Hide the Cutlery! QB skewered in the court of public opinion
Surely it was the first time a professional athlete has submitted to an MRI thinking, “Please let it show something bad.” But that had to be Jay Cutler’s thought Monday, the day after he’d been branded a quitter on what we like to call social media.
Cutler is the Bears’ quarterback. He left Sunday’s NFC championship game one series into the second half and stood — as opposed to sitting; this would, believe it or not, become a major Talking Point — on the sideline as his team lost to Green Bay. All the while he was being lambasted in that strange corner of our new world known as the Twitterverse.
Twitter is the realm where the unexpressed thought need not apply. What you had for breakfast: Grist for the mill. What you thought of that contestant on “Idol”: Have at it (but keep it under 140 characters). On Sunday afternoon Twitter was awash with NFL players — some current, some retired, none with anything better to do — taking turns opining that Jay Cutler had flunked his audition.
From Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville: “Hey, I think the Urban Meyer rule is in effect right now. When the going gets tough … QUIT.”
From Deion Sanders, formerly of many teams but now just another mouth: “I’m telling you in the playoffs you must drag me off the field. All the medicine in pro locker rooms [and] this dude comes out! I apologize, Bear fans! . . . Folks, I never question a player’s injury but I do question a player’s heart.”
Never mind that these folks — and a dozen others — had no real knowledge of the severity of Cutler’s injury. They were watching on TV, same as everyone else. But their Tweeting fingers took a key development from a big game and turned it into a referendum on a man’s character. One after another, the Twitter audience rose to proclaim: Heck, I once played with a broken ankle — no, two broken ankles! No, THREE! And a open head wound besides!
Deion Sanders has the charming habit of ending his Tweets with the word, “Truth.” (Five characters.) Well, here’s the truth on Jay Cutler: He was sacked 12 more times than any NFL quarterback this season. He has missed one NFL start in five seasons, that with a concussion. He’s also a Type 1 diabetic, which means he must carry a blood-sugar monitor with him at all times.
Until Sunday, nobody questioned Cutler’s manhood. His demeanor and his play, yes, but not his heart. And now, because he stood on the sideline — without an apparent limp! — in a game everyone was watching, he’d chickened out. (Never mind that the Bears insisted team doctors told him not to play.)
About here, we shake our head at the incongruity of Deion Sanders, who might actually have made a tackle at some point in his 14-year career, ripping anyone for an absence of grit. We wonder, not for the first time, why any professional athlete healthy enough to play would simply abstain. Mostly we wonder how it must have been for Cutler to hear afterward from reporters that “some players” had spent the afternoon calling him a wimp via their QWERTY keyboards.
Actually, we don’t have to wonder. According to Jim Trotter of SI.com, Cutler turned his back to the media horde when the question was asked. When he faced his inquisitors again, there were tears in his eyes. (Naturally, this was taken by some as further indication that he’s not a Real Man. Please.)
As night fell Sunday, Cutler had to be asking the question the former Labor Secretary Ray Donovan posed after being acquitted on fraud charges: “Where do I go to get my reputation back?” For the quarterback, the answer was — bizarrely enough in a story that has gone miles beyond bizarre — the MRI machine.
Imagine the reaction had his film come back clean. (Every Twitter server might have spit its bytes on the spot.) But apparently the X-rays showed a sprained medial collateral ligament, meaning a partial tear — and no holes where his heart and his guts were supposed to be. Naturally, some shrill voices declared Cutler still should have tried to play, that a MCL sprain is no big deal. And that, in our tale of New Media, sounded somehow old-fashioned.
From the dawn of time, there has been nothing that hurts less than someone else’s pain.
By Mark Bradley
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119 comments Add your comment
rawdawg
January 24th, 2011
3:11 pm
Not first
Mark Bradley
January 24th, 2011
3:12 pm
rawdawg re-enters the fray — kudos.
misterwax
January 24th, 2011
3:17 pm
like you say, there is no way he can turn this around…even when urlacher backs him up. Public opinion is often quite harsh….but the Bears will be back.
dean
January 24th, 2011
3:22 pm
I have no dog in the fight, but there is no way I could be convinced that the man would rather be standing on the sidelines versus the playing field.
Also, I thought Neon “I don’t get paid to tackle” Deion was now a man of God. It true, he should know better than to run his mouth.
rawdawg
January 24th, 2011
3:24 pm
Cutler is soft
Dave in Buford
January 24th, 2011
3:24 pm
An MCL hurts, although frankly I’m a bit surprised he was standing around on it. Next year if they win nobody is going to remember this.
Dave in Buford
January 24th, 2011
3:25 pm
Oh, and I would hardly base my actions on anything Deion Sanders said.
dawgfacedboy
January 24th, 2011
3:27 pm
Is there such a thing as an NFL football player who is weiney?!?!? Isn’t that an oxymoron???
Prime Time
January 24th, 2011
3:27 pm
I never got hurt playing football, because I never made contact on the football field!
bigdawg88
January 24th, 2011
3:28 pm
Who cares as long as his teammates back him up. Use it as a rallying cry next season, but not against the Falcons!
Mark Bradley
January 24th, 2011
3:29 pm
OK, you might be asking: What’s with two Cutler posts?
The original was designed for online purposes only, but we kind of decided we liked the topic for Tuesday print. But I thought it needed rewriting for Print. So I did.
jerry
January 24th, 2011
3:31 pm
Deion is an idiot (5 letters). Truth.
F-105 Thunderchief
January 24th, 2011
3:31 pm
Great points that needed to be made, thanks for doing do, Mark.
Dawn
January 24th, 2011
3:32 pm
TRUTH
Arno
January 24th, 2011
3:32 pm
As a member of the ACL fraternity, after the initial pain, I know the impulse is to stand, or even walk around.
F-105 Thunderchief
January 24th, 2011
3:33 pm
doing so
katherine
January 24th, 2011
3:34 pm
“As far as Jay, Jay didn’t take himself out of the game. If you’re going to attack somebody, you should be attacking me. As a head football coach, and our medical staff, we’re the ones … he wanted to go back in. He was injured and went back in in the second half. So I see it as the complete opposite of how it’s being portrayed right now.”
Smith had no idea why players would criticize Cutler.
“You have to talk to them about that,” he said. “I just know what was going on. We don’t have any problems with Jay Cutler and what he brings to the table.”
Urlacher had his own theory on the players’ reaction.
“Nothing like jealous people who are sitting home watching,” Urlacher said. “Players around the league you said, right? Yeah, love jealous people when they’re watching our game on TV while their season is over.
It’s a shame…this would never have been done to certain other qb’s…and i’m not a Chicago fan…its just ridiculous.
TN Jeff
January 24th, 2011
3:34 pm
Had a torn ACL – walked off the field and watched the knee swell up. Surprised he didn’t don a knee brace & try to continue. The main issue is that he did nothing to try to help the 3rd string QB on the sideline who was trying to learn plays. He sat off by himself – this guy is a Jeff George, me first arrogant head case. Oh, and a perennial loser too.
Tweets that mention Hide the Cutlery! QB skewered in the court of public opinion | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
January 24th, 2011
3:37 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley, Fire Paul Hewitt. Fire Paul Hewitt said: Excellent piece of writing. RT @MarkBradleyAJC: Another #Cutler post — QB skewered in court of public opinion. http://bit.ly/h4upID [...]
Mark Bradley
January 24th, 2011
3:37 pm
Thanks to you, F-105.
Hankie Aron
January 24th, 2011
3:38 pm
Couldn’t agree with you more Mark.
Riddick the Furyan
January 24th, 2011
3:38 pm
He QUIT on his team, plain and simple.
Hankie Aron
January 24th, 2011
3:40 pm
Mark- Add Jason Whitlock to your fray as well. Check out his column on MSN/Fox sports.
UGAFan
January 24th, 2011
3:44 pm
A little off topic, but I wonder about the Falcons next season. #1 seed this season probably means one of the tougher schedules in ‘11.
uga_b
January 24th, 2011
3:51 pm
It’s a stabilizing ligament that keeps the knee structure from moving. A sprained MCL will make it very had to turn or put any pressure laterally on the knee and if he played, he very well could have torn his ACL or PCL and say goodbye to a lot of this year playing. Why the heck everyone wants someone to stay in a play QB when they can’t drive their throws through the notoriously small windows in the NFL is beyond me.
Riddick the Furyan
January 24th, 2011
3:53 pm
Wait for the MRI results…
SoCal Dawg
January 24th, 2011
3:53 pm
Who cares if he went out! His third string backup played better than he did.
Mark Bradley
January 24th, 2011
3:54 pm
The MRI results are in.
Jeff George
January 24th, 2011
3:58 pm
He reminds me of me. The Jeff George of the millenium generation!
Riddick the Furyan
January 24th, 2011
3:58 pm
MB…you are so right…just a mighty sprain of MCL
Jeff
January 24th, 2011
3:58 pm
Here’s the deal. Mr. Cutlip wasn’t doing squat for the team. He gets hurt enough that Lovie uses that as an excuse to replace him with somebody…anybody. The Bears got a good QB with an attitude problem from Denver. They hoped for better but I saw enough games to know that Cutlip is not the person to bring the Bears back from a deficit. It had not happened all year, why would Coach Lovie think anything different on Sunday.
Reality Check
January 24th, 2011
4:06 pm
He has a stronger arm than Melty Ice.
fatz
January 24th, 2011
4:07 pm
from Mr. Bear Mike Ditka: “Myself, I would have had to have been paralyzed to come out of the game. I don’t want to say that word. I would have had to be completely knocked out to come out of that football game.”
you got to put this into context. Cutler is playing for the bears, not the 49ers or the cardinals. the city, the franchise, the division all pride themselves on toughness. its part of what sells tickets.
I’ve been posting a lot on this, and its because i feel there are certain moments in a person’s life where they have to stand up and be counted for, no matter what they do. and i think jay cutler missed his chance to do that yesterday. and i doubt he gets another one. he isn’t that good, and he obviously doesn’t have the character strength to push his play to the next level. sure, its only football, but if enough players take that attitude- that their own career comes before their team’s success (and i believe that is the prevailing thought process in today’s professional sports world), then the grease for the money machine – the fan – will eventually find something else to do.
Sonny Jackson
January 24th, 2011
4:09 pm
Seems to be a lot of angry people out there…
fatz
January 24th, 2011
4:15 pm
and to all those explaining his injury to me. Why, oh why, was he standing on it? i’m not saying he could have played, and i guess he could have aggravated it worse, and i also guess the 1st series of the 2H was the test and he couldn’t use it, but jeez, if he can still stand on it, you couldnt put a metal brace and enough tape for him to get through the afternoon? they had a non-player as his backup and a completely green rookie as number 3- you want to turn it over to them in such a huge game? it was really bad theatre.
Paul in RDU
January 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
Mark – Nice column.
Perhaps the armchair warriors who have commented about Cutler and the players and former players who think that they are so much tougher actually think that this clip is reality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
Vick Supporter
January 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
I know damn well Vick would have played. Ryan probably would have played too
T-Bone
January 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
Excellent article, MB!!! I listened to Mike & Mike this morning for a few minutes and they were working him over pretty good, along with guests and Twitterers. The man doesn’t have a reputation for dogging it, . . . until now?
gdawginkalamazoo
January 24th, 2011
4:24 pm
Cutler should be reading your blog Mark, right above your head in the banner ad, Cambridge scientist have a shocking discovery regarding joint pain relief. that looks like Cutler’s knee in the ad.
Fish Bisch
January 24th, 2011
4:26 pm
Every quarterback should ask themselves this question when they feel pain,”Would Brett Favre come out?” The answer is always no. We will miss you Brett.
Alan Johnson
January 24th, 2011
4:33 pm
You could read Cutler’s lips when the 3rd stringer was looking at the defensive schemes after his first drive had scored a TD. The kid is looking at this massive book filled with pics of the GB defense and looks over to Cutler. Cutler shakes his head and says, “Can’t help you, man…”
Check the tape. I am a Falcons fan and have no real interest in CHI or GB, but when I saw that, I knew Cutler had quit on his team. Defend him all you want Bradley but Cutler let his team down and quit on them.
justagirl
January 24th, 2011
4:35 pm
but I still know there’s big difference between standing on the sidelines and making the cuts it takes to avoid a pass rush. jeez is right, fatz.
jbird
January 24th, 2011
4:37 pm
Don’t know about Cutler’s injury but he was able to smile on the sideline. This is old school but I can’t imagine Johnny U. coming off the field expect on a stretcher and there’s images of Broadway Joe on no knees, just sayin!
JeanE
January 24th, 2011
4:46 pm
Jay Cutler is a jerk and a whiner so he’s not going to get alot of leeway in this situation. Brett Favre may be brainless, but you would’ve had to forcefully cart him off the field in that same sitatuion. Same with another brainless QB, Big Ben. and I know he’s a diabetic. But I still think something’s not right in that situation. You give it your all until you can’t get up and walk anymore, period. Not changing my mind because his “MCL was sprained”. Please.
fatz
January 24th, 2011
4:49 pm
justagirl, i guarantee you J Cutler wishes he had gone back in for another series, taken some more shots, and had been carted off the field. i guarantee you he’d do it over again if he could. somethings come from the gut level. most of the folks who are chewing on him today, like me, formed a very quick and lasting opinion from the visuals we put together watching that game yesterday. and i watched every play.
my gut screams “what, you can’t stand around if you are leading a team in a championship game before millions of viewers!”. my brain says something different, he would have been sub-par continuing, he might have hurt himself worse, and certainly he is being abused today for something that wasn’t all that well thought out. but sports – football- is all about gut reaction. its just the way it is.
its like i said in an earlier post- his coaches and trainers didn’t do him any favors with the visuals letting him stand around on the sidelines. they could have at least made him LOOK hurt..
SawThat1nce
January 24th, 2011
4:51 pm
Can’t really think of a reason why I should care about any of this.
"Chef" Tim Dix
January 24th, 2011
4:53 pm
It helps to be beloved, hell, even liked. Taking manner classes rom Jeff George never helps.
SawThat1nce
January 24th, 2011
4:54 pm
The Bears were not going to win that game anyways, with or without Cutler.
This Gets Old!
January 24th, 2011
4:54 pm
More than anything I think that it’s Jay’s demeanor that bugs people. The hands in the hand warmer, head down, coming off of the field and then…vanishing. Not up helping the third string guy, still mentally in the game. It just didn’t look good and fair or not perception can become reality.
Bobby Douglass
January 24th, 2011
4:55 pm
`
The Black and Blue Division is no more.
NoFKNdog
January 24th, 2011
4:55 pm
Deion(Lamont Sanford) Sanders should have played for the gamecocks, because he is full of chicken sh**.
NoFKNdog
January 24th, 2011
4:56 pm
Enter your comments here
just askin
January 24th, 2011
4:57 pm
Who really cares?
Mark Bradley
January 24th, 2011
5:02 pm
You folks are right: Cutler had no political capital to spend.
Whopper Dawg
January 24th, 2011
5:05 pm
Even with everything they gave up to get Cutler, he wouldn’t be on my team next year.
Think Favre would have played?
Really a Jag talks down?
January 24th, 2011
5:07 pm
ok maybe I understand Sanders being able to talk but Jacksonville Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew never even been to an AFC Championship game, runs his mouth?
now if that doesn’t deserve a “lol what an idiot” i don’t know what does
JACKET89
January 24th, 2011
5:08 pm
Deion should close each twitter with another five letter word: MOUTH. No one has ever had the mouth of this wimpy, no tackle CB and that includes T.O. With Deion’s high pitch voice, some should ask him who the real girl is???
Really a Jag talks down?
January 24th, 2011
5:11 pm
lol what a dumass MJD is!
“Jones tweeted later: “All I’m saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee … I played the whole season on one.””
“Washington 20 at Jacksonville 17
With star running back Maurice Jones-Drew sidelined because of a knee injury”
this guy is so full of himself and has no clue what he’s talking about
E. Gordon Gee
January 24th, 2011
5:18 pm
Best QB to ever play at Vandy.
JSS
January 24th, 2011
5:25 pm
“Until Sunday, nobody questioned Cutler’s manhood. His demeanor and his play, yes, but not his heart. And now, because he stood on the sideline — without an apparent limp! — in a game everyone was watching, he’d chickened out. (Never mind that the Bears insisted team doctors told him not to play.)”
He’s no Y.A. Tittle! Sorry, but there are people in Denver who have said worse things about him… He’s only two steps above Josh McDaniel in the eyes of Broncos fans.
And the one thing you can’t be in the “Land of Piccolo” is perceived as soft… You’re old enough to remember the Stockyards… He’s lost that City, torn MCL or not… Say hello to the Arizona Cardinals’ new QB…
Court Of Public Opinion
January 24th, 2011
5:28 pm
Let’s don’t over react now.
Mark (a different one)
January 24th, 2011
5:29 pm
Take Coach Smith’s word for it. “As far as Jay, Jay didn’t take himself out of the game. If you’re going to attack somebody, you should be attacking me. As a head football coach, and our medical staff, we’re the ones … he wanted to go back in.”
Cutler played the first series of the second half, after receiving treatment during halftime. They didn’t like what they saw, and they pulled him, against his wishes. Cutler looks rejected and I guess if I had fought all my career to make a Super Bowl, and was pulled during the second half of the conference championships, I might look dejected as well.
The real shame is that the people in the press that are ripping him will never be held accountable. They will just insist they are right and that we ‘don’t know because we never played NFL football.” Baloney.
Everyone tries to read in the hidden meanings. Here’s one. Ryan and his fiance wanted to go to Hawaii and the Pro Bowl so he threw the game. Sounds stupid but it makes as much sense as Cutler tanking when he is so near his goal.
JSS
January 24th, 2011
5:31 pm
He cried!
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Cutler-cried-when-told-about-player-s-criticism-?urn=nfl-311669
JSS
January 24th, 2011
5:36 pm
“I had fought all my career to make a Super Bowl, and was pulled during the second half of the conference championships, I might look dejected as well.”
Cutler always looks that! That faraway gaze, somewhere between a lost puppy and a serial killer who was just caught…
sogadog
January 24th, 2011
5:54 pm
Any type 1 diabetic that can play professional sports is without question tough as nails. Cutler is a great quarterback and I do not question his courage or toughness. He will be back and if the Falcons flop again next year, I hope he and the Bears make the super bowl.
Sports Review
January 24th, 2011
5:55 pm
[...] Hide the Cutlery! QB skewered in the court of public opinionAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Lovie Smith Sticks Up for Jay Cutler, Praises Backup QB Caleb HanieFanHouseYahoo! Sports -Detroit Free Press -San Francisco Chronicleall 6,903 news articles » [...]
BK
January 24th, 2011
6:10 pm
The whole Falcons team quit a week ago more than Cutler quit yesterday.
Steve
January 24th, 2011
6:36 pm
Deion and Co are pathetic. Put simply, if this is not a white QB Deion doesn’t open his fat mouth. As for Jones-Drew? Does anyone care?
His teammates backed him. His history backs him because ANYONe who has watched the beating he has taken this year would realize there is no way this guy is soft. There is no reason to believe this guy backed down. The game was far from over and there was absolutely no reason for him to ‘duck out’. If he wasn’t able to move then it was probably best for his team to get him out of there anyway, as the Packers were annihilating the Bears blockers.
Anyone calling this guy soft better look in the mirror first.
Oh, and I hate the Bears. Just can’t believe that Cutler is the scapegoat for this. Maybe if they had come out running like they did for their third string QB then Cutler wouldn’t have been battered by the end of the first quarter.
Mike
January 24th, 2011
6:38 pm
I’ve seen the guy play hurt before. Sounds like the docs told him to stay out.
I think it’s just black players firing off on the white QB. They’d never turn on Vick, who is Mr. Glass, although he showed toughness this year in a contract year.
count_schemula
January 24th, 2011
6:44 pm
He played poorly and he did quit mentally.
I know enough about knees to know that maybe he could walk around, but he probably has ZERO side strength and could not move sideways. So, the knee injury is legit, and maybe he should have played, completely destroyed the knee with a camera op play like Joe Theisman (I still am not a fan of watching that play) and left on stretcher. That’s our NFL. A mess of contradictions.
On the quitting though, I would be upset with the sulking stuff. He was the #1 QB, he had the plan in his head. After the injury, he needs to become a QB coach essentially. He definitely shirked those duties with his sullen dejection act.
Some of the other stuff makes NO sense. He was scared to get hit? No starting QB is scared to get hit. Not saying they love it, but not scared. I’d like to see any fan take a hit from the smallest dude on the reserve squad and see how they take it. Wheezing for breath and crying like a baby is what I’d expect to see.
banned_schemula
January 24th, 2011
6:45 pm
He played poorly and he did quit mentally.
I know enough about knees to know that maybe he could walk around, but he probably has ZERO side strength and could not move sideways. So, the knee injury is legit, and maybe he should have played, completely destroyed the knee with a camera op play like Joe Theisman (I still am not a fan of watching that play) and left on stretcher. That’s our NFL. A mess of contradictions.
On the quitting though, I would be upset with the sulking stuff. He was the #1 QB, he had the plan in his head. After the injury, he needs to become a QB coach essentially. He definitely shirked those duties with his sullen dejection act.
Some of the other stuff makes NO sense. He was scared to get hit? No starting QB is scared to get hit. Not saying they love it, but not scared. I’d like to see any fan take a hit from the smallest dude on the reserve squad and see how they take it. Wheezing for breath and crying like a baby is what I’d expect to see.
collegeballfan
January 24th, 2011
6:46 pm
No one ever said Sanders had great intellect, speed yes, intellect no.
Word on the street in Chicago is that Cutler used the tears because he is planning on running for Speaker of the House. Word is he figured if it works for Boehner it may work for him.
OldTimer
January 24th, 2011
7:03 pm
Sanders has something Cutler never will, a Super Bowl ring, and an attitude to match.
OldTimer
January 24th, 2011
7:06 pm
And as for Sanders not making a tackle… he just put Cutler face down in the dirt.
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January 24th, 2011
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Pago Pago DAWG
January 24th, 2011
7:17 pm
If he had been a “brother”, dion wouldn’t open his mouth. Think about it…
OldTimer
January 24th, 2011
7:18 pm
Thought about it, you’re an idiot.
BigDawg17
January 24th, 2011
7:26 pm
When Deion talks no one listens…..I change the channel whenever he is on.
OldTimer
January 24th, 2011
7:27 pm
Same old thing Bid Dawg, when he played no one would throw the ball to his side of the field.
Double Zero Eight
January 24th, 2011
7:34 pm
The last I heard it was a contusion. Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Doug Williams, Big Ben would have played in my opinion. Of course Urlacher is going to take up for him. ,
Tweets that mention Hide the Cutlery! QB skewered in the court of public opinion | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
January 24th, 2011
7:36 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by david jean, GreenEddie23g. GreenEddie23g said: Hide the Cutlery! QB skewered in the court of public opinion: We wonder, not for the first time, why any profess… http://bit.ly/icIKks [...]
Double Zero Eight
January 24th, 2011
7:37 pm
I left Favre out in my previous post. They would have had to cart him off the field to get him out of a NFC conference championship game.
Hey Guys
January 24th, 2011
8:11 pm
Maurice said all that he posted was just a joke about Florida and you were suppose to laugh!
Bob
January 24th, 2011
8:17 pm
Mark, Glad you mentioned Deion Sanders’ potential one tackle that he almost made while playing. It’s impossible to count the number of times a healthy Sanders would take a punt, and run for the sideline. He so obviously avoided contact that it was comical, and it’s no less comical that he of all people would make any negative comment about Jay Cutler.
Panama
January 24th, 2011
8:17 pm
How did this become a litmus test on race. Its very simple. It’s Chicago. There are a lot of Chicagoans upset today of all hues.. We are talking about a lunch pail city. We are talking about a city that closes only after 4 feet of snow are on the ground. We are talking about a city where you are required to shovel your walk even if there are two feet of snow on it. So this guy is standing around with a stiff knee against THEM. THEM! The PACKERS! In a championship game. People got up and went to work in zero degree windchill. They waited 15 minutes for their cars to heat up. They had to make the walk through their back yard to get to their garage and sit there in a cold car. Mailmen were delivering mail. Construction workers and welders were working outside and a lot of them were stiff and in pain and twice Cutler’s age. So it’s about the impression you give that you cold care less as you stand on the same sideline where Grange, Butkus, Payton and Ditka played hurt on. You’re standing there representing a franchise that prides itself as being the toughest in the NFL. Forget the MRI. Ask yourself, what the demeanor would be of Favre in that situation? Manning? Elway? McNair?
Iron Head
January 24th, 2011
8:25 pm
Call Deon what you want, but soon he will be know as NFL Hall of Famer because he was a shut down corner.
Michael
January 24th, 2011
8:28 pm
I still remember Deion riding on Jerry Rice’s back into the end zone on multiple occasions. Then he went to the Niners and the Boyz and became defensive player of the year. Go figure.
Macon Sports Fan
January 24th, 2011
8:29 pm
They benched him. He was sulking because they yanked his butt out of the game because he sucked. The Chicago coaching staff saw after the first series of the 2nd half that they had no chance with Cutler in the game, so they benched him. I don’t see where his toughness enters into it.
Mcbubba
January 24th, 2011
8:32 pm
“From the dawn of time, there has been nothing that hurts less than someone else’s pain.”
Be careful, Mr. Bradley, somebody might mistake you for a liberal or something…
Get a Life
January 24th, 2011
8:50 pm
Unless any of you are pro level QB’s playing in the Nfl back off him. What’s yalls problem? He knows his body best and if he’s hurting he’s hurting bad. Im a HUGE falcons fan but if you guys know how much work they put into a season you will appreciate these pros. Appreciate they’re talent and dont hate.
Get a Life
January 24th, 2011
8:53 pm
Dilfer the tool shouldn’t run his mouth either cause the RAVENS D won him a Super Bowl ring.
Jeff
January 24th, 2011
8:54 pm
Sorry, Mark, you usually have some great points, but I have to disagree with you on this subject.
Cutler has been a prima-donna his whole career, going back to Vanderbilt. He has never given off the persona of a tough guy who plays through stuff (injuries, a struggling offense, a good defense, etc.) When things are going great, he’s all “pump the fists, roar, give teammates some high fives”, but when there are ANY signs of trouble, he suddenly looks like a sullen little frat boy on the sidelines.
The man gets paid. Dude, does he EVER get paid. Pro athletes these days get paid a king’s ransom for playing a game. Unless your arm is falling off or we can hear an audible leg snap or we can SEE a devastating, twisting knee injury, you’d better at least ACT like you’re chomping at the bit to come back in and earn your money. See guys like Brett Favre or Philip Rivers or Aaron Rodgers… they take some horrific shots and still try to get back in. They know their team, their coaches and their fans EXPECT them to perform.
Finally, the stakes were higher than just an average NFL game. This was a chance to get to the Super Bowl! I didn’t see Cutler take any particular hard shots in the Green Bay game — he was just getting harassed and getting a few hits, but nothing exceptional. His throws were off, even when he wasn’t pressured, and he didn’t seem the least bit disturbed to miss the second half of the game OR to help his rookie third stringer as that guy desperately tried to bring the Bears back. Cutler LOOKED and ACTED like a man who “checked out”, who things weren’t going his way, so he decided it wasn’t worth digging down deep and having a gut check.
If he’d gotten destroyed by a massive hit, like Steve Young took to end his career, or the one where Vick broke his leg in a preseason game one year, or whatever, we’d understand. But this was a supposedly big-time quarterback wilting under the pressure of a big-time game, and a supposed injury was his ticket out.
No Hall of Fame player comes out of an NFL playoff game, certainly not with a Super Bowl on the line. Tom Brady played LAST WEEK with a broken bone in his foot… Cutler gets an “ouchy” and decides he will sit out. Sorry, Mark, but this is typical pretty-boy Cutler — a front-runner to the end, a guy who is great when things are going well, but who suc*s when the pressure is on.
I feel bad for the Bear fans… they deserved better quarterback play in an NFC Championship game.
LADawg
January 24th, 2011
8:54 pm
And Joe Theisman should have sucked it up and come back the next play after having his leg destroyed by LT. Dion played out in space where he could take all running plays off. Every play there is over a ton of angry defenders wanting to destroy a quarterback. Play hurt with the Bears offensive line and you may be able to take the rest of your career off.
All of Maurice's Championship Rings
January 24th, 2011
8:57 pm
Maurice Drew continues to prove he is a hypocrite and an idiot. While he’s at it – he needs to pick one last name, just like everyone else.
Get a Life
January 24th, 2011
8:57 pm
Prima Donna Cutler is better than any of yall will ever be. Back off guys, unless you ACTUALLY play at the QB position.
All of Maurice's Championship Rings
January 24th, 2011
9:00 pm
Jeff – Have you ever had an injury where you know you can’t perform? (I bet you haven’t) Well, let me help you – it sucks – you might look like you can perform but your body and you know all you are going to do is stink it up.
Cut Jay Cutler some slack – none of us were on the sidelines yesterday.
Ross
January 24th, 2011
9:01 pm
Deion Sanders is one to talk, he never met a tackle he wouldnt run from.
luangtom
January 24th, 2011
9:03 pm
Who cares??? In a week, no one will really give a ….
JSS
January 24th, 2011
9:09 pm
All of Maurice’s Championship Rings
January 24th, 2011
8:57 pm
“Maurice Drew continues to prove he is a hypocrite and an idiot. While he’s at it – he needs to pick one last name, just like everyone else.”
Not a fan of the Jags; but since someone brought it up…
Maurice Jones-Drew hyphenated his name to honor his Grandfather who helped raise him and died of a heart attack just before his last year of college… FYI…
Headley Lamar
January 24th, 2011
9:10 pm
I once played half a game with a broken wrist ( broken by a inside fastball earlier in the game )
I shouldnt have. I was in extreme pain and could barely make a fist.
Later in the game a guy tried to steal third. I could barely catch the ball and make the tag.
After that, the pain causing tears, I took myself out.
This isnt the 1950’s. If he was hurt he was hurt. Turns out he was. He wasnt going to help the team much running back out there.
DePlane
January 24th, 2011
9:25 pm
Looking and listening to Jay Cutler, you don’t get the sense he is the sharpest guy around…just doesn’t think about the repercussions of how something might look to the rest of the world. Hence, his predicament.
Those who condemn him for not playing on a torn MCL, or worse for all he knew, would have him put his football career in jeopardy and continue to play? On the matter of him not helping the 3rd stringer…I do agree he should have been there for the kid if..he was allowed by the coaches.
Otherwise, whats he supposed to do?
I’m not a Cutler fan, but many people are merciless. Reminds me of thumbs down in Roman times. He doesn’t deserve what he’s getting.
Rogie
January 24th, 2011
9:34 pm
Jay Cutler started all but one game at Vandy in 4 years. He had no offensive line to speak of, he was being chased by soon to be pro D-lineman from his SEC opponents on every snap within seconds. He was beaten up quite a few times.
It takes guts to want to be Vandy’s qb and take that sort of a beating and played the next week just to get another one. There’s no question in my mind that the guy is tough.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 24th, 2011
9:47 pm
Most of the people criticizing Cutler would probably get killed if they tried to play in a high school game. Nobody can ever judge anybody elses injuries or pain. You don’t know if you ain’t walking in their shoes.
James Adams
January 24th, 2011
11:41 pm
At least it wasn’t a turf toe injury. We all know that’s a death blow to all quarterbacks. Just ask that noodle-armed, can’t win a big game if his life depended on it one we have here in Atlanta.
C from Marietta
January 25th, 2011
4:51 am
I find it funny that folks on this blog blast Cutler are folks that WATCH the game, while chowing on chicken wings. Folks are really being jerks. Take a look in the mirror, if an NFL QB coming out of the a game. Makes you mad, then you have serious issues. Watching pro football is suppose to be fun and my guess is you take it WAY TOO seriously. You know all the stats, but you have no clue that BOTH political parties in Washington are screwing you. Wake and notice what’s important before it’s gone. I feel for you wives and girlfriends.
Crabkilla
January 25th, 2011
8:18 am
I haven’t liked Cutler since he ran out of Denver. Now I realize that Josh McDaniels truly is the douche. I actually feel bad for him. Green Bay has some serious roid heads (Clay Matthews) on that defense.
Sports Review
January 25th, 2011
8:31 am
[...] Bears QB Jay Cutler should support teamUSA TodayNFL News -Richmond Times Dispatch -Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)all 5,998 news [...]
North over South
January 25th, 2011
9:20 am
Prima Donna Cutler I like that name
ASHCAN.
January 25th, 2011
9:28 am
Mark bradley,i see you take up for the ones who look like you(taking shots at D.sanders)had it been vick you would have added fuel to the fire like you and ajc nation still do.So nobody who comment on these blogs including the columnist can’t tell me race is not a factor.He(CUTLER)did quit,and just because nobody agrees with you bradley don’t mean there opinion is wrong.Did you play nfl football bradley? i don’t think so.So besides deion,seems thats all you do to is talk.I can go far as to say you talk so much its your job.Lolol.
ASHCAN.
January 25th, 2011
9:36 am
And if you or anybody else don’t like my comment,YOU CAN KISS MY ASHCAN!!!!
robodawg
January 25th, 2011
10:17 am
“From the dawn of time, there has been nothing that hurts less than someone else’s pain.”
Fantastic line. Is that from you, Mark, or are you quoting someone?
Here we go again!!!!
January 25th, 2011
11:27 am
Jay Cutler has to be the unluckiest player in the world. Not only does he get hurt while playing and that is not caught on tape. We never see him on the sideline encouraging the team, chatting with his backup, or having any kind of expression on his face which indicated that he gave a doggone. Instead he’s seen with ear buds in his ear which looked more like he was listening to his iPod instead of the headsets Tony Romo was shown wearing while injured on the Dallas’ sideline. Although like Cutler he was probably doing nothing but at least when the camera caught him it made it look like he cared.
We now learn this morning that Drew Brees has played through this season with the exact same or very similar injury. And then there’s Donovan McNabb who played through a regular season game I believe with a broken ankle. And there’s Michael Jordan who played in finals against Utah with the flu and had to be helped off the court at the end by his teammates. Big Ben played in a boot and with a broken nose earlier this season so his team could beat their hated rival and secure a bye week.
I’m sorry but if Matt Ryan had done something similar to the Falcons if we were playing in the NFC Championships against the NO Saints — we would be pissed. This is what may be a once in a lifetime chance for your team to go to the Superbowl and at the same time wipe your rival’s butt in at the same time. I just really question if all of that really matter to Jay Cutler.
Ryan highly overrated
January 25th, 2011
12:20 pm
as overrated as Matt Ryan is the kid has balls I give him that!Jay Cutler is 100 punk and leaderless!!
Lovie took him out
January 25th, 2011
5:32 pm
he was playing like crap. goose egg in the first half. this was an excuse for the coach to bench him and try collins. which was a disaster.
C C
January 27th, 2011
1:36 pm
Deion Sanders of all people, questioning someone’s toughness?!? Sure Deion was crazy fast and made some great plays, but how can DS opine about toughness when he was about the worst tackler a defense ever had? DS wouldn’t have been able to tackle Jay Mariotti or J-Lo…much less Jay Cutler.
C C
January 27th, 2011
1:49 pm
But Cutler should have actually look like he gave a damn about his teammates or what was going on afterwards. He looked completely disengaged…not caring, mentoring, cheering, or supporting in any way. I won’t question the toughness factor but I do greatly question his attitude.
If he did much of anything positive with a teammate on the sideline for any meaningful period of time after his injury, some cameraman would have shown that.
Sure he’s pissed off about the injury situation, but to just stare and pace and not interact with others for that long is just not a good trait for a QB, which by definition is expected to be a leadership position. And regardless of position, one who acts like that just looks outcast and/or self-absorbed. (Maybe he’s a Jeff George type?)
If he didn’t think anyone would notice or care when he acted like that, then he was remarkably clueless and out of touch his teammates at best, and a selfish jerk at worst.
KB
January 27th, 2011
1:58 pm
Great article, Mark. Glad that there are some reasonable people with a platform out there. Jay definitely got a raw deal from these morons.
KB
January 27th, 2011
2:00 pm
And C C…how can you judge someone’s attitude or leadership qualities from a five second clip on TV? According to Bears players, including Caleb Hanie, Cutler was cheering them on and going through the playbook. Just because he’s not a cheerleader does not mean he’s a bad leader. The comparison to Jeff George is so ridiculous it’s not even worth mentioning…
DickButkus
January 31st, 2011
1:27 pm
All of you who are hammering jay cutler you should be glad that cutler took himself out of the game against the packers. Can you imagine if the superbowl matchup had been steelers versus bears. The bears under no circumstance are nowhere close to winning a superbowl. Be happy the packers are playing the steelers because they are the only team who would have been favored against the steelers and who were capable of beating the steelers which they will. I would hate to see jay cutler as a world champion superbowl winner. I couldnt stand the thought of that.