The Bears-Packers game ended less than 24 hours ago but the tweets and controversy are buzzing around as if the game is still going on. This is because of the Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. The man is already notorious for not displaying any emotion or leadership despite his skills as quarterback. Chicago nonetheless likes to look beyond that because Cutler is making this Bears team look like the best Bears team since the 80s; with the infamous Super Bowl Shuffle squad. Cutler is a tough-nosed quarterback that can take a lot of hits and can still deliver at the end of the day. Despite getting dozens of sacks and even a concussion in the latter part of the season, Cutler has remained strong—especially during his blowout win against the Seahawks. Fast-forward to yesterday, with him starting not so well. All of a sudden, with the Bears down by a bunch, he “injures his knee.”
Now, I put quotation marks because unlike most injuries you see in the NFL, there was very little visual confirmation that Cutler was indeed hurt. Cutler would leave the game early, and a third-string quarterback wound up having to play the position in the final moments of the game. It was nearly a movie-like ending, with Caleb Hanie turning it from a shutout into a close match. The talk however is about Jay Cutler and his sudden departure from the game, nearly diminishing the Bear’s chances of entering the Super Bowl. Not since The Decision has a player been so severely criticized online and all over the mainstream media. It is one thing to be injured, but it is a totally different matter to be on the sideline with no ice bag, no crutches, nothing to support/fight your injury. Then to add salt to the wound, he wasn’t helping out the coach, he wasn’t helping the second and third-string quarterback, he wasn’t motivating the team, and his body language clearly wasn’t showing that he wanted to play, and wasn’t showing that he really wanted to go to the Super Bowl. And this is where my sympathy for the guy ends.
This is not just a game; this is the NFC Championship game. This is not just an opponent; this is your rivals of decades the Green Bay Packers. You are not just a player; you are the freakin’ quarterback, the position known for leadership. Jay Cutler, I don’t care how hurt you may have been, but the fact is you didn’t motivate; you didn’t even try to help out on the sidelines. You were just there, just another player, sitting down, or on the bike. We may not know how serious it supposedly is, but it could not have been that bad considering that no doctor was reporting on the injury, and there wasn’t a doctor within a mile radius of the guy trying to heal him.
You are a few quarters away from entering the Super Bowl in front of the home crowd and yet you looked like you couldn’t care less. This is why you are being attacked. We are not questioning your injury (unlike idiot Skip Bayless claims on ESPN…seriously, why does he still work there?) we are questioning your heart and motivation. There are football players that would give up their souls for a chance at the Super Bowl. Quarterbacks like Dan Marino, Jim Kelly (Lost 4 Super Bowls in a row, remember him?), Phillip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, and especially (especially) Brett Farve in the same situation would have fought everyone that stood in his way to be on the field, trying to stage a comeback, for a shot at the title game. Cutler did not look the role; he treated this potentially epic matchup as a measly football game with minimal importance. He broke one of the cardinal rules of all sports.
One of the biggest unwritten rules (along with as a player you should not be stepping on the pitcher’s mound, no canceling football games, no visiting the locker room of the opponent after a game) in sports is that you don’t quit on your team---especially when they still have a chance. LeBron quit on Cleveland last year during the playoffs against the Celtics. Tracy McGrady years ago back in Orlando quit on the team and even admitted it later—now look at how shoddy his career is. Jay Cutler quit on his team, plain and simple. Even if there is a hidden severe injury, you weren’t rooting, you weren’t helping, you weren’t motivating, you weren’t being energetic, you weren’t being involved, and you literally stood there and watched your team helplessly stage a comeback with no emotion whatsoever. This is why all the old-school NFL players (and even some new-schoolers) are verbally thrashing you to submission.Whether you like it or not, as the first quarterback, you are the leader. Act like it.
While I was never a fan of Brett Farve in his latter stages of his career, I have to respect his uncontrollable desire to win football games, no matter how badly hurt he might be. Farve is at least 12 years older than Cutler but would have stayed in the game with a bum knee. Hell, Farve could have lost an entire leg and you would still see him try to win. A pet peeve of mine when watching sports is a quitter, especially a leader that quits. Jay Cutler, you quit. And I will quit defending you, defending your cold personality, and I will quit supporting you. I feel sorry for the Bears, as they had a heck of a run with a rough schedule. The Bears, supporting staff of the Bears, and especially the Bears fans deserve better. If I were running the team, I would quit on Cutler and cut him off altogether. Because quitting isn’t just disrespectful, it’s poisonous to the organization. And he also did it during the f*&^%(#)# NFL Championship Game.
Jay Cutler, I don’t care what the x-ray results say evemtually, you quit, and for that, you are now among the most despicable men in the NFL. Case closed. You may have just injured your knee, but your heart has been on the disabled list all year. Its about time you get that repaired.
P.S. Congrats. to the Packers for getting into the Super Bowl.
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