Cutler's mistakes cost Bears win
Cutler's mistakes cost Bears win
Quarterback leading team toward mediocrity
David Haugh
Of all the poor judgment Jay Cutler showed Sunday during the Bears' 17-14 loss to the Redskins, he saved the worst for the podium.
Asked if he ever considered throwing away from Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall before Hall tied an NFL record with four interceptions, Cutler displayed the blend of arrogance and stubbornness that helped get the Bears beat.
At least Cutler's smirk is in midseason form.
"I've played against (Hall) before,'' Cutler said. "There's no reason to shy away from him. That's hard for me to say throwing four picks to the guy but I still think if we had to play him tomorrow I'd go after him every time.''
Every time? Of all the Sundays to wonder whether Cutler had full control of his mental faculties after the game, maybe it was this one.
Until Cutler shows a capacity to learn from his mistakes, he will keep making them.
Last week it was a headstrong offensive coordinator who contributed most to a Bears loss. This week it was their headstrong quarterback. A player who commits five turnovers — four picks and a fumble on a quarterback sneak at the goal line — yet insists he would attack the defense similarly doesn't know what he doesn't know.
This much everybody who passed Football 101 knows: The Bears would be 5-2 heading into a bye week if not for Cutler's mistakes. He committed five of the Bears' six second-half turnovers and blew at least four scoring opportunities. Do the math. Cutler was worse than his offensive line.
We can calculate Mike Martz's run-pass imbalance down to the decimal, curse the flawed instincts of Lovie Smith on replay challenges and bemoan the Bears' bad luck on a day of bizarre bounces. But it all comes back to Cutler, paid handsomely to avoid this type of clunker.
On a day Rex Grossman held a clipboard for the Redskins, this was the ultimate homage to the error-prone ex-Bears quarterback. Bad Jay, if you will. There was a quarterback at Soldier Field who deserved to be booed but it was the one leading the Bears toward mediocrity, not the one who led them to a Super Bowl.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame might consider joining the Bears media corps. After the Giants set an NFL record with nine sacks in a half and Hall tied a league mark with four interceptions, the Bears offense is making more history than headway.
Usually when folks from Washington get handouts this generous, it involves a tax write-off.
"We knew watching Jay Cutler all week we'd get opportunities,'' Hall said. "It really was nothing he did with his eyes just the plays we called and reading him.''
As easily as Hall read the quarterback it was as if Cutler were holding up a sign saying, "I AM THROWING HERE!"
"Hall's first interception killed a drive that started in Redskins territory. On the third pick, he took advantage of a miscommunication between Cutler and Johnny Knox — the only interception not mostly Cutler's fault.
In-between, Hall's interception at the Redskins' 8 not only prevented the Bears from scoring but he returned it 92 yards for a touchdown after Cutler recklessly lobbed a jump ball of his back foot.
That would have marked Cutler's low point if not for his final throw. Taking over at the Bears' 19 with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left and down three, Cutler faced a chance at redemption. It was a type of situation in which true franchise quarterbacks thrive, an opportunity with mentor Mike Shanahan on the Redskins sideline for Cutler to show he had grown into a player worthy of comparisons to John Elway more than Jeff George.
It was all squandered when Cutler threw deep to Knox, who was amply covered by Hall, because avoiding the guy who had a career day apparently was a dumb idea. The ball came down in Hall's hands a fourth time — one more than Greg Olsen.
"I'll take them all,'' Cutler said of responsibility for the interceptions. "The defense has every right to be mad at us. We blew that game offensively and most of that falls on my shoulder.''
Dare I say the city of broad shoulders is losing patience with the pouty QB? Outside the Bears locker room after the loss, one screaming fan expressed a sentiment that already has begun to fill my e-mail box: "Jay Cutler is the worst investment the Bears have ever made.''
Not that Cutler cares, but those boos were real and the disgust is growing.
If Cutler's teammates ever start to get as fed up with his act as some of the public is — not exactly a reach if you watch the exchanges on the Bears sideline during games — I wonder if one day Cutler will shrug his way out of town. Lovie and Jerry and Ted might not be here forever. Then what?
Such questions outnumbered answers after a game the Bears had to win to be taken seriously as playoff contenders. Momentum, mojo, opportunity, whatever you call it, the Bears threw it all away in a second straight home loss — all because their quarterback foolishly dared to throw the football wherever he wanted.
Knox targeted for part of blame on Cutler's interceptions
Knox targeted for part of blame on Cutler's interceptions
None of his Bears teammates point finger at WR, but TV analyst Aikman does
Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz made it a point to get tight end Greg Olsen and receiver Johnny Knox more involved in the offense Sunday. Maybe the emphasis on the latter worked against the Bears.
Quarterback Jay Cutler targeted Knox a team-high 12 times even with DeAngelo Hall blanketing the speedy receiver on occasion. Three of Hall's record-tying four interceptions were passes intended for Knox, including the one Hall returned for the game-deciding, 92-yard touchdown.
Whether Knox cut off his routes or could have made a better effort on the passes remains unclear. Knox left the locker room before reporters entered, and no one pointed fingers at him except television analyst Troy Aikman.
Devin Hester, who was the target on Hall's other pick, said he and Knox huddled after each interception.
Johnny wasn't down," Hester said. "He's not frustrated or anything. Heck, he was going out there making plays.
"What we talked about was, whenever the ball comes our way, we have to make sure that we make a play on it."
Knox scored the team's only offensive touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Cutler before halftime. Knox caught a team-high six passes for 86 yards.
"Johnny made a lot of plays for us," Olsen said in defense of his teammate. "Things happen. You miss balls. I mean, that's the way the game goes.
"No one's worried about Johnny. He's made a lot of plays for us this year, and he's going to continue to make plays."
Olsen caught three passes for 43 yards after going without a catch in the last two games. He was targeted six times. But even getting Olsen more involved couldn't help the Bears solve their third-down woes as they converted just 2 of 10 third-down opportunities.
It didn't help that two of Cutler's turnovers occurred in the red zone.
"As we got past the first couple of series, moving the ball was no problem," Olsen said. "In the second half, every drive we had, we just kept turning the ball over. … On offense, we need to do a better job of holding on to the ball."
vxmcclure@tribune.com