf in 2013 when Marc Trestman was hired as the Bears new head coach.
Trestman came to the Bears with an offensive background that included him leading the Montreal Alouettes to a pair of Grey Cup Championships in the Canadian Football League. But just like it was for Cutler before Trestman joined the Bears, the quarterback cannot stay healthy and when he is on the field he continuously makes mistakes.
The Bears were expected to contend for the NFC North Title this season. But after eight games this season the Bears are 3-5 and they are three games behind the first place Detroit Lions. The Bears have yet to win a game at home and when they’ve played there, the boo birds have come out in force. Grant it that all of the Bears problems are not Cutler’s fault, but when you’re playing in a big market like he is and you’re earning $22.5 million like he is this season, you’ll become the whipping boy when things are going wrong like they are now.
On the season Cutler has thrown 17 touchdown passes along with 8 interceptions. But all of Cutler’s interceptions have come in Chicago losses which will magnify them even more. The boo birds and the critics will be out on Cutler due to the fact that he is perceived by many to have the best players at the skill offensive skill positions of any team in the NFC North. The Lions have been without All-Pro wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the majority of the season, but they are 6-2. The Packers have been dealing with injuries and they have a decent group of play makers around quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but they don’t measure up to what the Bears have. The Packers are 5-3 and they look like a playoff team as Rodgers is elevating his team which is something that Cutler is not doing. The suspension of running back Adrian Peterson has crippled the chances of the Minnesota Vikings, but through eight games they have the same record as the Bears. Cutler has two big and physical wide receivers on his squad in the form of Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery while also having an explosive tight end in Martellus Bennett. But through eight games for Chicago, it is running back Matt Forte that is currently leading the Bears in receptions with 58.
Through eight games this season Cutler’s 67.2 completion percentage is the highest of his NFL career. The Bears are passing the football nearly 60 percent of the time and it is time for them to run the football more with Forte. Forte is on pace for his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing campaign and the Trestman and the Bears need to balance out the offense more as his legs will create tremendous opportunities for Cutler to be a better passer off of play action.
Recently former Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher claimed that Cutler is paid like an elite quarterback, but he isn’t producing like one. An irate Marshall went off in a post game press conference tirade after the Bears 27-14 home loss in Week 7 to the Miami Dolphins and his problems sounded like they were directed to Cutler. At this point of the season the Bears are at the crossroads as they are desperate for leadership which must come from Cutler.
Being that Cutler is compensated like an elite quarterback he must now elevate his team in the same manner that Rodgers is doing and in the same way that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady consistently do. Arguably Cutler could have a stronger throwing arm than Elway does, but do his teammates with the Bears look at him truly as a leader? Unless Cutler is able to lead the Bears to a turnaround this season then all that he will be looked at is another strong armed quarterback that can put up big time numbers who was never able to lead his team to a championship.
After losing last Sunday by 28 points to the Patriots, the Bears are off this week which gives Cutler and company an opportunity to lick their wounds before they embark on a stretch that will decide their playoff fate. The Bears will be at Lambeau Field next Sunday night for an important tilt with the Packers who already defeated Chicago 38-17 this season. The following two weeks will see the Bears host the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers respectively which cannot just be penciled in as victories for Chicago as they have yet to win at Soldier Field this season. The Bears will be on the road to meet the Lions on Thanksgiving Day which will be followed by a trio of home games versus the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, and finally the Lions. If the Bears are out of contention when the calendar shifts to the month of December, Bears general manager Phil Emery might still have support for Cutler, but the fans and media alike in the Windy City will turn on him faster than yours truly can down a full-size, Chicago-style, deep-dish pizza.
Source: Pro-football-reference.com
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