As a Bears fan, I am very disappointed today in the 21-14 loss to the hated Packers. Jay Cutler let his team down. His knee injury could be serious; could be a torn ligament. But he didn’t show up in the first half, missed Devin Hester on a wide open pass at the three that would have tied the game if Cutler had put it on target. Most quarterbacks in the NFL could have made that throw. I know the three others in the championship games, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Rothlisberger and Mark Sanchez would have executed it. The Bears would have been tied 7-7 and it would have been a totally different ball game.
I don’t blame Cutler completely for not playing after the injury. The trainers and doctors told him not to. I still feel like though if you’re walking around on the sidelines you at least give it a go. Maybe the Bears would have had no chance if Cutler had played on basically one leg. Teammates like Brian Urlacher, who played his heart out in the game, were defending Cutler. Center Olin Kruetz said that Cutler’s leg was kind of dangling, so the injury may be serious.
But what disappoints me most is Cutler’s seeming lack of concern that the Bears lost the biggest game in each of these guys’ careers. This was a chance to go to the Super Bowl; this was not just any game. This was the biggest game in a lot these players’ lives. And Cutler said afterwards that “we gave it a go” but it just wasn’t happening. Something about that seems pretty hollow to me. Does the guy care about his teammates, his coaches and just importantly the Bears fans, who have wanted him to be good all along and supported him despite his bickering demeanor and lackadaisical attitude? If I was a Bears fan, and I’m sure about 99% of them feel this way, I would be very angry with Cutler. He just doesn’t seem to get it, and by that I mean, he doesn’t appreciate the opportunity that he’s been given. He doesn’t appreciate the God-given talent he’s been given, the enormous sum of money he’s been awarded for what so far has been an average career and the chance at making history. He just doesn’t seem to care enough about those things. And that’s very disappointing.
Will he ever be a great quarterback in the league? I’m starting to have my doubts. He’s immature. He dates some 22 year old from the highly thought provoking show, The Hills, who when last heard from, was in a car with her mother while her mother got a DUI and the girl was complaining to the cops that she needed to get something to eat at 2 a.m. while her mother was being arrested. She’s an idiot. I question Cutler’s judgment, his character and his commitment to the team. The guy just doesn’t seem to get the fact that he is a highly paid athlete in the NFL, a very elite position, and his job is to do everything he can to get his team to the Super Bowl. I think he has the physical talent. I just don’t think he has the head for it. He just hasn’t grown up. He’s 27, he’s a multimillionaire because of football, so his job is to study endlessly on football, get that pathetic foot work under control, work with his receivers and his coaches and do everything possible to be a great quarterback in the NFL. He’s not doing that. And, beyond that, he doesn’t care what the fans think. He blows off the media. I’m sorry, when you’re this highly paid, you’re going to have to suck it up and deal with the media. Because your fans are watching. They care how you represent them. They want you to represent them well. And you’re talking to your fans. Cutler comes across as a jerk. I’ve defended him all season when he gives those short, rude answers on television or in print, but I’ve run out of excuses for the guy. He doesn’t act right off the field, I’ve heard he’s a big carouser. And, beyond that, he doesn’t get it done on the field.
If he was passionate as a player, I’d cut him some slack, but so far he’s not been. He better hurry up or his legacy will be one of a loser. A guy with potential who never lived up to it.
I contrast that with Mark Sanchez, another quarterback who has caught some heat in the media. Sanchez was distraught yesterday after his team’s loss, blaming himself saying he didn’t pass well enough for his team to win, when in fact, he played a very good second half. The guy showed passion and remorse. He really cared. He wanted to get his team in the Super Bowl. He came across as a total team guy.
Aaron Rodgers was ecstatic in victory. Ben Rothlisberger, too. Should be a great Super Bowl. Talk about clutch? Rothlisberger was huge yesterday. What a throw on third and six with two minutes left that iced the game for his team. I’m not a huge Rothlisberger fan for what he did in Georgia last summer–I thought it was reprehensible and he’s lucky to be playing football and not in jail–but the guy is a winner on the football field. Two Super Bowl victories, a possible third. He’s quite an accomplished quarterback. If he keeps this up, he could be a top five quarterback of all time. Rodgers is laying a foundation for a Hall of Fame career, too. He’s got a chance at a first Super Bowl and he’s 27. The sky’s the limit. Sanchez at 24, has great possibilities, too. Rothlisberger is 28. All three of these guys care about their teams, their coaches, their fans and their legacies.
I just can’t figure out why Cutler doesn’t seem to. The only thing I can surmise is the guy is just not consumed with winning a championship. Maybe he’s not enough of a competitor and the extravagant amount of money has made him soft and dispassionate. The other three don’t look at their jobs that way. They are passionate about their professions. They want to win Super Bowls. One already has and the other two could very well win a couple or maybe more before their careers are over.
I don’t see that in Cutler. He’s 27, 28 in April, and he hasn’t gotten it yet. I don’t know if he ever will. He may just want to be content with making a lot of money and not worrying about a Super Bowl ring. To me that’s sad, and if that’s the case, the Bears should cut him.
The guy is a major disappointment. I’m a Vanderbilt guy and I always support our players, but Cutler just isn’t cuttin’ it. I hope he grows up and gets serious about football. It’s not too late. But he’s not a young player any more. He’s a veteran. It’s time for this guy to step up and help his team and his city win a championship. He’s starting to run out of time. And it’s very disappointing and disturbing. He’s letting a lot of people down and there’s no excuse for it.
(Jay Cutler’s career has been a bust.)