Jay Cutler. That name will get everybody talking and I don’t think the best things will be said about him. People will discuss his work ethic, how he doesn’t seem interested in the game or what’s going on around him, the lack of enthusiasm and the poor play on the field. When he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2006, there was a lot of hype surrounding him as he came out of Vanderbilt. He was supposed to be that next franchise quarterback, something the Broncos didn’t have at that time since the days of John Elway. In 2009, he’s traded to Chicago and that relationship was extremely rocky. The fans got irritated quickly and after seven tough years in Chicago, he and the Bears decided to part ways. When Ryan Tannehill went down with an unfortunate knee injury in practice last week, the reports surfaced that Cutler and the Dolphins had been in talks. Today, the Dolphins signed him to a one-year deal to be their starting quarterback.
Over the years, I’ve been extremely vocal about Jay Cutler. When the Bears gave him that contract extension in 2014, I was questionable about it because you just had to sit there and ask yourself what had the guy done to deserve it? He led the Bears to the playoffs one time and struggled within the NFC North. When John Fox was hired as the Bears head coach in 2015, he bought then offensive coordinator Adam Gase with him and under Adam, Cutler benefitted greatly from his run and screen oriented style. He had the season of his career with the Bears under Adam Case as he finished that season with 21 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. I like this move because it makes the most sense considering Cutler knows the ins and outs of the offensive scheme that Game runs.
The one thing that has really concerned me has been the lack of leadership that Jay Cutler has shown and as a quarterback, that’s one quality that you need to have. I’ve seen a lot of Jay Cutler over the years and the one thing that he’s been consistent with is his inability to lead and rally the guys around him. When you look at quarterbacks in the league today such as Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck, Derek Carr, Jameis Winston and Drew Brees, all those guys are leaders and when they make mistakes on the field, they show their frustrations. Jay Cutler doesn’t do any of that. You can pay a guy for his athletic abilities all you want, but you can’t make him step up and become a leader.
