Thread: So Culter is a bad leader?

Originally Posted by XxMidwayMonstersxX

My goodness people. Jay is a terrible leader, are we really still talking about this?

Holy. Shit. This has been one slobber knocker of a thread. I grew so sick of reading it after the fourth page that I skipped to the end, and lo and behold, the bitch fest is just as lively now as it was earlier on!

Here's how I look at the Jay Cutler thing. I think he's a decent leader, but he needs to improve a lot on his bedside manner if he wants to reach the upper echelon of great quarterbacks leading by example. I personally disagreed with the way he handled Webb on TV; I thought that it would have been best if it had been handled behind closed doors. That being said, I will say that I don't think Cutler intended on turning this into a public ordeal at all. You know how cameras are these days. There's one spotlighting players all the time, particularly quarterbacks.

What is that old line from that classic Beatles song titled, "The Ballad of John and Yoko"? "Christ, you know it ain't easy/You know how hard it can be/The way things are going/They're gonna crucify me!" Part of me is divided in one direction while the other part is going down an entirely different path. On the one hand, I agree with JABF99: public humiliation is not the way you go about having a "heart-to-heart" chat with a co-worker or in this case, teammate, while you seek to push him to work harder at being the best player he can be because, let's face it, he can either kick it into high gear and work harder from the added motivation, or he can get upset and go into the tank even more so and therefore cause you more problems. On the other hand, Cutler probably didn't intend for this incident to become a big public spectacle on TV and later on in the media, and if one looks at it that way, the media should spend as little time on the subject as is humanly possible. Did Cutler make a mistake? Probably. Did he intend for it to go viral and become a big public media circus that has lasted for weeks since that God awful night in Green Bay? Probably not. I don't think he should have struck him with his shoulder because that was just unprofessional, whether it be in public or in private. But that's just me.

The problem isn't Cutler, it's us.

Some fans aren't happy no matter who is under center. You could have... hell, I can't think of any QB currently in the league that wouldn't come under fire from some fans in this city for one reason or another.

A lot of people need to get past their own perceptions of what a player is supposed to be. And a lot more need to accept that running the football is no longer 90% of the offense.

Chicagoans are just not used to having a QB. And for good reason. But a lot of this 'issue' has to do with holding on to an out-dated tradition of Bears football.

The guy isn't dealing or abusing, he's not beating on his woman and he's not violating any NFL policies that I know of. He's got the most talent at his position that this team has had since (insert name) and has had a HUGE impact on putting W's on the board, yet we're still finding reasons to harp on him.

Why? What for? Got someone else in your "I'm GM" fantasy mind you think it's actually possible (as in I'm alive-REALITY) to replace him with?

Yeah, there's going to be pros and cons on what he does (did), but for the love of football, this thread borders on obsession with some folks continuing distaste for Chicago quarterbacks.

Originally Posted by matsellah

The problem isn't Cutler, it's us.

Some fans aren't happy no matter who is under center. You could have... hell, I can't think of any QB currently in the league that wouldn't come under fire from some fans in this city for one reason or another.

A lot of people need to get past their own perceptions of what a player is supposed to be. And a lot more need to accept that running the football is no longer 90% of the offense.

Chicagoans are just not used to having a QB. And for good reason. But a lot of this 'issue' has to do with holding on to an out-dated tradition of Bears football.

The guy isn't dealing or abusing, he's not beating on his woman and he's not violating any NFL policies that I know of. He's got the most talent at his position that this team has had since (insert name) and has had a HUGE impact on putting W's on the board, yet we're still finding reasons to harp on him.

Why? What for? Got someone else in your "I'm GM" fantasy mind you think it's actually possible (as in I'm alive-REALITY) to replace him with?

Yeah, there's going to be pros and cons on what he does (did), but for the love of football, this thread borders on obsession with some folks continuing distaste for Chicago quarterbacks.

Did you read what I wrote? I don't not think Cutler isn't a leader. I think he is okay at it. But I do think there are things on which he can improve, like all the rest of us.

Cutler is younger than I am. I'm 31, and the closest I have ever come to being a leader of any kind over a group of people was when I was captain of my high school's academic quiz bowl team my senior year. I remember one time when my best friend (who is still my best friend to this day as we talk almost everyday either via phone or through text messages) cussed during a quiz bowl match in which we were getting whipped at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. I didn't say anything to him during the match because I knew that it wasn't the time to address the issue, so I waited until we were through getting schlacked. After the match, I grabbed him and yanked him around the corner of the hallway and rang his ass out for what he did. I think I got through to him, because he never did it again. But the moral to the story is that you don't knowingly publicly embarrass someone. That's lacking in class and it shows a lack of dignity on the part of the person delivering the rebuke.

Other than that, I have had no problem with the way Cutler handles himself except for some of his body language when things aren't going right. He's the best quarterback we've had since at least Ed Brown, and possibly even as far back as Sid Luckman. He's been to a Pro Bowl and might can go to another one if he can cut down on his interceptions. He's got the best arm in the league and is highly intelligent. Most of all, he is eloquent and very well-articulate. He has been a wonderful addition to this franchise, and I think he can lead us to a Super Bowl if he has the right pieces around him.