Aaron Kromer: Bears Jay Cutler taking more control by the day

Jay Cutler has had a sedentary offseason, it seems. He was buried in the Bears playbook. The results are impressing Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer.

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“ … It’s obvious in practice that Jay is taking more and more control by the day,” said Kromer, via CSN Chicago. “Not that he didn’t before — he did — but with his comfort level with all of the things we’re trying to get done, he’s able to solve some of his own problems on the field, even when he didn’t maybe have that answer taught to him yet.”

While Kromer was careful to cover his tracks and not call out his signal caller, he illuminated the unspoken. The Bears were left wanting more from Cutler last season. He averaged a pedestrian 238 yards per game while putting up 19 touchdowns to 15 interceptions (4 fumbles) in 11 games. Those numbers fit a second-year quarterback better than they do an eight-year veteran — especially when you consider that Cutler was throwing to Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey. It’s a good sign that Cutler is putting in work and getting on the same page as his offensive coordinator.

“He’s doing an excellent job, as well as the other quarterbacks, but it’s really helped that Jay has studied really hard all offseason,” Kromer said. “He’s worked on his technique. He’s been one of the hardest working guys on the team this offseason.”

While it’s great news that Cutler is working hard, Bears fans are likely left wondering why this isn’t implicit. NFL quarterbacks are expected to be the hardest working players on their teams. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are famous for clocking extra hours. If Cutler wants to become an elite quarterback — and he’s finally got all the tools around him to do so — he’ll need to clock in as many hours as Brady or Manning.

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