As many may know, Jay Cutler has been the headline of local and national news since being pulled from the NFC Championship game Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Most have lashed out at Cutler via twitter and other social networking sites about his heart and whether or not he could have come back and finished the game. Former and current NFL players have openly called Cutler out for the early exit. Now, stories are being released on why Cutler should be benched next season, traded, and even cut.
Sitting at BW3's watching the game I was with every other beloved Bears backer when I saw that Todd Collins, who is older than a Betty White nightie, enter the game. I was more angry than a catholic on Friday's during lint. I had heard that Cutler suffered some sort of knee injury and that his return was "questionable." To me questionable means a player can come back in if he wants to. I was clearly mistaken. Cutler suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament(mcl) in his left knee. A sprained mcl also means a partial tear that, assuming it gets no worse, will heal itself without surgery in just a couple of weeks. Cutler wanted to go back into the game, and even tried to lead his team in the second half. The coaching and medical staff made the decision to bench Cutler because he would have been a detriment to himself and his team if he would have continued to play.
I don't quite understand how people can question ones toughness in football. It takes a tough man to suit up week in and week out so there is no question Jay Cutler is tough. There is also a difference between toughness and stupidity. Brett Favre had a little bit of both but in 15 years it will probably be more stupidity than toughness. People can lash out on others and it is easy to do until something of the same nature happens to them. Most people would be sidelined for months with a sprained mcl and Cutler played on it for a few series. He is also a diabetic, and any diabetic will claim that it takes some mental and physical toughness to be a diabetic.
Cutler was sacked 52 times this season, more than any other quarterback in the NFL. Not one time did he call out his offensive line after a bad game. He kept his mouth shut and went back to business taking 100% blame for offensive linemen lacking blocking skills and receivers cutting short or overrunning routs. He also was blamed for the interceptions that hit off a receivers chest and bounced into the chest of a defender. Now Cutler did make some mistakes but he never called his teammates out.
In his 5th year in the league, on the team with the worst offensive line in football Cutler managed to be a 3000+ yard passer averaging 7.6 yards a completion, a career best. For the first part of the season Cutler had no running game and was, most of the time sent back to be decapitated(as seen in the NYG loss.) He has been criticized since he got to the league for being a prick and a hot head, which may be true to those who don't know him. He has taken public scrutiny from national journalist Rick Reilly. He was publicly abused for having an organization for diabetes research and not speaking of it. After the Bears loss Sunday Cutler, leaning over his crutches, was asked if he knew about other NFL players questioning his hears. With a tear in his eye and a quiver in his mouth he said, "Next question please." From a man who seems penetrated by nothing shows me enough to believe that he is genuinely hurt physically and mentally.
Only Jay Cutler will know if he gave up on his team and 2 things can happen from this. They could give up on Cutler, send him to Washington to re-unite with Mike Shanahan (the coach who drafted him). They could send him to Cincinnati in exchange for Carson Palmer, or simply make him second string behind Caleb Hanie. Any of which I think are the wrong moves.
When looking at the steps that this team took this season, any Bears fan wants to see the exact same team next year. The Bears were picked to finish 3rd in the NFC North and go 6-10. They silenced the critics, went 11-5, won the north, and received a first round bye in the playoffs, most of which was on the arm of Cutler. The Bears need to make sure they do not let go of Mike Tice, Rod Miranelli, and especially Mike Martz. Cutler has been in 3 different systems in 3 years. The Bears need to tend to their needs of offensive linemen and defensive backs and try to sign a big name free agent wide receiver like Vincent Jackson. I believe that Jay Cutler will use this, wherever he ends up, to silence all who doubted him, and will become one of the NFL's best for years to come. I just hope he is wearing a Bears helmet along the journey.
