Thread: Cutler's fundamentals `horrendous,' must change: Esiason

He makes decisions for intelligent reasons, but I want to see what he does in FA and Draft for another year or so, before declaring him the savior.

Regarding the intent of the original post. I do think Cutler needs to improve. It is, however, impossible to determine whether all the offenses woes are Cutlers' fault. The weakness of the O-line impairs both the running and passing games. This is due to one feeding off the other.
For me, it isn't that I have given Jay a pass, rather more of a "judgement withheld pending more specific data" kind of thing. Two reasons for this. One, the well known problems with the O-Line, and the impact this has on the run game, which in turn affects the passing game. This is in addition to the direct impact on the passing game as well. Two, if the O-Line can't run block or pass protect well, then ANY quarterback put behind the line will under perform. Should that QB be a recently drafted player, it could very well ruin that QB.
I see it this way, whether Jay is or is not the Bears Qb of the future, the O-Line has to be improved first. If this is done, and Jay continues to play as he currently does, then we know where the problem lies, and can either A: fix it (improve the player), or B: get a better player (Replace Jay). If this is not done, then whomever the poor bastard that's stuck behind the line will be awful, and we will be back on the QB merry-go-round all over again. Oh, and the O-Line will STILL need fixing.

Jays' QB rating with the Bears has been in the high 70s (78?) to mid 80s (86?) off the top of my head. The upper end of that range is good enough to win a lot of games. I am of the opinion that with improvements to the o-line Jays' performance will improve as well. Most likely to the tune of that 7 to 10 points of QB rating.

Jay does have his faults, he does seem to like to "key in" on one receiver a fair amount. He could stand improvement in progressing through his reads (my opinion). He has a bad habit of throwing off his back foot from time to time. He could be better at play action. And sometimes it seems he just tries to do too much, holding out for something better (deeper), and getting sacked when he could have gotten a short completion or simply thrown it away. This is at least partly related to being a bit distracted in the pocket, mostly likely due to having to ask himself "Is my O-Line still protecting me?" starting at around 0.25 seconds after the snap. Hopefully, we get a coach that has the patience to help Jay with these problems.

Jay's gonna be all right, as long as we get one of the more strong minded Offensive minds at the top of the list. Honestly, they could've simply opt for an oc to make the team adequate. They instead fires Lovie and are talking to multiple OC's from around the league, and have more to talk to. In all likelihood, there's going to be 50% or more turnover in coaching staff; they are scorching hell on earth, it seems. Personally believe a lot more coaches will stay, but that seems what the consensus thinks.

Originally Posted by Henry Burris

Jay's gonna be all right, as long as we get one of the more strong minded Offensive minds at the top of the list. Honestly, they could've simply opt for an oc to make the team adequate. They instead fires Lovie and are talking to multiple OC's from around the league, and have more to talk to. In all likelihood, there's going to be 50% or more turnover in coaching staff; they are scorching hell on earth, it seems. Personally believe a lot more coaches will stay, but that seems what the consensus thinks.

I agree that it was a tough choice to fire Lovie, but that was Lovie's fault Henry. He simply did not know how to fix the offense. He had no clue. The Bears organization liked Lovie Smith and wanted him as the head coach, but Lovie failed them and the fans. He repeatedly, over a span of several years, failed on the offensive side of the ball.

The Bears shouldn't be blamed for Lovie's failure. In fact, I commend the Bears organization for having the guts to fire Lovie. The fans won here. We have a shot now at being a great team. If they had kept Lovie Smith, he would have continued to put the same type of teams on the field - 3rd place in the NFC-N.

The fans deserved better than that.

I wish Lovie all the good luck in the world. Hope he lands in a great situation. I like the guy a lot, and will always appreciate the fact that he tried his best for the Bears. Unfortunately his best was not good enough.

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

bullshit.

The Bears SHOULD be blamed along with Lovie. It is the players who failed to properly execute and win games. Lovie shares in the blame, but a good size chunk falls on all the players.

I'm not trying to trash Lovie here. I'm just pointing out that he could never figure out the offense side of the ball. He continually brought in new coordinators and schemes, but he failed. That is why he was fired. I don't blame the Bears organization for that. In fact I am thankful that the new McCaskey (George) and the new GM, had the guts to make the change.

It came down to either accepting mediocrity, or taking a shot at being a better team. One that can win a Super Bowl, and maybe even multiple Super Bowls. That's my 2-cents worth anyway.

Originally Posted by The Benjamin

IMO Lovie was screwed over in terms of the OC spot.

Lovie was hired VERY LATE, and all the good OCs were taken. That is how we got Terry Shea. He was fired after one year and Turner was brought in. Turner was pretty good, but fans hated him because he could not turn crap (Grossman and Orton) in to stars. Enter Cutler who hates all OCs not named Bates (apparently) and Turner is gone. Lovie in a contract year (more or less) needs a new OC. No OC worth a damn is going to come in to what might be a one year situation, so we got stuck with Martz. Cutler got Martz fired, and once again in a contract year Lovie needs a new OC. Same problem as last time. No OC worth a damn wants a one year gig, so Tice got promoted.

The problem with Lovie and the OC, was he was always behind the 8-ball when it came to hiring his OC.

Those are good points Benj.