Cutler queries demand answers, including whether diabetes was factor
Cutler queries demand answers, including whether diabetes was factor
by rick telander
You give up something when you live in our socially connected world.
Anonymity, freedom, call it what you want.
So imagine being Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, the most scrutinized person at the most scrutinized position on the most scrutinized entertainment vehicle in Chicago.
Cutler was so badly battered Sunday by the New York Giants that it's a wonder his eyeballs still face forward.
There are sacks and there are sacks, and one of the latter occurred when Giants blitzer Aaron Ross slammed Cutler to the ground less than a minute before halftime. Cutler's head bounced off the turf like a ball off a bat. It was the ninth time Cutler had been sacked, an NFL record for a half.
Curiously, Cutler stayed in for the next play, even though the Giants futilely called their final timeout. When play resumed, he simply handed the ball to tailback Matt Forte, and the half came to an end.
The concussion Cutler suffered at some point -- on the last sack or even cumulatively -- is the point at which we want to know something. Maybe it's more than Cutler -- or the Bears -- would like us to know.
The main question will be answered soon enough: Will Cutler be able to start Sunday against the Carolina Panthers?
Then there is the question of who failed the most in the disaster: Was it the offensive line, offensive coordinator Mike Martz or head coach Lovie Smith?
Did disease play a role?
But most important is Cutler himself.
And a huge question is whether he himself screwed up by not recognizing pass rushes, missing hot reads, moving the wrong way or holding the ball for too long.
Indeed, there was one sack on which Cutler dropped back, looked downfield, pump-faked ... then was crushed. You don't pump-fake when the hounds are on you.
Cutler was sacked for the first time just 90 seconds into the game. He was sacked for the second time three minutes later.
When did he get dingy?
And there is this: Did his diabetes have anything to do with it?
That is a very personal question, but it is a valid one for this highly paid athlete.
It is noble and courageous that Cutler plays pro football at all, let alone stars at the sport, with Type 2 diabetes, a disease that forces him to measure his blood-sugar and insulin levels constantly, even during games.
To be slightly off on those levels can cause a diabetic to have blurred vision, reduced reaction time and slight loss of judgment. And who needs total awareness more than an NFL quarterback?
We largely have forgotten about Cutler's battle with diabetes since he came to Chicago and was very open about his dealings with the late onset of the disease.
But it is there. And one can't help but wonder whether the blows to his head, combined with the possible internal effects of diabetes, had anything to do with this horror show.
That he wanted to go back in is irrelevant. Remember that Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten became indignant when he wasn't allowed to re-enter a game against the Bears on Sept. 19, even though he had a concussion.
Here is the kicker: Cutler was sacked seven times in the second quarter alone. If that isn't an NFL record, nothing is.
Learning about head injuries
We know what head injuries can do to men. Or we're finding out, at least.
And not just in football.
St. Louis Cardinals backup catcher Jason LaRue, 36, retired recently after getting kicked in the head during a fight Aug. 10 with the Cincinnati Reds.
''I'm done,'' LaRue said. ''It's a simple decision.''
And Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau, who was kneed in the head on a slide into second base three months ago against the Toronto Blue Jays, is out of the postseason and won't attempt a comeback until next spring.
Morneau said his doctor told him another hit to the head could leave him ''feeling like this when you're 50.''
So even if Smith treats this as nothing more unusual than rug burns -- ''We'll just see who's available Wednesday and then start working the rest from there,'' he said -- this is serious stuff.
Cutler is paid a lot. He's famous. He dates a beautiful woman. And he gets to do what so many men think they want to do.
But he has some issues right now that the rest of us wouldn't want.
And we'll be finding out what they are.
Bad sign of Cutler not playing on Sunday
Quote:
ZachZaiman: Jay Cutler will not address the media today. The tenative plan is for him to talk to the media tomorrow.
Wednesday is his normal day to talk to the media, and they are not having him speak. That could be a sign that he is not completely right at the moment, so we may very well see him inactive when we plpay the panthers.
