In one of the final series of the first half Cutler injured his knee and there talks within the Bears organization that he would not even take the field for the second half. However, he tried it and after one unsuccessful series retreated to the bench, which is where he would stay for the rest of the game. Todd Collins entered and left in the blink of an eye and then it was third-stringer, Caleb Hanie's turn. You know Hanie woke up that morning just excited to have a great seat for the game and wasn't expecting to even step on the field. Yet, there he was leading the comeback for the Bears and, had it not been for Sam Shields second interception of the day, perhaps could have tied the game up with under a minute to play. We can't fault Hanie's effort because he is a third string quarterback who was thrown into the biggest game of the Bears-Packers rivalry and told to lead the comeback, a Super Bowl birth on the line.
When it comes to Cutler though, questions are raised about his effort. He hurt his knee, and his teammates and coaches have defended him 100% so far, but how bad was it? Was it bad enough that he had to sit out of the biggest game of his career? Because it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't stand on it or even ride the bike. He wasn't receiving any treatment and there was no brace or anything on it. He was just standing there with that look he always wears, one of disinterest and unhappiness. I'm not going to sit here and say that Jay Cutler quit because I don't really know how bad that sprained MCL was. The training staff wouldn't let him go but in my mind it didn't seem to affect him much.
Ronnie Lott had his finger cut off so that he could keep playing and Willis Reed took the floor with a broken leg. Phillip Rivers has played with a torn ACL and many players have knee injuries but they still play. I just think that if Cutler really wanted to play he would have done everything he could to get on that field. Good players compete in Playing Time but the great ones show up in Winning Time. The second half of that game was Winning Time and Caleb Hanie was under center. Keep in mind this wasn't just any game, this was the NFC Championship against the Bears biggest rival and this was only the second time the two teams had met in the playoffs. Cutler was coming off his first playoff game since high school, a win against the Seahawks and a win in this game would have elevated his status as a great quarterback in Chicago and in the league.
Sad thing is, he never gave himself a chance and that's why people will question him for the rest of his life. What if the Bears never get back to that point with him? In my opinion he won't be in Chicago too much longer and that means fans lasting memory will not be Cutler throwing the ball on the field; it will be Jay Cutler standing on the sideline, jacket and stocking cap on, watching as his team lose a chance to go to Dallas. Some franchise quarterback...
He tore his MCL. that is a serious injury. Like you said, the staff put him on the sideline, it wasnt his choice. It wouldnt have been worth risking his career and his performance on the field with the injury seemed to be affecting his passes anyway. he wasnt throwing off his back foot. Culter is tough. He took a beating when they played he Giants taking 10+ sacks and he didnt quit. he was walking around the sideline with the pain to try and get back in the game. of course he didnt look like he was in pain. he's a pro player. do u expect him to just sit down and cry? and when the bears scored their first touchdown, there wasnt a brighter smile on the chicago sideline than on Jay Cutler's face, didn't really seem 'disinterested or unhappy'. the bears were 11-5 with Cutler. that record takes hard work and commitment that he showed all year. doesnt make sense for someone to work that hard and then quit if they could keep playing. Haine showed us there is a future in him but as far as the next 5-6 seasons are concerned, it is still 6's team.
ReplyDeleteHe's saying he wants to see the fight out of the face of our franchise. And it's easy to cheer for your team when everything's going good and your team scores. If he wouldn't have reacted to a score i would have considered him inhuman and a non athlete. The 15 other times they showed Cutler on the sideline he had a vacant stare and looked as if he was thinking about dinner plans rather than super bowl plans. And yes it was a serious injury, but also is a broken leg. Byron Leftwich had his offensive linemen carry him up and down the field because he couldn't walk on his broken leg. If i recall correctly, that was an insignificant game that he competed in, but the reason I remember it is because his toughness and heart kept him in the game and led his team to victory even though he couldn't walk. Imagine your biggest situation in your life. I can guarantee you I wouldn't walk away from mine or let anyone tell me that I could not do it. I would fight and kick and scream and do whatever it takes to be on the court at that time. All zach is saying is he wants to see the fight out of this "elite" quarter back. He is the face of the franchise and one of the captains of the team. Instead of giving up, he should have fought. Fought for a once in a lifetime opportunity. The opportunity that every youth football player has dreamt of, to be the starting quarterback in the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeletei dont know if you know but if your teams medical staff say you cannot play in the game you are officially inactive. stepping on the field will cost your team penalty yards. and with leftwich, he didnt know he had a broken leg until after the game, like with cutler. but the human anatomy makes it so that if you have a broken bone, you are able to use in for the next 2-3 hours for survival reasons. so even though his leg was broken, he had solid control over it with bearable pain. Also think about it logically, do u think a player with a seriously wounded leg could play at the NFL level? most people cant play in it in perfect health. I found his story to be a little exaggerated. And while the body will give you a little pain free time with broken bones, it doesnt do it with ligament and tendon tears because those are far too serious and will cause permanent damage unlike broken bones. Like I said before, Cutler is a fighter. The O-line had trouble in the beginning of the season and Cutler was taken down in the first 5 games more than all the other NFC North Qbs combined. He worked his whole career for that game and I doubt he like you or I would pass it up becuase he just was thinking about dinner. It was obviously more serious. He didnt give up. They made a logical choice by keeping him from hurting it to the point he couldnt play anymore. A career is always worth more than a game. even if it is the superbowl. He will play in the game in his career. It was unfortunate he got hurt but that is a part of sports. Just because his injury didnt present blood, or knock him out doesn’t mean it wasnt serious.
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