Jay Cutler And The Battle Of Wounded Knee
Okay Chicago Bears fans, it's time to get over it. It's Wednesday and it is time to move on from Sunday's ugly loss to the Green Bay Packers. The severity of Jay Cutler's injury and whether or not he is worth of the nickname "Va-Jay-Jay Cutler" should be moot by now. We'll never know what would have happened had Cutler not gotten hurt or if the Bears hadn't wasted two series on Todd Collins.
There's plenty of people to point the finger at if you so desire, and most of them aren't named Jay Cutler.
I love how bloggers and the people leaving comments at websites are regaling us with their stories of toughness. Many recount high school injuries or something in the park rec. league that they made it through. Heck, I've even got some stories myself. When it comes to pain, I have the tolerance of a man and a half (ask my wife if you don't believe me.) But I've never played quarterback in the NFL before, so far be it for me to question Cutler's manhood. Besides, all reports indicate the doctors told Cutler to stay out, and if that is the case, what did you expect him to do? Sneak back onto the field? This isn't the 1960's, you know.
I've also seen several comments about how other athletes who have played through this type of injury. The point they are missing is they didn't do it in the same game. Phillip Rivers missed the end of the game that he hurt his MCL in, then underwent a week of treatment so he could play. Lindsey Vonn had 24 hours between runs to receive treatment. Sure, she skied on it, but there was time to work in it. You can't magically heal an MCL sprain (team) at halftime. Chances are, if the Bears had won, Cutler would have been treated aggressively, been fit with a customized brace and cleared to play in Dallas.
I'm not a big fan of Cutler. I find his detachment to the rest of the team alarming. I find his gunslinger mentality frustrating. But, it could be worse. Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Rick Meier, Cade McNown worse. So, there's always a bright side.
Unfortunately, Lovie is going to be sticking around a while. If I were Jerry Angelo, I wouldn't sign Lovie back up until after next season. And if some NFL team wants to hire him following the season, I might even let him go. Despite the success the Bears had this year, there is no excuse for a team to come out as flat as the Bears did in the first half on Sunday. I don't care how good you think the Packers are, they were beatable Sunday and the Bears let them get off the hook in more ways that didn't involve Cutler's knee injury.
Moving forward, let's hope the Bears can trade up to draft some decent offensive linemen and kick the stiffs like Frank Omyale to the curb. Let's see what Jay Cutler can do with some real wide receivers and not the collection of wannabes they have right now. And let's see if the Bears can come back bigger and better next year.
Chances are if they don't, it will be laid at the knee of Jay Cutler.



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