Following Chicago’s 23-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, it did not take long to get kind of a clear picture as to what might be going through the head of Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler.
Leading up to the game, Cutler showed (what some might say) signs of arrogance in relaying a message to the Packers’ secondary wishing them “good luck” with their matchup against the Bears receivers.
As confident as he was in saying this, he did have some things that happened in Week 1 to back up his statement. After all, the Bears cruised past the Colts 41-21, putting up 428 yards with 314 of them coming through the air. But keep in mind this was the Indianapolis Colts.
On top of that, Green Bay did not look like they should have in their 30-22 loss to the 49ers. The Packers managed just two offensive touchdowns and gave up 377 yards.
After the Bears’ beat-down on Thursday night, one could definitely sense the frustration from Cutler following the game.
Culter has a history of controversy that dates backs to the 2010 NFC Championship game when he went out with a Grade 2 MCL sprain. It wasn’t the injury that led to all the controversy, it was him riding a stationary bike after leaving the game that brought many to wonder about his actual toughness and of course, seeming to just not care.
That toughness was tested in Thursday’s loss as he found himself basically running for his life against a relentless Green Bay pass rush that recorded 7 sacks in the game.
Cutler expressed his frustration during the game, appearing to relay the bulk of it to lineman J’Marcus Webb in what Webb later said was just an effort to motivate his team. Whatever really happened and what was actually said we’ll never know, but the truth is Cutler does have an argument for his frustration.
“If they want a quarterback that doesn’t care, they can find somebody else,” Cutler said.
In all honesty he makes a good point. Many critics since Thursday have stated their opinion on Cutler and his on-field reactions, one’s that appeared to be negative.
The quarterback is the leader of the team. Most often, the team goes as the QB goes. But against the Packers, it is hard to lead when you are picking yourself up from the ground too many times.
In short, Cutler does have a reason to be frustrated. He wants to win a Super Bowl and in order for that to occur, he will need better protection based on recent history. It doesn’t rely totally on the offensive line though, he has room to improve and his receiving group could also help him out a little more as well.
The Bears will have to wait until Week 3 of the season to take on St. Louis.