For the longest time it has felt like a lot of people have denounced Jay Cutler as anything but an athlete with a strong arm. Nowhere near what it take to be a true top QB.
Among the chief criticisms was his lack of maturity on the sidelines, his surly attitude off the field and seemingly endless string of poor relationships with his coaches that resulted in multiple firings. Many fans have grown tired of it, tired of the underachievement and the sometimes unwarranted attitude considering the guy has one playoff appearance in eight seasons under center. Jim McMahon may have had better talent around him, but a huge reason why those great Bears teams won was because he was an outstanding leader.
Something Cutler will never be, at least in the minds of most critics. However, listen to his teammates long enough and it won’t be hard to hear their laughter at such an idea. In their minds, Jay is the best leader they have and continues to set an example for the rest of them to follow. Don’t believe it. Here are just a few of the comments that have come out about him lately.
Kyle Long
"“In my book, Jay’s been lights out since I’ve been here,” Long said. “People haven’t been able to recognize that, because guys haven’t been held accountable or held themselves accountable. But this year, you get to see Jay shine in his true role as a leader, a quarterback and a captain of this team.”"
Kevin White
"“Jay’s a great leader, a great teammate,” White said. “He wants nothing but the best for us. He wants to win, and he wants to win now. The bad things (critics) say about Jay are not true at all. He’s a really good guy, a really good person once you get to know him. I’m excited for us.”"
Hroniss Grasu
"“(Cutler) told me he believes in me and this team believes in me,” Grasu said. “When a guy like that, it shows he has confidence in me.“I’ll do whatever it takes to help Jay. I’ll lay my body on the line for that man.”"
Zach Miller
TE Zach Miller said Jay Cutler influenced re-signing with #Bears: "To be able play with a guy like that, elite arm, elite mental status.”
— Bob LeGere (@BobLeGere) March 15, 2016
In fact it’s rather difficult to find anybody in the Chicago Bears organization that has a bad thing to say about Jay Cutler. Maybe it could be passed off as a team trying to maintain an aura of unity around their quarterback, but the one thing that tells the story better than any other is the fact that through two drafts they have no selected a single player at that position. Not once in 15 total picks.
That says a lot about how they feel with him under center. He may not be Rodgers, Brees or Brady but that’s not who the Bears are asking him to be. They are fine with him being Cutler, just one who makes better decisions and shows a little more leadership. Based on these latest indications, he’s making the effort to comply with their wishes and the results speak for themselves.