Questioning Cutler’s Toughness

The biggest story from Sunday's NFL's Championship games is not Pittsburgh and Green Bay meeting in Arlington, Texas for Super Bowl XLV. Instead, it is how an NFL quarterback was removed in the 2nd half of a playoff game after suffering an injury that did not appear to be serious. Bears QB Jay Cutler injured his knee near the end of the 1st half and tried to play with the pain at the start of the 3rd quarter.  It was after that first series that he deemed himself ineffective and was taken out of the game. Nobody is sure if Cutler removed himself from the contest or was told to stay on the bench from head coach Lovie Smith. Maybe he knew he couldn't plant his foot when making a throw, and he didn't want to hurt his team's chances to come back and beat the Packers. After back-up Todd Collins was ineffective in two series, little-known 3rd string quarterback Caleb Hanie was given a chance. The former Colorado State signal caller actually brought the Bears back to life and almost led them to a miracle 4th quarter comeback again the Packers. While all of this was happening, the FOX TV cameras kept showing Cutler on the sideline, and he appeared disinterested in the game.

Part of that might be disappointment, part might be the injury, and the part might be Cutler's personality. But when the Bears starting quarterback is still in uniform, is not wearing an ice pack or is not on crutches, and is putting pressure on his injured knee, a lot of players and anylysts queestioned the severity of his injury. Maybe if Cutler was on the headsets and helping young Hanie out, people would look at him as more of a team player. Instead, Cutler has been getting hammered on tweets, talk radio shows, and in the Chicago media. One fan even burned his Cutler jersey last night and a photo was sent to national media. Personally, I have never liked Jay Cutler as NFL quarterback and have always considered him an underachiever. An MRI was taken this morning and Cutler did suffer a torn MCL. The fact remains that he did not appear to even want to return to the field for the Bears. That kind of personality will never work in a football town like Chicago, best known for Dick Butkus and Mike Ditka, two hard-nosed individuals who became ambassadors for the way football ought to be played in The Windy City.