If you are a fan of my Grades and Review posts and was looking forward to it today, I'm sorry but that post is taking a back seat this week. I really do not feel like a post on Johnny Knox continuing to not fight for the ball, or rounding off of routes is as important as addressing Cutler's critics. I don't feel like a post addressing why Devin Hester is clearly not a #1 receiver is as important as addressing the stupidity I had to hear from the national media, football players, bloggers, and meatball fans in the last 24 hours questioning Jay's toughness. I decided I want to take this time to address the mob mentality I have witnessed since Sunday on Jay Cutler.
On the Meatball Bear fans
I was completely shocked at the large percentage of dumb meatball fans that questioned Jay Cutler's passion for the game and his toughness. The same fans that have watched the current offensive line that G.M. Jerry Angelo constructed allowing Jay to take a pounding every Sunday. The guy never complained at all or threw his line under the bus, but instead just got up and kept playing. The only thing that knocked Cutler out of games this season is a concussion and a grade two MCL tear. The guy has only been here for two years and in only his second year had you one game away from reaching the Super Bowl all while under a complicated offense and an offensive line that allowed 52 sacks. Yet the meatballs don't want to realize this and want to undeservedly run him out of town like they did Rex Grossman. Some fans need to smarten up; learn the extent of the injury before you question players' toughness. Part of the reason why I love this team is because of how passionate and smart this fanbase can be. I was highly disappointed at Bears fans.
On Deion Sanders
I expected that type of reaction from Deion considering he has been one of Cutler's harsher critics this season. Even when the facts were out that Cutler indeed had a MCL tear, Deion still believed that Jay "tapped out". Yes, the same Deion Sanders that preached to cornerbacks that they are "paid to make plays, not tackle". I believe Deion's criticism of Jay has less to do with his body language, but more to do with the fact that his "baby" Hester has been exposed by Jay of not being the #1 receiver. Deion probably realizes that the team is just about ready to pull the plug on the Hester #1 receiver experiment, because he's clearly no help for Jay in that role. For someone whose toughness has been questioned throughout his career, you would like Deion to be understanding of the situation. Instead, he falls into the same category as Trent Dilfer and Mark Schlereth as guys who let their feelings of the guy get in the way of facts and analysis.
On the Players criticism
This was probably the most shocking of them all, because I thought all the NFL players had a mutual respect for one another. What I learned, is that it's possible a large amount of players around the league do not like Jay Cutler. It also shocked me that players like Maurice Jones-Drew was willing to question Jay's toughness. Really hypocritical since these same players are quick to jump at the media for doing the same thing to them. A loser like Rahim Brock doesn't bother me because his anger most likely stemmed from being eliminated by Jay Cutler and company the previous week. Jones-Drew on the other hand sat out the final two games with a knee injury while his Jaguars were fighting for a playoff birth. Of all the NFL players who criticize Cutler, he should be the last guy to be questioning someone's toughness.
I expected the national media to pick on Jay, but I expected better from Bears fans who were immaturely trying to run Jay out of town by setting fire to his jersey and labeling the guy a quitter. Burris, Matthews, Chandler, Stewart, Quinn, Krenzel, Grossman, Orton, and you want to run out of town most likely the best quarterback talent-wise this franchise has ever seen, because he wouldn't play on a ACL tear? Stay classy, Meatballs.