First of all, I’m not a Jay Cutler fan, hell I’m not even a Chicago Bears fan, but the fact this guy is being crucified by almost EVERYONE for not going back into a conference championship game to play quarterback is just ridiculous.
From Michael Wilbon, to Jason Whitlock to Mike Ditka to other former NFL-ers and sports writers, many are jumping on the “let’s throw Jay Cutler under the bus” bandwagon and I think it’s speaks to the high volume of ignorance that many people have due to them having not played sports at a high level. And for the people who have played football at the pro level, particularly at Quaterback, how crucial is it to a QB’s mechanics for them to be able to plant when they throw? How crucial is it to have your mobility intact to avoid the pass rush of one of the top defenses in the NFL. So Ronnie Lott cut off a part of his finger to go back in a game. Last time I checked Ronnie didn’t have to throw a football with accuracy to be successful at his position. Mike Ditka says he would have had to be paralyzed for him to have to be prevented to from returning to the field. Hey Mike, you ever play QB in the NFL? Are you saying you’d be in chipper form on the sideline had you suffered a torn pectoral muscle and been rendered ineffective and unable to go back into the ball game.
As it speaks to his body language, wouldn’t you feel a little dejected had you been knocked out of the biggest game of your life? Bottom line is people need a scapegoat and because Jay Cutler isn’t generally well perceived, right now he’s public enemy number one.
Cutler sprained his MCL as was revealed the day after the game. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the terminology, a sprain is a slight tear of ligament tissue, with the severity of the sprain pending on the degree of the tear. So to rephrase, Cutler, according to Jason Whitlock and many other people, is hiding behind a partially torn knee ligament. I have never played QB in the NFL, but it seems pretty clear that to be successful at the position, a partially torn knee ligament would prove to make that difficult. Well how about Philip Rivers back in 2007 in the AFC championship game, when he played on a torn ACL? What about him? Is this the same Phillip Rivers who in that game couldn’t lead his team to a single touchdown and threw two picks in a loss? Go ask Phillip Rivers how a compromised knee ligament affects a Quarterbacks performance in a big game and see what he tells you. And this isn’t meant to take anything away from Rivers’ toughness, but can we assume that as he might look back on it, maybe he wasn’t the player who gave that team the best chance at going to the Super Bowl as a result of the injury?
And the last thing I’ll point out is the quick defense of Cutler by Brian Urlacher in the post game presser. This is the same guy who couldn’t stand Jay Cutler when he got to Chicago, backing up his QB from the other side of the ball right after the game. If I can read between the lines here, if his own teammate, who’s more than likely privy to what actually happened behind closed doors, actually believed that his QB was gutless and quit on his team, wouldn’t he just not comment on the questions asked about Cutler instead of going to bat for his QB?
All the Cutler backlash is really more telling of the people throwing this guy under the bus then it is of the QB. Wilbon: Die Hard Bears fan looking for someone to blame. Ditka: former player/disgruntled former coach looking to jam the QB of the franchise that kicked him to the curb. Darnell Dockett and other players in the league watching at home: jealous players sitting at home watching the games instead of playing in them with an outlet to pile on a guy they personally don’t care for in public view. Jay Cutler may not get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the public perception of his heart and toughness, but if Brian Urlacher is willing to vehemently back Cutler to the extent that he showed in the post game press conference of Chicago's NFC championship exit on Sunday, then I for one won't be so quick to pass judgement.
