Cutler getting some needed rest

Cutler getting some needed rest

Bears QB likes idea of getting Forte and Taylor more involved in offense


wing and a prayer … maybe even a tired wing.

That could describe the Bears' sputtering offense thus far.

With an off week coming up, quarterback Jay Cutler did not throw in practice Wednesday.

"Always in the off week … even though he feels great … just like a pitcher or anything else, any rest that you can give them will pay dividends down the stretch," offensive coordinator Mike Martz said.


Cutler, coming off throwing four interceptions to the Redskins' DeAngelo Hall, said he plans to look at film of the Bills, whom the Bears face Nov. 7 in Toronto.

"Obviously, offensively we have some things we need to clean up," said Cutler. "We're aware of that. We are going to address them this week."

Asked again, if given the opportunity, he would throw passes in the direction of Hall, Cutler said he would.

Cutler also added that he would welcome the opportunity to get Matt Forte and Chester Taylor more involved in the offense, as promised by Martz.

"Yeah, we have to get those playmakers out there. Good things happen when we get the ball to Matt and Chester," Cutler said.

Licking their wounds: Linebacker Lance Briggs, who left last Sunday's game early and missed the previous week with an ankle injury, was on the practice field Wednesday. Veteran guard Roberto Garza also is expected to move back into the starting lineup.

"Our entire football team is getting better. Lance is getting better," coach Lovie Smith said. "When we play (the Bills), we feel like we will have most of our guys ready to go."

Garza is coming off a recent knee scope.

"Any time you go onto the field you want to be 100 percent, or close to it," Garza said. "Nobody in the NFL is 100 percent healthy."

Not all Jay's fault: Tight end Greg Olsen believes Cutler will be able to bounce back from last Sunday's performance, during which he turned the ball over five times.

"Jay is going to be fine. … everybody … we've all been through hard times," Olsen said. "If you play this game long enough you're going to have bad days.

"It's very easy to say that it's just one guy (at fault), but on different plays, what appears on the outside to be one guy … those of us who know what's supposed to happen know that there are a lot of other guys who could take a lot of that pressure off and do a better job."

Time off: Smith said the off week is coming at an opportune time for the Bears, who have dropped three of their last four games.

"Sometimes when it isn't going exactly the way you would like, you need to take a step back," Smith said. "This week is coming at the perfect time."

fmitchell@tribune.com

Martz hints at more short passes in game plan

October 27, 2010 2:52 PM | 2 Comments

By Dan Pompei

Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz was asked about quarterback Jay Cutler's confidence level Wednesday after his four-interception performance against the Redskins.

"If you know Jay, then you'd know not to ask that question," Martz said. "Jay is a strong man, and he's very, very strong emotionally and he's confident and I'm not concerned."

Martz tried to help Cutler by throwing more short passes against Washington. And from the looks of things, there may be more short passes in the Bears' future.

"We had a lot of short passes, mostly because of what we were seeing, and yet they were just ... still trying to move some things around and try to get Matt (Forte) the ball a little more out of the backfield, moving him around," Martz said.

"Those are things now that they're more comfortable with than maybe they weren't as comfortable with before. As we move on, there are things that maybe we can be a little more complex and move in and out of as we need them. This is what we're doing and they understand things way better than they did a month ago and they're so much better than they were three weeks ago."

Without prompting, Martz mentioned four players who he thought performed well Sunday: wide receiver Earl Bennett and offensive linemen J'Marcus Webb, Frank Omiyale and Olin Kreutz.

"There were some really strong performances out of guys that we need to have play well, so there's some encouraging things that came out of that we can build on," Martz said. "Mike (Tice) has done really remarkable when you look at it with all the different changes and the job he's done with J'Marcus Webb, in particular. You know he's a good pass blocker but doggone, he put his shoulder pads down in the run game and did a great job."

Cutler-Martz: Scary mutual admiration developing

By John Mullin
CSNChicago.com

A strange sense of denial seemed to be settling over the Chicago Bears’ offense Monday, or at least over and around its quarterback. Add to that a sense of unchecked mutual admiration between coordinator and quarterback and a suspect offensive culture may be forming at Halas Hall.

Jay Cutler insisted on challenging Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall over and over in Sunday’s loss to the Redskins. The result was four interceptions by Hall and his jersey being requisitioned by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which recognized the magnitude of the accomplishment (Hall became the 19th player in NFL history to pick off four in one game).

Cutler confirmed Wednesday, as he did immediately after the game, that he would do exactly the same thing if he were to face Hall the very next day.

And his coach declared that Hall was, well, lucky.

“What had happened, actually, is Hall was a guy that was way off [Bears receivers] all the time,” coordinator Mike Martz said. “That’s why they completed more passes to him than any other corner.

“And he guessed. He guessed is what he did. He just flat guessed, and he guessed right on the pick…. He guessed right.”

So either the cornerback was lucky, or the quarterback was persistently stupid.

Cutler’s vision?

Cutler’s media session was over when Martz gave his account, and there is no follow-up time permitted. So the question could not be posed as to why, if the defensive back was doing something “all the time,” as Martz said was the case, Cutler kept throwing the ball such that Hall was able to continuously be in better position to make plays on the balls than were Bears receivers.

Overshadowed by Hall’s four interceptions were the four passes he broke up. Cutler threw 14 incomplete passes; Hall accounted for eight of those. Rather than admit that an opponent clearly had the measure of him this day, as Cutler once did in 2008 when he dominated Hall, Cutler refused to acknowledge the obvious.

Martz dismissed the suggestion that receivers like Devin Hester and Johnny Knox could have done better jobs of breaking up or catching those passes. That left the responsibility squarely with Cutler, whether Martz intended it that way or not.

As far as getting rid of the ball in time, Cutler was quick to answer: “Overall, yeah.”

Dangerous denial

One point of optimism, per Cutler, was that “things are starting to happen a little quicker for guys,” he said. He didn’t mention himself, just “guys.”

“I like what they’re doing out there,” Cutler said, “so they’ve just got to keep improving every day.” “They.” Not “we.”

Not surprisingly, then, was Martz’s reaction to a thought that Cutler could be undergoing any crisis of confidence.

“If you know Jay, then you’d know not to ask that question,” Martz said, chuckling. “He’s a strong man. He’s very, very, very strong emotionally and likes what we do and he’s confident.”

“Strong” is a relative term. Refusal to change course or admit mistakes is not necessarily “strong.”

Mutual admiration at work

What begins to form is a sense that Cutler is telling Martz how great Martz’s offensive concepts (and presumably game plans) are and Martz, like many bosses when a top staff member applauds their ideas, is impressed at how intelligent and knowledgeable that staffer is.

He likes my ideas, the boss notes. He is indeed very smart.

In a mutual-admiration culture, neither side is apt to rein in the other, let alone outright disagree constructively. The chief executive insists that’s not the case.

“We looked at ourselves in the mirror,” coach Lovie Smith said of the Washington and other games. “We saw the things we did wrong. We know we can’t do those things wrong. That’s what Jay has done.”

Yet somehow, you wonder.

It's amazing, I wonder if they just get tired of saying the same stuff over and over again and trying to spin it.

"Get ready for big push."

"Finish up strong."

"It's a process."

"Look at the tape."

"Keep believing in the system."

"Clean-up some stuff."

Jay Cutler=David Carr

thanks JA!! No vision on offense will turn any franchise qb into a shell shocked backup.

At some point you have to realize that NO TEAM is gonna openly Bash the shit out of the team... it's a league wide thing, and not a bears thing...

you want to address the problems, and YEAH most coaches are gonna sugar coat shit. that's what coaches do, and Media heads EXAGERATE the obvious, and the fans eat it up.
whatevs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GrizzlyBear91

At some point you have to realize that NO TEAM is gonna openly Bash the shit out of the team... it's a league wide thing, and not a bears thing...

you want to address the problems, and YEAH most coaches are gonna sugar coat shit. that's what coaches do, and Media heads EXAGERATE the obvious, and the fans eat it up.
whatevs.

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Right but in some cases adjustments really are made, don't come out and tell me you're working on balance to come back the next game and go 44 passes 16 rushes, these articles aren't even readable anymore. It's the same thing every week now.

They should play the games and have one article with the headline, "We have to review the tapes, make some adjustments, and keep believing in the system."

How many articles can they release spinning the same crap when we see something altogether different on Sundays.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bear Goggles

It's amazing, I wonder if they just get tired of saying the same stuff over and over again and trying to spin it.

"Get ready for big push."

"Finish up strong."

"It's a process."

"Look at the tape."

"Keep believing in the system."

"Clean-up some stuff."

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When the reports ask you the SAME DUMB QUESTIOSN each day.. after awhile you also would give the same answers

just saying..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bear Goggles

Right but in some cases adjustments really are made, don't come out and tell me you're working on balance to come back the next game and go 44 passes 16 rushes, these articles aren't even readable anymore. It's the same thing every week now.

They should play the games and have one article with the headline, "We have to review the tapes, make some adjustments, and keep believing in the system."

How many articles can they release spinning the same crap when we see something altogether different on Sundays.

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And if they came out and said "we will Do X,Y and Z" sunday and explain their game plan and what will do

And then they lose and the "D" says "well we knew what theyw ere doing ,so easy to stop as they said would do X,Y and Z;

they are then killed for being so dumb to tell the opponent what they are going to do

Dammned if don't.. dannmed more if tell

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dabears54

And if they came out and said "we will Do X,Y and Z" sunday and explain their game plan and what will do

And then they lose and the "D" says "well we knew what theyw ere doing ,so easy to stop as they said would do X,Y and Z;

they are then killed for being so dumb to tell the opponent what they are going to do

Dammned if don't.. dannmed more if tell

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:bah: they already know ask the Redskins they said we had a tell for our plays. Plus not hard to gameplan fo us 88% passes GO!