The Blasting of Jay Cutler

Posted on January 14, 2011 by James W

It’s easy to sit back and watch the madness unfold and to make snap judgements in the moment. That’s what fans do with sports games. But players? That’s not what they are supposed to do. They are supposed to be above the fray, above the craziness. The understand what it means to be in the trenches. So why was the media, made of largely of ex-players, so hard on Jay Cutler during the Bears NFC Championship loss to the Green Bay Packers?

The Bears oft criticized quarterback did not play for the large majority of the second half due to what is now being classified as a strained MCL. Cutler, who has shown remarkable resiliency during the year, was sidelined and watched as the Bears allowed third string quarterback Calib Hanie fare well, but fall short, in the fourth quarter.

The media, full of tweets and instant messages, were angry with what they were calling Cutler’s lack of heart and desire. Many ex-players thought he should have taken the field until it was obviously time to go. Still, Cutler didn’t take the field and the media firestorm came after him.

This isn’t the first time that the media had something to say about Jay. Just two seasons earlier he received a lot of criticism for the way he had demanded a trade out of Denver when then coach Josh McDaniels tried to trade him.

Still, for a former player to question the heart and the toughness of another player is remarkable. Under a bad offensive line Cutler got hammered day in and day out but never once publicly, and according to Brian Urlacher, never privately complained about the viscous beatings he was taking yet, at the first sign of a serious injury the media went after Jay.