Jay Cutler is proving, yet again, he is not a franchise quarterback
By Ryan Heckman
Jay Cutler is proving he’s not an NFL franchise quarterback
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Jay Cutler was among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL through three weeks. He had the stats to back it up. He had two straight games where he made the plays when they mattered most, in order to win it in the end. He had the look of what could be, finally, his breakout year with the Chicago Bears. Then, the typical Jay Cutler showed up in dramatic fashion.
In the weeks after Chicago’s 2-1 start, Cutler has thrown four interceptions and fumbled the ball three times — one of which was lost. That makes five costly turnovers for the nine-year veteran in the last two games. Never mind that the defense has been poor during that span. There were definitely reasons for the Bears to win both games against the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers. Chicago out-gained both Carolina and Green Bay in both games, clearly a sign that the offense was moving the chains.
In the first halves of both contests, Cutler and the Bears put points on the board. They kept it close with the Packers and dominated Carolina. In the second halves, however, it was a completely different story. Sure, Cutler finished 28-for-36 against Carolina, throwing for 289 yards and two scores. But, it was two costly interceptions and a late fumble that gave the game away to the Panthers. Against Green Bay he put up similar numbers, but again, two costly interceptions put the game completely out of reach. One could argue that an interception against the Packers was on Brandon Marshall running the wrong route, however, it still shows up on the stat sheet. That is something that should not and cannot happen.
Speaking of Marshall, and why that interception could have been on Cutler, this brings me to another point. There are times when Cutler knows exactly where he is going with the football before he even takes the snap. Those are the ones that hurt him the most; the times when he stares down his receiver — most often, Marshall — and lets it fly regardless of where the receiver may be breaking his route, and regardless of whether or not he is throwing into double — or even triple — coverage.
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Fans, we’ve all seen this Jay Cutler. We’ve seen both “good Jay” and “bad Jay” and know them both very well. Yet, “bad Jay” continues to show up and make us all shake our heads in confusion. Why throw it into double or triple coverage? Why stare down a receiver instead of going through progressions? I understand there are times when he makes beautiful reads while checking through all his progressions. Cutler has thrown some balls that few could ever have thrown as perfect as he has. He has all the talent in the world to be a franchise quarterback, except one thing — the mental aspect. He is not smart enough, nor will he ever be. He is, at best, a mediocre quarterback — just as his career stats prove.
Folks, we’re talking about a nine year veteran — nine! For the last eight off seasons, experts all around the sports world have crowned this guy as “oozing with potential.” I’m here to ask, when is a guy old enough to stop talking about his potential? Does anybody think that nine years is enough chances to prove one’s self worthy enough to be a franchise quarterback? Quite frankly, I believe it is. Enough is enough, Cutler’s “potential” isn’t what people think it is. It is, in fact, not potential. It’s just Jay — same old Jay. There’s no potential to be seen anymore. Jay Cutler is Jay Cutler, and you are going to get a lot of mental mistakes from him, like it or not.
I’m one of the fans who will support this team through thick and thin, but I will not cheer blindly. I refuse to give credit to a quarterback who continually lets his fans down and, most importantly, lets his team down. Cutler is on pace for a career year in a couple of major categories. If he keeps up this pace, he will finish with 48 touchdowns and nearly 4,800 yards passing — both which might end up leading the NFL. But, on the other hand, he is also on pace for 24 interceptions — nearly a career high.
Plenty of fans will hate me for writing this piece, but it needs to be said: Jay Cutler is not a franchise quarterback. You can throw for all the yards and touchdowns you want, but if you continue to make bad decisions when it counts most, nobody will give you the time of day; just ask Tony Romo. Thank goodness Cutler’s contract is only guaranteed for three years. By then, Phil Emery and Marc Trestman should have a young and hungry quarterback ready to groom into a true franchise passer. I would absolutely hate for the Bears to waste talent such as Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte, Martellus Bennett and second-year pro Marquess Wilson. This offense has plenty of firepower, but not the correct guy to manage it at the helm.