Scott Yasko's Verdict on Jay Cutler

When I first moved to Atlanta about a year ago there was this burning and consistent question that was asked of me over and over again. It just so happened that my move coincided with the Chicago Bears' 2010 playoff run in which Jay Cutler was unable to return to that now infamous NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers. So my new Atlantan friends and colleagues all were interested in my thoughts and insights as they pertained to the Chicago quarterback:

"What do you think? Couldn't that pansy get back in the game?", "Hey man, do you like Jay Cutler?", "You think he's the quarterback for the Bears?", and my favorite, "Ahh, I tell you what, Jay has that pretty girlfriend distracting him from football, you think that's affecting his game?"

And as inherently candid as I typically am the answer that I consistently gave actually bothered me. My most common response was simply, "I don't know; I'm still on the fence." But Let's face it, the Bears in recent years have been nothing more than an organization owned by a family whom the game has passed by, run by a disorganized front office, and led by a patchwork quilt of a coaching staff that is determined to maintain their respective systems despite the personnel at their disposal. And because the Bears as an organization are the most consistently inconsistent team in the NFL it was hard for me to get a feel and read on what kind of quarterback Jay Cutler was.

I was excited in 08', the year before Cutler arrived in Chicago, to never have to hear Lovie Smith say again that "Rex Grossman is our quarterback," and after a formidable 9-7 season that left the Bears narrowly missing a playoff berth, an upgrade at the position was more than welcome. But after the pomp and circumstance surrounding the trade that sent Kyle Orton to Denver and the Indiana Native Cutler closer to home, the actual season was less than successful as Ron Turner's offense proved a terrible fit (duh) to a guy who saw most of his passing yards come outside the pocket in the Mile High City.

And the failures of the new Bears quarterback not being able to lead them to the playoffs in his debut season in 2009 as he threw almost as many interceptions as he did touchdowns, I was able to attribute to growing pains. At least after the season the powers that be finally decided to make a coaching change … however due to Lovie's shiny new extension that was handed to him after the Bears showed up to a Super Bowl, it was only the offensive coordinator that got the axe. Even worse to the situation was bringing in Mike Martz as Turner's replacement, because apparently bringing in a coordinator whose playbook looks more like a law school textbook and whose overall offensive scheme fit the Bears like a square peg in a round hole sounded like a good idea to General Manager Jerry Angelo at the time.

So on into 2010 the Bears went and in a season where Chicago was lauded for their offseason acquisitions highlighted by Julius Peppers, it would turn out that Angelo once again bungled his duties as Brandon Manumaleuna turned out to be fat and un-athletic and Chester Taylor's career was effectively over with his best years way behind him. And with Martz now calling the plays, what was most glaringly obvious in the beginning of the season was that Cutler was going to be killed if his O-Coordinator continued to spread the field and ignore the deficiencies on the offensive line. And so by the time the Bears reached the NFC Championship game against a Green Bay team just hitting their stride in the playoffs, Cutler had already been sacked 52 times for a total of 352 yards lost. Needless to say, when someone has been slung about, rearranged, had their clock cleaned, and generally been landed on by 230 lbs plus freak athletes all season, those experiences are bound to have a lasting effect on one’s body. And that was why I was willing to give Cutler the benefit of the doubt after not coming back into that game as well as the fact that his teammates stood by his decision; and to be completely honest, Caleb Hanie had a hell of showing in the second half of that game. The Packers were simply the better team.

So 2011 comes around and here I am perched on this fence. On one side, Jay Cutler sits shinning in the light of the holy land, surrounded by virgins and Vince Lombardi trophies as the beer flows like wine around him and Mike Ditka, Walter Payton and Sid Luckman welcome Jay with open arms into the fraternity of Bears greats. On the other side, Jay is joined by the likes of Jerry Angelo, Curtis Enis and Cade McNown who scoff and dance on the grave of George Halas as they embrace the newest member of Bears hell. And the season starts terribly.

After demolishing an Atlanta team that shot themselves in the foot the entire game, the Bears barely showed up against New Orleans and Green Bay, nearly gave it away at the end to Cam Newton and the Panthers in week 4, and were embarrassed on Monday night at Detroit. So here the Bears sit at 2-3 and the beating that Jay Cutler was taking had become monologue material for late night talk show hosts. He was sacked 18 times in the first 5 games with 11 of those coming in just the first 2. What happened to getting rid of blocking deficient offensive pieces such as Greg Olsen and replacing them with a fullback by the name of Klutts and a giant named Spaeth to help better protect your quarterback? It was like Martz forgot the plan in these first five games and insisted on 7 step drops and 4 to 5 wide receiver sets. The outcome was the continued check downs and over utilization of Matt Forte accompanied by a banged up signal caller and that “stellar” 2-3 start to the season.

Even still, what I began to recognize early in the 2011 Chicago Bears season was that Jay Cutler was a hell of quarterback. What a fan wants in his team's leader is a guy that is ice cold. A guy that will gamble for the greater good and come out on top more times than he winds up on the bottom. And a guy that continues to get up off the matt and shake off the beatings, the interceptions off his receivers' fingertips, the criticisms, and perhaps most importantly, the lack of talent around him. What I began to see in Jay Cutler in 2011 was the beacon of light that shines off the elite quarterbacks in this league. Beginning with the Minnesota game on Sunday night in mid October and ending in late November after a victory against San Diego, the Chicago Bears were quite possibly playing the best football of any team in the league. And the reason was Jay Cutler.

With all the focus in the beginning of the season on signing Matt Forte, what has become so evident, and has been proven time and time again over the past decade, is how great running backs are extremely rare and how difficult it is for a back to remain above average for a period longer than 5 years. Next year is Matt Forte's 5th year in the NFL, and without shifting gears too much, the Bears will be making the absolute right decision when they decide to give him the franchise tag and see how it goes. But also, with that being said, Jay Cutler is the most important piece to the Bears continued success in the coming years and that was proven after both he and Forte went down.

The way Cutler got hurt in that San Diego game, attempting to make a tackle after throwing an interception was so uncharacteristic by action but yet extremely characteristic by trait. Bears fans have seen Jay walk off the field after every interception and really, that is what you want your franchise quarterback to do. But I believe that the competitive fire in Jay's gut stemming from his days with the Broncos when he and Phillip Rivers bickered and battled to no end, was the reason he went for that tackle, and ultimately the reason the Bear's season turned belly up. When number 6 went down, the Bears became exposed.

If Matt Forte was the most important piece to the Bears offense, they would have won the Oakland game, and they would not have been able to pull off rushing yardage of 93, 159, 132, and 199 in the next four games without Forte. And there are those who will say that the Bears had to run due to their quarterback being out and if that was the case, and fans new they had to run, do you really think the other team didn't know that? From the Chiefs to the Packers, the Broncos to the Seahawks, they all tried to force the Bears to use their passing game, but still none of them could stop the Bears running attack. Matt Forte is a great cog in the wheel, but Jay Cutler is the glue.

Never have I seen a team collapse like the Colts did this year when their star quarterback back went down, but the pundits have been saying for years that if not for Peyton Manning, the Colts are a terrible football franchise. And by no means am I trying to compare Jay Cutler to Peyton Manning, who in mine own eyes is the greatest quarterback of all time (yes, ALL TIME), but the Bears receivers ran the same routes, the linemen blocked the same people, and the Chicago running backs made the same cuts. What was the missing piece in the last 5 games the Bears have lost? Jay Cutler.

The value of a quarterback in this league that makes the right decisions (or at least more right ones than wrongs ones) with the ball in his hand, that can extend a play when pressured, that can get up after being sacked 52 times in a season, and that makes a group of mediocre (AT BEST) receivers look like a bunch of all pros, is immeasurable. Johnny Knox, Devin Hester, and Earl Bennett are never going to make a pro bowl unless Jay Cutler puts them there. Same goes for the group of "where did they come from's" in Indianapolis.

Jay Cutler forced my hand this year and pushed me off of that fence. If number 6 was getting snaps in New Orleans, New England, or Green…. yeah I'm not even going to say that, but he would be mentioned with the Drew Brees', the Tom Brady's, and the Aaron Rodgers' of this league, and there is no doubt in my mind about that. The only hindrance on Jay right now (and this is the reason he will never be as good as Peyton Manning, who has been in a similar situation in Indianapolis for his entire career) is the coaching and organization he plays for. He will never have as effective and efficient combination of coaching and management behind him as they do in the aforementioned cities, and for that reason, Jay will have to make the best of his time in Chicago despite the fact his GM is Jerry Angelo and his coaching staff consists of (for now) Mike Martz and Lovie Smith. But the one thing that Jay Cutler has proven to me, and should have proven to the city of Chicago is that he is the Bears quarterback of the future, and that he is good enough to bear the weight of the entire team on his shoulders.

Group Fail

Four weeks ago, the Bears were 7-3 and well on the way to their second consecutive trip to the playoffs.  Four weeks later, after consecutive losses to Oakland, Kansas City, Denver, and the Seahawks, hope has faded, and the Bears have been exposed for exactly what they are.

The deciding factor in the of the Bears early season success was the combination of Jay Cutler and Matt Forte.  For the first time in recent memory, the Bears were getting ridiculous levels of production from both their running back and quarterback at the same time. Their concurrent success served as the perfect band-aid for the multitude of inadquecies in Bears roster . The offense was putting up points, the offensive line was effective with Jay on the run, and Forte’s ability to both run and catch kept opponents off balance. With them gone, it has become painstakingly obvious how fragile this team truly is.

Make no mistake about it; this four game losing streak is much more than a team reeling from the loss of a star QB and RB. The fact that these games were all so winnable, despite our injuries, makes it even more obvious. How would these games played out if we hadn't wasted money on guys like Manemaluena, Chester Taylor, Roy Williams, Todd Collins and Brandon Merriweather? What would have happened if we could have picked up a backup QB based on talent, versus sticking with a bad QB because of a system? The truth is, the Bears losing these last four games is a culmination of a decade worth of bad hires, bad draft picks, bad contracts, and desperation moves on so many levels.

So whose fault is it? Just like with any awful situation, there is never one cause, never just one person to blame.

Bear with me for a moment, put coaching and player development aside, and just focus on the roster. Who messed it up? Jerry Angelo? Yes, but the situation we find ourselves in (again, roster only) runs much deeper than that.

Chicagoans, with our recent experiences in watching the Hawks, Cubs, and Sox, have become acutely aware how necessary it is for a GM to have an effective macro view; a core philosophy (specifically for drafting, trading, and free agent acquisitions) that focuses on the long term sustainability of a franchise. Without it, you have chaos. You have jobs with unclear roles. You have the Bears.

The GM of a football team is supposed to be the boss. No doubt there has to be some level of synergy with the coaching staff, but the bottom line is that the GM should make the roster and coaches should adapt to their roster.

Top GM’s like Green Bay's Ted Thompson, make decisions in the draft purely on talent. The Packers hired a leader that they trust, who in turn, has developed footballl philosophy that is the guiding factor in all decisions. His coaches and their subsequent schemes clearly are separate from his job of amassing talent. Whereas coaches and schemes change, talent is constant. The right talent can fit any scheme.

Can you imagine Ted Thompson trading one of his early round draft pick “hits” (like the Bears did with Greg Olsen) to appease his offensive coordinator? Not only did Jerry do just that, but he made matters worse by making a decision with long term ramifications in order to fit a scheme and offensive coordinator with a very uncertain future. This Bears move typifies the ineptitude we have come to expect. It is the antithesis of what you see from other successful organizations. The short term benefit was minimal or non-existent and the potential for regretting that decision in the long run, especially as Martz departs is huge.

If Ted Thompson fails to provide Mike McCarthy with players to effectively do his job, you would know exactly who is to blame. With the Bears dysfunctional system of "leadership", placing blame isn’t so simple.

To equate it to the Cubs, their future success or failure all rides with Theo. A big part of being a GM, regardless of the sport, is not only being willing to take on that responsibility, but to embrace that. This responsibility has escaped the Bears and is the main reason change has been so slow to come.

Ted Phillips deserves blame for hiring a GM that failed to take ownership of his position. Jerry is to blame not only for his bad personnel decisions, but also for  empowering the coaching staff and allowing them to affect far too many decisions with long term consequences. Not only that, but this involvement of Lovie and his staff, whether chosen or not, removes the convenience of them being able to simply blame Jerry. Their Input and schemes played integral roles in many of the awful decisions.

Despite the failures on all levels, it is unrealistic to think that Mike McCaskey is going to clean house from top to bottom. That said, what certainly must go is the codependency between the coaching staff and GM. Our current system of making major decisions fosters groupthink and muddies the water just enough to make sure no one is held accountable.

When an organization is structured so that nobody is to blame, everybody is to blame, and that certainly seems to be the case with the Bears.