Popularly known as the man behind such classics as the "FB Dive on 3rd & 10", or the "3 yard slant on 4th and 16", Ron Turner isn't exactly a favorite person of the Windy City community.
However, even he, as much as you might love to dislike him, even Turner realizes that Jay is getting better, and he needs more time and talent around him to get where he needs to be. Turner joined E$PN's Waddle and Silvy on Wednesday, and they got into some of his thoughts.
I don't want to get too much into [Cutler's two seasons in Chicago], other than to say you just got to give him time and get him surrounded by good people, which they're doing," Turner said Wednesday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "But you just got to give him time, it takes time for everybody. We all know the talent that he has, and I think it shows on the field."
While he might be a villain around these parts for a somewhat lackluster play-calling effort during his tenure, he's right. Settling in and getting things going requires a fair number of good-to-great people, and lackluster play won't get it done.
He also touched on what is another hot topic around these parts: the #1 wide receiver:
"I don't think [you can win at a high level without a receiver like Wayne]," Turner said. "It would be really, really difficult. You have to have that guy you know you can go to, a guy that's going to be there every game for you, making big plays. You have to have that. If you have that, it takes so much pressure off the other guys and enables you to run the ball.
"If you have a guy like that, it alters your defensive gameplan a little bit."
Again, he's right. That kind of gamechanger definitely alters your play, especially if you're having trouble converting the crucial situations, which the Bears definitely did earlier in the season. Is Turner possibly hinting that he didn't have those tools during his season? Is he slightly jaded by his exit? Perhaps, but that doesn't remove the truth from his words.