Alaskan Grizzly

I don't know that I'd call Stafford "model", but he has managed to do well with a pretty weak cast. Over his time with the team the only real standout players being Megatron and Suh. I could make the case that since joining the league in 2009 he's thrown for no less than 4000 yards since 2011, been named to two Pro Bowls (once as an alternate) and had his team into the playoffs twice. Rivers has been named to the Pro Bowl 5 times and had his team in the playoffs at least twice maybe three? And Eli, we'll all he's done is beat the Patriots twice to win two Super Bowls. All of which is better than what our QB has given us.

I'd have to disagree with the word usage in your first sentence. Should read "all/most" as he was the thrower, not the receiver. Anyhow, I would be willing to agree to some level that Cutler has not had all the support he's needed at all levels to succeed every year. Somewhere along the way, one element or the other has managed to not shine and give him the chance to shine. The team has tried however to correct this and give him that crutch. Whether it be signing former Pro Bowl linemen (Pace, Bushrod) to getting more weapons as RB's (Taylor, Barber), or WR's (Marshall, Royal, Jeffery, Muhammad?) to hiring 'preferred' coordinators (Trestman, Bates and Gase) a few managers have tried. For some reason or the other something inevitably goes wrong. But then again; players like Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Stafford, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and a few others still manage some modicum of consistency and success despite some of the lack of support they might have. It's like Mad said in another post, Jay will get going on a roll and play really well for a game maybe two then BAM, he goes from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde. It's not necessarily as reliable as clockwork but damn close. And when I say 'good play' I'm suggesting when he was in Martz' offense and last year's offense with Trestman. Just two games into Gase's system he looked overall good, but again reverted to the Cutler of old in both games. This inconsistency on his being consistently good is on him...not everyone else.

Careful Mad, they're going to lump you with me. Im gradually working my way towards Terra level egregiousness. ?

I've got 127 million reasons why he should be critiqued. I'm sorry if you think he's mistreated. I'd be willing to be ridiculed the rest of my life for that money. (Heck I do it here for a lot less). If he doesn't like it yes he should demand the trade. Since his wife doesn't like living in Chicago anyhow maybe it would be for the best?

Something tells me well both need to stock up on our "elixers" of choice in order to cope.

WOW Amazing, never considered it. You're right my mind is flippin blown. All this time it was Martellus Bennett that caused Jay to throw all those INTs and lose those fumbles. Why didn't I see it? Thank you guys for pointing that out. Ok, I'll stop looking for Cutler to screw up. Thank you for setting me straight.

Couldn't agree more. Well said and thought out and although I disagree on a few minor points, by in large though I'm right there with you. I can't say this enough and frankly don't care if Jason, Hustla, SCS or whomever care but I really want to be wrong about Jay. I truly do. If he succeeds, our team succeeds. Now that he can't play I'm hoping that Clausen succeeds but not necessarily at the expense of Jay. If I'm right about Clausen and he plays well all that does is boost my ego (and I'm not really that prideful), but it doesn't solve the rest of what you brought up. Which is there are 23 (or so) other players that are either not carrying their weight, not talented enough, not trying hard enough or are plain equally sucking all at the same time. Ok a few exceptions; Forte and a few others. But anyhow, I'm still holding out hope that Culter will at some point find what it is he needs to go up that one level to positive consistency. No more Jekyll and Hyde. Not only is he running of excuses, he's running out time.

Man this stuff almost writes itself. Not sure if Mad addressed this below but I'd like to point out some things here. This, I assume, is the 2010 NFC Championship game you're talking about? The one that Jay threw the INT for a score then shortly after was injured? Then sat long faced on the sideline the rest of the game. The same game where Caleb Hanie was THE GUY who brought the team to ONE TD from going to the Super Bowl before throwing that INT to BJ Raji in the endzone or real close? That the game you're talking about? But before I get ahead of myself I should probably ask, 'where was Martellus Bennett" when Jay threw that pick 6? Did he go the wrong way? Did he misread Jay's call in the huddle? Wait he was playing for Dallas that year, so maybe he wasn't the cause?

What if you're a vegetarian? And the 'Clausen for Prez' thing is just idiotic. Come up with something original or more thought provoking.

Our team is turning into East Denver... Without a Manning. *Edit: I just realized I thought his name sounded familiar. He's married to Olympian Corey Cogdell who is from Alaska. He done good.

Good point. Didn't even think about until you mentioned it. That is sad if you think of it. Given the level of injury (allegedly) you'd think he'd at least try to come out to support the team. With the image he has, mostly through the media, you'd think he'd want to repair it...if only a little. Maybe he really "don't care"?

Wouldn't say you're crushing them, just questioning their choices. It's apparent Gase is a smart guy and considered league-wide to be a wunderkind so I'm sure he's looking at all the factors when he makes his choices for calls. And we know Fox is more Defensive minded so these choices probably weigh heavy on his final say. At any rate, I'm nowhere close to saying this is Gase's fault, just watching to see if he learns from what doesn't work. I think it safe to say we've seen enough of those that can't seem to get out of a rut, and to be fair he's only been the OC for two games. Plenty more to go.

Not sure I completely understand what you're saying BUT, did Alshon play last week? And if I remember right Bellamy did in fact score on a nice play. What I'm getting at is yes because presumably AJ is the better player and he and Bellamy were put in the same situation (in the red zone) odds are AJ would be the better option. My point is that they actually have to play in order to be a factor. And of the two Bellamy was the only one available, so thus not a factor. Again; coulda, shoulda, didn't. I understood what Hustla was trying to say but I was countering with the fact that his (Cutlers) stats are really no better in the red zone than are Jimmys at this point. And what's more Cutler is 2 TD vs 2 INT with a 78.5 passer rating for the season. So far these stats are on pace to his 2009 season, which wasnt very kind to him. http://www.nfl.com/player/jaycutler/2495824/careerstats

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No, not dumb at all. It's easy to miss something either in not reading it entirely or misconceiving the intent all together. Especially when its in written format. Believe me, done it many times here. You did get my point and thanks for addressing it. I don't mistrust Gase but like you said why would you call repeated pass plays when Forte is having a great day on the ground? Kinda like last year's super bowl; why would the Seahawks throw a quick slant when "Beastmode" pretty much carried them to the brink of the end zone? Perhaps Gase is trying to build up Cutler's confidence? We know that Fox said shortly after he was hired that Cutler's confidence level was pretty low at the conclusion of last year. And Cutler hasn't been great in the red zone so maybe Gase saw this as a way to try and build him up?

Yes I'll agree; coulda, shoulda but didn't. Stats is stats friendo.

Dude un-wedge your skivvys. Not an argument, just an observation and counter-point. Simple question which you managed to avoid and deflect. I'll ask it again, maybe slower this time. In red zone situations this year how has the TEAM done? Since there has only been two games there isn't a lot of data to dig. Cutler and Jimmy are pretty much similar. Cutler is 3 of 9 for 19 yds with 0 TD's and Jimmy is 2 of 2 for 8 yds and 0 TDs. Again, that being said and restating my question from before, is that a conviction of the offense play calling or the QB's themselves?

How many red zone opportunities against GB? I know of one that started and ended on the 2 yard line. All throws... who was the QB for that? Is this more a conviction of the offensive play calling or the ineptitude of the QBs?

Don't let Jason hear you say that....

First an historical reference on Bennett. This from right after he was signed by the Bears and reflecting on his time in Dallas: "I think early in my career, it’s no secret that I struggled earlier in my career," Bennett said. "But it wasn’t because of my ability or being able to make plays. It was more attitude. I think I never accepted my role in Dallas and I always was fighting with what my role was instead of just accepting it." And after the game last year against Buffalo where they lost 23-20 and Cuitler threw 2 INTS (one of which was to the Defensive Tackle Williams). Bennett said this about the other INT: ""I should have turned around quicker on that," Bennett said. "That first one was my fault.". (You notice he specified which was his fault?) As far as Cutler, all you have to do is review film over the last few years to see him grouse at a player when they don't either catch a ball or 'causes and int' to suspect he doesn't feel the blame. I fully understand the terminology "hot read" and thank you for thinking you needed to clarify it. I'll give you this; we may never know who was truly at fault. Does it matter now? Not really. I know consistently over the years who has been involved with most of Cutler's interceptions and turnovers, and that's enough for me. You can offer as many excuses as you want; bad oline, changing coordinators or not having the right receivers as you feel necessary. The constant is still there. Suffice to say I don't feel we'll win this weekend. Like Adam pointed out this was more than likely a foregone conclusion even with Cutler playing. There are a lot of factors going against our team as we head into Seattle. Least of them is whether Clausen starts or not. For what its worth though, I don't think Clausen will do as badly as you or others are hoping he will. How he does remains to be seen. One thing I am certain of. We do not currently have the QB on our roster that will get our team where it needs to be. Who that is whether it be through draft or other means also remains to be seen.

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Fox was interviewed after the game by Joniak. One of the points he made was there was a mistake on the "hot read" that resulted in an interception. Whether that mistake was from Cutler or Bennett was left to ambiguity. Historically we've seen Cutler blame others for the mistakes he's made (by the by, didn't see that here) and Bennett has admitted to the mistakes he's made (again, didn't see it here). If you watch the play develop and considering Fox used the word "hot read" that would mean Jay saw what he thought would be a blitz. In looking at the pre-snap configuration (sorry not smart enough to do snapshots of play by play) you'll see what looks like a dime form defense with the 'strong' loaded on the offensive right side to match the 'strong' offensive formation. As Cutler is setting up to take the snap he looks to his right and with two arms points in the direction of the 'heavy' coverage. Presumably (because I'm not privy to their calls) he's pointing out the "Mike" backer and the extra DB coverage (or possibly where he thinks a blitzer is coming from). Either way, he wants to be sure those players are accounted for most likely for a blocking assignment. After making that indication he scans to his left, checking off the "Will" LB placement (or in this case extra DB) and other DBs lineup on that side. He then motions straight up in the air, as if to suggest the receiver on this side, or primary look, will either run a fly/go or continue a route. Having hindsight as my ally I'm going to assume he was indicating to his primary look (Bennett) that he should continue his crossing route rather than stop. Reason I suggest this are two things; Bellamy (who was lined up as the weak side receiver) did a 'dig' route and came back to the ball - not a 'fly/go' route. Either to set up for a reception or set up the rub for Bennett to catch the underneath crossing route and shed his defender. The other being that Cutler may have thought the "Will" backer (position - covered by a DB this time) was going to blitz (which he ended up doing) and he intended to pass to Bennett in the "open space". He had single high safety coverage (probably the FS) as the weak side Safety moved back at the snap of the ball to cover that part of the field. The communication error happened either before the play or during the play itself. Bennett, to me, looked as though he was going to continue his crossing route and intend to catch the pass in the open space vacated by the blitzing CB. For whatever reason he paused, if only for a second, and Jay (maybe not knowing if Bennett didn't get the message) threw the ball way behind Bennett who was continuing across. And going with the belief that Cutler tends to lock on his players, Jefferson picked up where Bennett was going because he ran right to the spot almost immediately after the hike of the ball. Bennett never squared up as if he was expecting to catch the pass where it ended up going to, although he did turn to look into the backfield. Taking into account he was going to "stop" as you suggested, Jay should have thrown more to the left side of Bennett (or lead him) rather than where he did because he presumably knew the 'heavy' coverage was on the right. Instead the ball went right and into the hands of Jefferson.

You know that the sentiment I share about Cutler is not unique right? It's not like I'm the only one with the perception of how he plays directly effects the team to the negative on a REGULAR basis. Yes... he gradually shows improvement in each of the offensive schemes he's been a part of but almost every time he turns over the ball to the other team and a lot of the times those turnovers result in direct scores of the opposing teams. That is hard to overlook and hard to forgive. It's repeated time and again...year after year, season after season. The facts and the stats support it. The fact YOU don't like it is for you to wrestle with. I was more than excited to see Jay come to the team when he did. Had a man crush in fact, thought he'd take us to the 'promised land' but all he's turned out to be is a snake oil salesman. Just to be fair, what IF Jimmy Clausen somehow ends up winning this Sunday? And the following Sunday? Are you so convinced in what you think you know that you'd rather not see how he does in this offense? I would like to see the Bears win. If Jimmy does it great. If Cutler does it great...he hasn't yet, not this year.

I actually agree with you. Totally hate the idea of throwing the season just to get a better pick. Actually the very thought incenses me. Anyhow with Cutler and the current system as of right now gives our team the best chance. Mostly because of his direct familiarity and working with it on the starting team. Whether that means it will translate to wins is unknown. As many of you know, the success of our team doesn't just base itself on the success of the offenses. But all parts of the machine. Sticking with the offense though, what happens IF Clausen (or even Fales) shows a measurable level of success in the same system? What then?

Not for nothing but 5 of the total 14 penalties were on the defense. Unfortunately two of those on the D were the big PIs against Fuller and Ball. As Fox pointed out that pretty much sets up the opposition to score.