Jay Cutler: Ghosts Of Chicago Bears’ Offensive Coordinators’ Past

Before Jay Cutler was dropping eff bombs towards Mike Martz on National Television in 2011, Martz led Cutler to within one game of the Super Bowl in 2010.

The first year of the pairing of Cutler and Martz was successful.

While Cutler’s QBR in 2010 was 44.74, lower than it was in 2009, the quarterback had 10 wins in his first season with Martz. The 10 wins that Cutler had under Martz in 2010 is tied for the most wins that Cutler has ever had in a single season with the Bears.

Once Martz realized the the Bears did not have the offensive line to warrant Cutler taking a seven-step drop from center, the quarterback began having success. That realization was made by Martz during the second half of the 2010 season. In the Bears’ final eight games of the 2010 season, Cutler had a passer rating over 100 in four of those games.

The success of Cutler in the second half coupled with a potent Bears’ defense led the team to the playoffs in 2010. The only time that Cutler made the playoffs while serving as the starting quarterback of the Bears. Cutler had a passer rating of 111.3 in the Bears’ first playoff game in 2010–a game in which the Bears defeated the Seattle Seahawks.

Had it not been for an injury during the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, it’s possible that Cutler and the Bears may have reached the Super Bowl in their first season with Martz as the offensive coordinator.

That was not the case but Cutler and the Bears’ offense showed enough promise in 2010 that Martz was brought back for the 2011 season. The season in which Cutler’s relationship with Martz deteriorated so much that Lovie Smith had no choice but to fire his offensive coordinator afterwards.

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