Thread: Cutler on verge of something rare

Cutler on verge of something rare

QB's development under Martz makes Bears dangerous

Jay Cutler rolls out against the Eagles on Sunday. (Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune / November 28, 2010)

• By Brad Biggs, Tribune Reporter

9:02 p.m. CST, November 30, 2010







Eleven games into Jay Cutler's second season with the team, the Bears finally have figured out how best to utilize their franchise quarterback.

His breakthrough appeared to have come in the final two games last year, when then the Bears scored more than 30 points in consecutive weeks. But Ron Turner was quickly axed, and it has taken all this time for his replacement, Mike Martz, to get back to where they were. Now, the first-place Bears (8-3) are putting Cutler in position to be his best.

He certainly hasn't been better than he was Sunday in a 31-26 victory over the Eagles, the first time this season the team has scored more than 27 points. Cutler completed only 14 of 21 passes, but he threw for 247 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns. Those who have seen him most — wide receiver Earl Bennett and left guard Chris Williams, teammates with Cutler at Vanderbilt — ranked it among the best performances they've seen.

"There were some games at Vandy he was just awesome, but we didn't win," Bennett said. "We've been winning. He's making sure we stay the course."

Cutler's development under Martz is what makes the Bears a dangerous team in the NFC in the race to the postseason, and it's why ESPN analyst Steve Young said in the "Monday Night Football" pregame show that the Bears' hopes for a trip to Super Bowl XLV rest with Cutler.

"Jay, you are a very good football player," Young said. "You have this team's ability to go to the Super Bowl in your hands. You cannot throw four picks, you cannot have those big boneheaded games. You've got to be the reason why they win, or why they're neutral. Let someone else lose games for the Bears. You can do this."

What are the Bears doing? They are moving the launching point, rolling the pocket and taking advantage of Cutler's athleticism rather than trying to make him into a pocket passer who makes a living on seven-step drops. Remember, Cutler lobbied weekly last year for bootlegs and plays that would get him on the move out of the pocket. Turner finally acquiesced.

Martz is a better play caller than Turner. He disguises his calls more effectively and has found a way to add an explosive element to an improved running game that still isn't as good as it needs to be.

Cutler suddenly is on the verge of something he hasn't achieved since 2000, when he was a senior at Heritage Hills in Lincoln City, Ind., and caught a 12-yard pass following a lateral to win the Indiana Class 3A championship. That 15-0 season is the last time Cutler played on a winning team, and it's one of the primary reasons he has been compared at times with another Indiana schoolboy quarterback with a big arm, Jeff George. Cutler doesn't appreciate those parallels, and a winning season and a trip to the postseason for the Bears will go a long way toward ending them.

In fact, that was one of the knocks on Cutler when the Bears acquired him from the Broncos. The Bears tanked in his first season, but they now appear to be on the rise at the right time with a quarterback ready to take a leading role. The Bears might not be achieving their goals the way they envisioned, but it appears they are on course with the player they thought would guide them.

"Cutler has always been a winner," center Olin Kreutz said. "What you're seeing is the maturation of the offense that is letting him do his job. We're trying to earn his trust and the more trust we earn from him, he's going to show everyone that he is an All-Pro quarterback. We had to play better so he could perform."