Nas wrote:
Boilermaker Rick wrote:
Calling him a franchise QB is officially over after last night. He isn't. He may be one day but he isn't now. A franchise QB doesn't totally destroy any chance your team has to beat a bad team with an inept QB. A franchise QB doesn't lead the league in interceptions by far. A franchise QB knows how to work with his offensive talent or lack therof instead of trying to throw it down the field into double coverage when your WR isn't the type of player that can take it out over multiple defenders.
We can argue individual plays and discount some of his interceptions. This happens to every QB. Sometimes interceptions just aren't your fault but over the course of a season a clear pattern has emerged. If our WR's suck, and we all know they suck, then I would guess that Jay Cutler knows they suck. If Jay knows they suck then stop expecting them to make great plays to break up your interceptions! Even some of those picks that were the "receivers fault" he was still covered. The WR didn't help Jay but when you throw it to a covered WR you need to have a reasonable expectation that your receiver can beat the defender. It's not like these are passes going through hands and tipped in the air. This is a WR covered who was unable to save Cutler by batting down a ball that was thrown to a covered player.
This inconsistency has been true his whole career. It drove people in Denver crazy. It leads to a lot of .500 seasons. I bet Cutler has a great game next week. Then everyone will proclaim that he is awesome and will be awesome in the future. We'll then see this again and again and again. To be honest, I don't think this is fixable just like it wasn't with Rex Grossman. Jay Cutler has no desire to only take what the defense gave him. If he did, Forte would have had 250 yards receiving last night and we win. Instead, he needs to throw it longer.
The other problem is that Jay Cutler is paid as a franchise QB. He was traded for a bunch of valuable picks. We need him to be great because our team is being built around him. There are at least 10 QB's in the league right now who I'd rather have and probably 20 QB's in the league right now playing better.
Jay Cutler is not a franchise QB. He may be one day but he isn't there right now.
At least he has a strong arm though!
Can't really disagree with you after the season he is having. I'm not going to blame the coaching staff like others are willing to do. It's pretty obvious that he is having a terrible season and everyone wants to give him the benefit of the doubt. Beyond the interceptions he has made some terrible throws to guys that were wide open. He had time to pass last night too. So far this season he is the worst QB the Bears have had in the past 4 seasons. At some point you have to stop blaming the lack of talent around him and start looking at what he is doing. Franchise guys get it done regardless of the talent and he hasn't. If it's the pressure of the trade getting to him that makes it even worse IMO. Looks like a taller version of Grossman with mobility. Sid Luckman is more powerful than the Billy Goat.
Thank you Rick, and Nas. The contortions that people will make to defend Jay Cutler are hilarious at this point. You get stone soup defenses "boy, when everything is 'fixed' around him, he'll be great, I swear!" You get excuses. You get statements to the effect that 17 interceptions really isn't that bad. Everyone is at fault except poor Jay. Well, maybe you'll have a "I'm not saying Jay Cutler is perfect" line, but then you'll rattle off a bunch of crap that absolves him of any responsibility.
Guess what: Kyle Orton had worse receivers last year. He had an O-line that was just as bad last year. And he had far fewer mistakes. This isn't a defense of Orton, but it is a statement that if you are going to give up two 1st round picks, you need a marked increase in ability. That hasn't happened, and you are now accumulating a full data set that suggests this trade may have been a huge mistake.
Because we're still in the savior-worship stage, some of you will never admit that. And the jury is still out, to be sure. But the defenses of Cutler (which I just misspelled "Culter," in a Freudian slip), at this point, are becoming further and further detached from reality. It may simply be that those of us, including myself, who thought this would be a tremendous trade were simply wrong. And not only have you traded QBs, but you've given up a means of plugging holes in all the other areas.