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Whether you like him or not, Jay Cutler should stay with Bears

By Ashish Mathur

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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is the most scrutinized quarterback in the NFL. Whether its his lackadaisical facial expressions, constant interceptions, or lack of leadership qualities , critics are quick to jump on Cutler.

Cutler is always praised when the Bears win, but then is the subject off all the blame when the Bears lose.

Cutler has played well thus far this season and finally looks comfortable in Chicago. New offensive coordinator Adam Gase has a good rapport with Cutler, and the two are close friends off the field as well.

Cutler looks like a different player on the field. He’s starting to take what the defense gives him and is making smart decisions. His post game press conferences have also revealed that Cutler has become more accountable. This year is the first time anyone has heard Cutler say, “I need to play better”, instead of “the guys need to play better.”

It is fair to say that the majority of Bears fans are ready to move on from Cutler. It is a complete turnaround from when he first got to Chicago in 2009. All of Chicago opened their arms to Cutler when he was traded to the Bears.

Bears fans were so excited that they finally had a talented quarterback on their roster.

Cutler hasn’t lived up to the hype since he arrived in Chicago and has only one playoff win in his Bear tenure. He has become a turnover machine since he became a Bear, and his negative body language on the sideline made it appear to fans that he just didn’t care about winning.

If you don’t like Jay Cutler, you just don’t know who he really is.

Critics who question his toughness are misguided and misinformed. Cutler received harsh criticism after he didn’t return in the NFC championship game against the Packers after injuring his knee. Twitter went ballistic and started bashing Cutler for not going back into the game.

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Shortly after the game, a MRI revealed that Cutler had suffered a torn MCL. It was evident that Cutler wasn’t able to come back in the game because he couldn’t move around laterally or throw the ball effectively due to the injury.

But still he was perceived as a soft guy and not a team player.

This season, Cutler injured his hamstring in the week 2 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and was supposed to be out for a stretch of games.

He missed one game.

Cutler returned in week 4 and rallied the Bears to a come from behind victory over the Oakland Raiders. Bears safety Antrel Rolle defended Cutler after the game, saying that he saw Cutler work hard to get back from injury and thinks the quarterback gets criticized too much.

“The way he approaches the game and how he cares about the game and how he approaches practice, it’s a bunch of little things,” said Rolle.

“When he had his hamstring injury, that guy worked day in and day out. I saw that firsthand. That lets you know he wants to get back out there and be with his teammates. He wants to get back out there and be with his boys. Anytime you can find that in your quarterback, you’re going to have a fighting chance. I think Jay gets criticized way too much, way too much. I don’t know why people feel the way they feel.”

Cutler is by far the most misunderstood quarterback in the league. The notion that he doesn’t care about the game is inaccurate. He is a competitor and wants to win. Because he doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeves and doesn’t get into people’s faces is cause to criticize him?

That is immature and superficial.

Cutler gives the Bears the best chance to win. The Bears’ offense has been putrid the past few seasons when Cutler doesn’t play and it was the same this year when he was out for the one game against Seattle.

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    • The Bears punted on all their possessions that game.

    Going forward, Cutler has to cut down on his turnovers because it puts the defense in bad situations. Cutler has four interceptions along with two lost fumbles this season. He does however have seven touchdowns and has compiled a quarterback rating of 86.2 thus far.

    Cutler has to take a pay cut as well, so that the Bears front office can use that money to improve the team. Former general manager Phil Emery did the correct thing by re-signing Cutler, but the money he gave him was absurd.

    It is clear that Cutler has a strong grasp of this offense and enjoys playing in it.

    Bears fans need to appreciate Cutler a bit more. Talent wise he’s the best quarterback in franchise history, and now that’s he’s in an offense that suits his game and style of play, Cutler looks to have turned the corner.

    Now he just needs to win more games for the Bears.

    The Bears host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and a win would be crucial for the Bears. The Packers are going to win the division easily, but there is optimism in the organization that the Bears could somehow steal a wild card spot.

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