By JUSTIN PORRECA
Staff Writer
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This quarterback’s intangibles include: a tremendous arm, better than John Elway’s, a great delivery, can make every throw, can squeeze the ball into tight windows, has the ability to run and throw out of the pocket, can buy second chances, and will take a hit to get a first down. However, his flaws include: lack of a clutch gene, inconsistency, lack of poise, not comfortable reading defenses, throws off his back foot too often, has accuracy issues, locks on to a pre-determined or favorite target, gunslinger, forces the ball into tight windows too much, lacks durability, lacks leadership, lacks responsibility, not a field general, and performs better when asked to do very little in the offense. If Geno Smith came to mind, close in terms of inconsistency and accuracy, but no cigar. The correct answer is Oscar the Grouch himself, Jay Cutler.
A projected MVP by many analysts, writers, and insiders, Jay Cutler has not lived up to that hype this season. Instead, Cutler has continued to play like Cutler of old. Although he is on pace for his highest completion percentage, passer rating, and touchdowns of his up and down nine year career, he is still incredibly inconsistent. The reasons the Bears are 3-4 this season fall on his shoulders, and he needs to shoulder that burden. Cutler and the highly potent Bears offense only scored 14 points against a Dolphins pass defense that let Aaron Rodgers walk all over them a week before. Cutler has three giants catching passes from him. The 6′3″ Alshon Jeffery, the 6′4″ Brandon Marshall, and the 6′6″ Martellus Bennett and Cutler can only muster 14 points; there is a glaring issue here.
In past seasons with the Bears, Cutler had a plethora of excuses for his bad play. He had zero weapons and an offensive line unfit to even block for a high school quarterback. Analysts and insiders alike felt sympathetic for Cutler and gave him a pass. However, the excuse well has run dry. Cutler has weapons and an offensive line. The Bears traded for his “best friend” Brandon Marshall in the 2012 offseason. In the same offseason, the Bears drafted Alshon Jeffery. In 2013, the Bears signed tight end Martellus Bennett, Pro Bowl left tackle Jermon Bushrod, left guard Matt Slauson, and drafted rookie Pro Bowl right guard, Kyle Long. Weapons check. Offensive line check, so now what’s the problem with the Bears offense? That problem has a name, and it’s Jay Cutler.
According to Bears great Brian Urlacher, Jay Cutler is “elite in salary only.” According to the statistics, Urlacher is spot on with his critical comment of Cutler. Cutler had his best season statistically last year, despite playing in only 11 games. The Bears record in those games 5-6, and it included a crucial loss in week 17 versus the Packers. In those 11 games, Cutler had 2,621 passing yards, 19 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, a 63.1 completion percentage, and 89.2 passer rating. That’s a fairly mediocre “career best” season. Peyton Manning had numbers similar to Cutler’s in his sophomore season. His completion percentage and passer rating may have been worse than what they were had he played all 16 games.
Looking at Cutler’s statistics this season, he has 1,886 passing yards, 14 touchdowns to 7 interceptions, a 67.3 completion percentage, and a 94.4 passer rating. Decent statistics through seven games, but digging deeper they aren’t as dazzling as they appear. Cutler has three games this season with two or more interceptions. Cutler has seven turnovers in three home losses this season (five interceptions, two fumbles). His total statistics at home are 795 passing yards, 5 touchdowns to five interceptions, a 65.8 completion percentage, and a passer rating of 81.7. On a side note, the Chicago Blackhawks have more wins at Soldier field than the Bears. On the road however, Cutler has just four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles). His total statistics on the road include 1,071 passing yards, nine touchdowns to two interceptions, a completion percentage of 68.5 percent and a passer rating of 104.6. It’s evident that Cutler reserves his ineptitude for home games.
In totality, Cutler’s tenure with the Bears has been less than stellar and Urlacher who was a Cutler defender has a fair point. In his six year tenure with the Bears, he is 42-32; he has 115 touchdowns to 82 interceptions, and 16,779 passing yards. In those six seasons not one 4,000 yard passing year, not one. He’s only brought the Bears to the playoffs once (2010) and could have had them in the Super Bowl if he got off the stationary bike and actually played. So does Jay Cutler deserve that 7 year, 126 million dollar contract with 54 million guaranteed? The answer is no. Cutler, so far, is failing to live up to that lucrative contract he earned being an “elite” quarterback.
Cutler makes Bears fans want to rip their hair out, burn their Cutler jerseys, storm Halas Hall, and worst jump ship to another team, a winning team, like storied rival Aaron Rodgers and the Green-Bay Packers. Cutler is bi-polar, in terms of his play on the field. One week he’s good Cutler, and the next he regresses and turns into bad Cutler. It’s too often that Bears fans see the bad Cutler take the field on Sundays. Marc Trestman was said to be a saving grace for Cutler since he’s some quarterback guru, how’s that working out? Cutler has too many issues for even a quarterback guru to fix. Can Trestman fix leadership and responsibility issues? Can he fix Cutler’s brain so he doesn’t make those ill-advised throws and decisions? No he can’t, he’s not a miracle worker.
Speaking of leadership, that’s a trait that is rather difficult to find with Cutler, not even a high-powered microscope is going to find that. What Jay Cutler needs to do is swallow his arrogance, wipe the smug look off of his face, find a heart, read up on how to be a man, stop hiding in the locker room, and become the definitive leader of a team that is in desperate need of one. A kicker and a basket case should not be the vocal leaders of the Bears. The quarterback is the leader of the franchise, every player follows his lead. Cutler has never and still doesn’t live up to that mantra. If Cutler continues to lack leadership and responsibility along with his poor on the field play, his critics are going to become deafening, and justifiably so.
Jay Cutler has a tremendous opportunity this week in New England to silence his doubters and critics. All the criticism of his leadership skills and poor play could all cede temporarily, if he can go into Foxboro and beat the red hot Patriots. Despite being 0-2 versus the Patriots with one touchdown and four interceptions and completion percentage of 55.8 percent, the world is his oyster. He is, oddly enough, 3-1 on the road. Cutler can bring the Bears back to .500 or continue to struggle and shy away from the blame. The ball is in Cutler’s hands, now he has to do what he is being paid to do, be elite and bring the Bears back to prominence.
