I'll give Cutler the benefit of the doubt and say he WAS too injured to play.
But for the critics who claim that he should've still played... umm.... did you not notice how horribly he was playing? Definitely an off day for him. If he had gone back in and played, he would have been even LESS effective than he was in the first half.
We would have never gotten close if he had stayed in. And we probably wouldn't have scored ANY points, either.
So, look on the bright side of this situation: We finally got a longer look at Hanie--- the QB who, with very little preparation throughout the year, almost pulled off a miracle.
I'm thinking I've seen this conversation before.... a few times....
God, I wish I couuld remember where..... it'll come to me eventually.....
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America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe
"Possibly, but it's not to early to start loading ammo!" - Loki
I posted this yesterday, but somehow, today, my posting disappeared. Don't know why. I think it is a good point. I didn't see any other posts (or replies) that mentioned the same thing that I wanted to mention... so I went with it.
They were MERGED into ONE thread. It made no sense to have 20 different threads all discussing the same thing. Most likely this thread.
And that also applies to the "1st coaching mistake" thread. Same thread... I think.
Most people who had merged posts were notified, you might have been forgotten. My apologies.
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America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe
"Possibly, but it's not to early to start loading ammo!" - Loki
Martz won’t allow Cutler to lose confidence after loss
NEIL HAYES ON THE BEARS .hideTime { DISPLAY: none}Jan 26, 2011 05:06AM
Bears fans still might be seething over Jay Cutler’s performance in the first half of Sunday’s loss to the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, but don’t expect Mike Martz to join the chorus.
It’s when a quarterback has every reason to lose confidence that the Bears’ offensive coordinator tries to instill it.
“The great thing about Mike is he has a short memory,” former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner said. “If I would go out and throw a lousy pass or interception, a lot of coaches would say, ‘Let’s try to run the ball or give him some safe throws.’ Mike always puts that faith right back in you. You make a mistake, ‘Hey, it happens.’ I trust you to go out and make another play. You drop a pass or fumble, and he’ll go right back to you because he believes in his players.”
Martz and others who believe in Cutler might be in the minority after he completed 6 of 14 passes for 80 yards and an interception before leaving the Bears’ 21-14 loss with a knee injury after the first possession of the third quarter. Although no one should doubt his toughness or the severity of his injury, the winds of public opinion are blowing gale-force straight into his familiar mug.
The same could be said for the man most responsible for transforming Cutler into a championship-caliber quarterback. Despite having an extra week to prepare, and despite having the advantage of playing at home, Martz was either outcoached by Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers or undermined by Cutler’s inability to connect with receivers when they were open.
Either way, those who predicted the Cutler-Martz relationship would be critical for the Bears this season were correct. It was critical to their success and critical to their failure. It was the primary reason they advanced to the NFC title game and the main reason they lost once they got there.
What began in a classroom at Vanderbilt with Martz introducing himself to Cutler and drawing plays on a marker board ended with ineffectiveness and controversy.
It’s important to remember that in between, there were more highs than lows. Given the disadvantage of an offensive line that resembled a swinging gate early in the season, and young players who were learning Martz’s complicated system for the first time, the offense made significant strides.
“They had their moments,” Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said of the offense. “Not all of them were great moments, but there were a lot of good moments.”
It became clear early in the season that the Bears would only go as far as their offense took them. Nothing changes moving forward. Martz and Cutler aren’t going anywhere. Angelo should know the strengths and weaknesses of individual players. He can add veterans via free agency and youth through the draft.
The defense remains anchored by three potential Hall of Famers who are showing no signs of decline. The special teams always have been a strength under Lovie Smith and Dave Toub and will continue to be. The best way to ensure the Bears don’t fall a game shy of their goal next season is for the offense to continue on its present course.
As everybody knows, breaks fell the Bears’ way like bowling pins this season. But that doesn’t mean they can’t continue to be an NFC contender in coming years.
Players will have a full season of Martz’s offense in their favor. Martz should have a full understanding of the players he has and what it takes for them to be successful. The Bears turned a corner during the bye week when Martz realized what his players could and couldn’t do and made the necessary adjustments. No such feeling-out period should be needed in 2011.
The Bears are good enough to win with a talented quarterback playing extremely well. Like virtually every other team, they aren’t good enough to win consistently without one. That means the relationship between Cutler and Martz will continue to define the franchise.
Don’t expect a humbling loss to change how either approaches the game. While many have described Martz as arrogant, confidence is what he’ll continue to instill in his quarterback.
“That’s what I always loved about playing for him,” said Warner, now an NFL Network analyst. “Yeah, we played in a system that was high risk and high reward, but he understood that, as well. He knew there would be mistakes, but he wouldn’t dwell on them, and he wouldn’t let you dwell on them. If you had a bad game, it’s not like he ripped you on Monday.
‘‘He never allowed a bad game or a bad throw, quarter or half to affect the confidence he had in me, and we all appreciated playing for a coach like that because you can’t play this game perfect.”
Perfect may be unreasonable, but continued improvement is essential if the Bears hope to avoid ugly endings like this in the future.
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Cutler's injury impact - think about it.
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