Bears Blitz

Published by kelly moore on January 28, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears

Poor Jay Cutler. He just can’t catch a break. 

First the television cameras caught him on the sidelines of last week’s Bears-Packers game looking very gloomy, uninterested and uninjured. Then TMZ caught him walking around Los Angeles with his girlfriend, but without crutches, a cane or a limp (or a smile). Chump.   

By now it’s clear that what Mark Schlereth called “Knee Gate” is about more than one quarterback and his toughness. At its core, it’s a debate about the nature of leadership, competition and loyalty. 

As the saga has dragged on, I’ve been struck by the different conversations everyone’s having. Current and former players, the fans and the media understandably have different points of view, even if they’re hard to hear with all of the shouting going on.   

First criticism of him was politically correct and then it wasn’t. The media (and the Bears) seemed to think the public firestorm was largely about whether or not he was injured. I can only guess that their television feed blacked out when the camera cut to Cutler on the sideline.  

Meanwhile, current and former players debated his toughness. I think they’ve earned that right. To debate and to disagree. 

Speaking for myself, though, I found much of the criticism understandable.  

It starts with Cutler. He put himself in a poor position by acting like a petulant child in Denver and then a bore in Chicago. 

And then he sat on the sideline sans knee brace. 

Look, I’m no medical expert and frankly I wish a reporter would’ve asked a doctor if a brace or wrap might’ve helped him. 

We’re used to players looking hurt when they are in fact injured and Cutler did not look like he was in pain or even (physically) uncomfortable. To a lot of us, it looked like maybe he was pulled from the game because he wasn’t playing so great. 

The Bears didn’t help the situation. They did nothing to clarify his status. Nor did they help him by failing to suggest he look a little more interested in whether or not his team would go to the Super Bowl. Like I said, this is about leadership and a quarterback should look like he has some even if he’d rather be Donnie Downer. Otherwise, no one should be surprised when people freak out. 

That said, I don’t totally agree with the notion that a player should only leave the field on a stretcher. I understand that competitive sentiment, even if I am a girl. We like to win too.  

But I also know—as a friend and family member of football players, that the choices you make today can have unforeseen consequences tomorrow. This is why I applaud the NFL’s new emphasis on banning helmet-to-helmet hits and raising concussion awareness. 

Besides, future considerations aside, playing hurt isn’t always the smart thing to do.  

Remember the USC-Stanford game in 2007? Stanford won the game, which some people still consider one of the greatest upsets in college football. And it might’ve been if the USC quarterback, John David Booty, didn’t have a broken finger on his throwing hand. Surprise, surprise he threw four interceptions and his team lost. 

So even if Cutler could play through the pain, if he couldn’t plant and throw with a reasonable amount of accuracy then the Bears should’ve pulled him before he could (literally) throw the game away. 

But just because it turned out that Cutler was injured and took his sacks like a man, it doesn’t mean he gets a pass (no pun intended), no matter what Lovie Smith and Brian Urlacher say. 

Jerry Angelo, the Bears general manager, shouldn’t be scolding anyone either. He should take responsibility for the damage his management team inflicted on their quarterback.

Here’s a news flash guys: you may think you’re playing for yourselves and one another but you’re not. You’re playing for your fans too. Home field advantage exists for a reason. Because when the fans are involved it lifts you up as a team. Ask the Marlins. 

We have every right to criticize you, even if we are sitting on the couch when we do it. 

Lots of us are watching games from the couch because we can’t afford to go in person. In this economy, some people can’t even afford the cable sports package (kudos to the NFL for televising the playoffs on free tv). 

Obviously there wasn’t a camera on Cutler the whole second half, but when we did see him, we saw a man who looked like he didn’t care. Standing or sitting alone on the bench. Not cheering on his team. Not standing with the coaches. Not coaching up the third string quarterback, who threw seven passes all season.  

Once he was pulled from the game he did not act like he was still a part of the team. That’s the problem. Some guy in the top row of the stadium should not appear to be more excited about going to the Super Bowl than the starting quarterback.   

Ultimately, this isn’t about Jay Cutler’s knee. For the fans, this is about a lack of leadership, competitive spirit and loyalty to the 12th man.

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