-
Bear down: Jay Cutler faces a do-or-bye season in Chicago
It's going to be interesting to say the least.
LINK to the article Bear down: Jay Cutler faces a do-or-bye season in Chicago
Vinnie Iyer Sporting News
Jay Cutler is running out of time with the Chicago Bears — and running out of excuses not to succeed.
Results have been mixed through his first four seasons as the Bears' top quarterback. The team made the playoffs once, and Cutler missed half a season worth of games. When healthy, his performance was inconsistent.
So far, that's made Cutler the shakiest of investments. It started with the Bears including two first-round picks in the trade to acquire him from the Denver Broncos in 2009. It continued that October, when he got $20 million guaranteed as part of a five-year deal worth nearly $50 million.
Cutler is signed through only 2013, and if he doesn't deliver on big expectations this season, there's a good chance it will be his last season in Chicago.
"I don't think the Bears are married to Jay Cutler right now," said former Bears quarterback Jim Miller, now an analyst for Sirius XM NFL Radio. "We can say he's a franchise quarterback because he has all the skills — big arm, athletic.
But he's been often injured, and he's been inconsistent. They need to see him take the next big step."
The Bears are taking a step in a different direction. They were so frustrated with their continued struggles to move the ball last season that it cost defensive-minded coach Lovie Smith his job. Enter seasoned offensive specialist Marc Trestman.
When Smith was fired at the end of last season, Cutler said "change isn't always a bad thing." Trestman's hiring, however, is just the latest change of many that the Bears have made to cater to Cutler.
Trestman will be Cutler's fourth offensive play-caller in five years. Ron Turner was dismissed after Cutler threw 26 interceptions in 2009. The two-year Mike Martz experiment blew up big in the Bears' faces, with Cutler being sacked often and more often miffed. It took one year to figure out that Mike Tice wasn't the answer as the next coordinator.
Last offseason, the Bears dipped twice into Cutler's more successful past in Denver. Their acquisition of elite wide receiver Brandon Marshall reunited Cutler with his favorite target. They brought in Jeremy Bates, his old quarterbacks coach in Denver. They also drafted a promising complementary receiver in Alshon Jeffery.
The Marshall plan did work, but as Trestman is charged with the task of reinventing Cutler in Chicago, that means helping him forget about everything that hasn't worked with the Bears.
"He is looking at Cutler as a whole new canvas, a piece of art he's trying to polish it," Miller said. "It will have Trestman's mark on it. He'll tell him to scrap everything he learned from Martz, and everything he learned from Tice, and say, 'You're my guy now.' "
Trestman didn't keep Bates, but he and new QBs coach Matt Cavanaugh are installing a West Coast offense similar to what Cutler enjoyed in Denver under Mike Shanahan. Along with Trestman and Cavanaugh, the Bears also brought in former New Orleans Saints assistant Aaron Kromer to help fix the consistent problem that has been the offensive line.
In addition to shorter drops in the passing game and better pass protection, the Bears also plan to give Cutler a legitimate receiving threat at tight end — something they have missed since trading away his friend and former go-to guy Greg Olsen two years ago.
Now it will be on Cutler to take everything in which the Bears have invested around him, to become the comfortable, confident quarterback they thought they were getting when he was such a coveted commodity.
The Bears showed great patience with Cutler. That patience, however, has grown to its thinnest in one of the NFL's most demanding markets and most competitive divisions. Over the past two seasons, they have seen NFC North rivals Green Bay, Detroit and Minnesota all find their offensive groove and get into the playoffs while they have been left behind.
That wasn't good enough for the Bears to stick with Smith. If Cutler doesn't take advantage of his latest fresh start, quarterback will be the next big change they make.
Last edited by JustAnotherBearsFan99; 02-21-2013 at 10:55 AM.
-
-
Being the best Bears QB in recent and not so recent history is only going to net you so much weight if wins don't follow. Blame the OL, OC or anyone else, but the qb will more of then not get more credit and more blame then anyone else; and few get as many excuses and Cutler has.
I agree w/Harbaugh on this one; he's got the ability, but he has to take the next big step; and if he doesn't the Bears should not be married to him.
-
As I said for Lovie, and every other main piece of the Bears throughout my history of following this team.... I hope he is here until he decides to retire.
-
Junior Member
As a big Cutler fan I don't like that article at all, but I think the writer is most likely right. The problem is that I don't think that Cutler can be consistent and reach his potential with this O-line and Tight Ends (and the receivers a little bit, too). And the fact that he has his 4th OC in his 5th season doesn't make it better. I'm hopeful that the Bears staff will solve some problems and that Cutler will deliver then, because if not their's sadly a possibility that it's his last season here.
-
I hope Cutler proves worth resigning, but if the coaches say he's not going to get this team to a SB, then go ahead and let him walk. Same w/Lovie, Grossman, Orton, and now Trestman and Cutler; and any other key peice.
The end result has to be a SB, if the players cannot take the team there then they are not needed.
-
lol, he isnt going anywhere, regardless of how he does this season. He has been "inconsistent" because Lovie and Angelo have given him crap to work with on the offense...shaky OL and mediocre WRs. Shouldve known that when your damn Running Back is also your leading RECEIVER, that there is a problem in Chinatown.
Along comes Emery and brings in Marshall...Cutty's favorite weapon, and drafts AJ...a very young BMarsh in waiting. And now he is out to address the OL problem via draft and possibly FA. Doubt he will fix it to where he wants it to be this year, but so long as we can improve to "average OL," then its a step in the right direction.
So no...Emery is not going to spend all this time, picks and cash fixing up the Offense, just so he can toss out the starting QB next season and scramble to try and find another one. Mark my words...Cutler will be back with the Bears in 2014, and then some.
I'm trying//to let go//of maybe//but maybe's just so//very interesting//Oh, what a thing.
-
High Fives / Like - 10 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Yep I agree with Jimmors. This is just one more blah, blah, blah article from a guy with too little else to write about. There aren't many QBs hanging around the NFL with Cutler particular set of skills not the least of which is his ability to makes throws into receiving windows so narrow FedEx would refuse to deliver to them and make some of them while on the run to boot.
The other issue the author neatly overlooks is that there isn't exactly another guy waiting in the wings to take over like Rodgers was for Favre and we won't be spending a high draft choice on a QB this year with other needs to fill so how would this magical transition take place? If we intend to replace him it might be a good idea if Halas Hall actually had another promising QB on the premises but they don't so the entire article is pretty much a waste of time. The author's and Bears fans alike.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
-
High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
Junior Member
Originally Posted by
Jimmors 
lol, he isnt going anywhere, regardless of how he does this season. Along comes Emery and brings in Marshall...Cutty's favorite weapon, and drafts AJ...a very young BMarsh in waiting. And now he is out to address the OL problem via draft and possibly FA. Doubt he will fix it to where he wants it to be this year, but so long as we can improve to "average OL," then its a step in the right direction.
So no...Emery is not going to spend all this time, picks and cash fixing up the Offense, just so he can toss out the starting QB next season and scramble to try and find another one. Mark my words...Cutler will be back with the Bears in 2014, and then some.
Not only this, but what happens if they were not to re-sign Cutler, how would Marshall feel about this? Until they fix the offensive line, you can't judge a quarterbacks ability.
-
High Fives / Like - 2 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
-
I think he's got, and will get, the tools to do to prove he is the long term answer this year: his own ability, the D, the O weapons(Forte, Marshal, Bennett, Jeffery), and the coaching staff. Emery just needs to get few OL pieces missing and the staff needs to get them developed into a solid group to protect him, and open holes for the run game; and a TE to solidify that area. And I do believe that will happen this year.
But From this year on it's up to Cutler to prove he deserves to be resigned to a long term deal; and if he doesn't, I could well see the team moving on from him. Right now he's not a top 10 qb, he's in that 11-15 range, along the lines of Rivers/Romo/Schaub/Ryan/Cam, all have the abiity to get their teams into the playoffs and make a SB run, but none have lived up to that ability, for various reasons. But why spend that kind of cap money that a franchise qb is going to cost you when they have proven they cannot take that next step?
Not to mention that this D is about to get too old, and when that happens if Cutler hasn't shown his worth, I could see the team blowing it up and starting over; and why not, you have 2 guys capable of developing a qb into something special, which was not the case when they traded for Cutler, which is why they traded for Cutler.
I wouldn't say it's highly likely that Cutler isn't here, but there are a few scenerios where he's not. It's hardly 100%; b/c if it was, he'd of been extended by now.
and for the whole what will Marshal do/think....he can walk too; when's the last time an elite WR won the SB? It's as rare as elite RB's right now. They are icing on the cake, but hardly the cake themselves.
Last edited by Riczaj01; 02-20-2013 at 07:52 PM.
-
Ditto Jimmors 100%, and to the writer I say "PPFFFTT".
In my "opinion" there is a difference between "excuses" and "legitimate reasons". What do you think Jims? 
The Greatest form of revenge is MASSIVE success.
-
High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
