All of the reporters and writers who have not held back in their frustrations toward left tackle J’Marcus Webb while sitting in the press box decided this week that it is 100 percent inexcusable for quarterback Jay Cutler to feel the same way. As Cutler has taken hit after hit, including many from the blind side, his frustrations finally hit a boiling point on a player who seemingly just doesn’t get it.
On Thursday Night Football and national television, Cutler ripped into his left tackle before bumping him on the sidelines.
Cutler was bad on Thursday. Man, he was bad. He shares plenty of blame in the lack of production from the offense against the Green Bay Packers. But the media has turned the Webb/Cutler incident into the story of the game, one that had plenty of storylines that are seemingly left out under the one sideline incident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vomDSSXx-KU&feature=related
The biggest story that has been ignored is the health of Brian Urlacher. Urlacher has not looked good in either of the two games he has played this season, and his side to side movements seem to be much slower than an average linebacker, let alone the Hall of Fame one we have seen over the past decade. If Urlacher’s mobility doesn’t improve, the Bears should be extremely concerned. The Packers were attacking Urlacher directly, something no team did sensibly in the past.
Second is the play calling of offensive coordinator Mike Tice. It has become apparent that since Cutler has come to Chicago, he has been most effective out of the pocket. Be it because he is more comfortable being able to create his own protection rather that rely on the poor pass blocking of others, or that he can scan the field a bit easier, Cutler’s numbers have gone up when he’s on the move. The Bears didn’t seem to run any plays that rolled Cutler out and put in him in this position, a position in which he has previously succeeded in.
And then there is Cutler’s play in big games, including those against the Packers. Cutler’s Bears debut was an awful one against Green Bay on a Sunday night, and it hasn’t gotten better since. Again, one of these reasons could be because the big games come against the best teams, and the best teams have talent that far over matches what the Bears can match up against in the trenches.
Now that Cutler has some receivers, the excuses are running low. But if there isn’t time to get the ball to the wide receivers, what is the point? The media can continue to take the easy road, jump on the bandwagon of national writers who see a game or two of the Bears each year, and judge Cutler by his “body language,” as if they were suddenly body language experts in some past profession (as well as therapists because they always want to tell you what is going on in Cutler’s head).
Cutler certainly needs to play better, but he is just one of the many storylines that came out of last Thursday’s game. I know it may be hard to believe that, judging by everything heard and seen this week, but I swear it is true. With a St. Louis Rams team that seems to be heading in a good direction coming to town this Sunday, it is time to let go of the storyline that ended days ago, except for the continued trolling of writers with few ideas of what they saw on the field while the clock was moving on Thursday. They’ll continue to sit at a desk and rip on Webb, as long as Cutler doesn’t feel the way they do, because then he’s wrong. That is what passes for good journalism these days.
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