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Sorry Jay, It's Time To Take Some Of The Blame

cutlerwebb
cutlerwebb

Blame the devil for the things you do
It's such a selfish way to lose
The way you lose these wasted blues
These wasted blues
Tell me that it's nobody's fault
Nobody's fault but my own
That it's nobody's fault, nobody's fault but my own -Beck

Read on to find out why Cutler has to start taking more responsibility for the Chicago Bears loss to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday.

A lot has been written regarding the Bears losing to the Packers in the first Thursday night football game of the season. Fingers have been pointed, and once again the majority of the blame seems to headed in the direction of the offensive line, with left tackle J'Marcus Webb getting the bulk of the criticism.

Cutler himself was seen getting in the face of Webb, even bumping into him as if that would somehow do some good. To his credit, Webb didn't rise to Cutler's provocation and continued to do his best against an aggressive Green Bay pass rush.

I think former offensive lineman Lomas Brown hit the nail on the head when he said:

"He has a very fragile character. To me, the way he attacked (Webb), it's one thing to be yelled at and scolded, but for him to come up and push this guy, actually push this guy, you know, it was ridiculous. Then you turn around with his double standards and he pats Brandon Marshall on the head when he drops a touchdown pass. I don't understand this guy. I think he has a very, very fragile personality. I think it's bad for the Chicago Bears because you could look at his body language, your quarterback is the one person you don't want to see sitting on the sideline moping, walking with his head down, getting up in everybody's face."

Exactly. The perennially petulant Cutler didn't tell Marshall to get his f------ head in the game like he did Webb. Oh no, Cutler patted Marshall on the head like a good little puppy and probably said 'we'll get them next time Brandon. Don't worry, I still love you dude'

I don't really mind Cutler getting fired up and I am sure in his eyes he was only trying light a fire under J'Marcus Webb. But he must learn to control his emotions. Green Bay would have seen all this and knew they had Cutler rattled. It really did serve no purpose. What he should have done was taken Webb to one side, demonstrated that he is a leader and can inspire someone to play to the best of their abilities. But maybe that's too much to ask.

No matter which way you cut it, Cutler finished the game with a 28.2 QB rating. He completed just 11 out of 27 passes for just 126 yards. Not exactly the performance of a passer that we all believe/hope is one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.

Now, I am not going to sit here and say he received excellent pass protection. He didn't. That can't be denied. Clay Matthews turned in a huge performance and the pocket was frequently collapsing. But come on Jay; you've got to start making some plays out there. He frequently holds on to the ball for far too long, and somehow seems unable to throw the ball away when there's no other option. He just sort of folds and crumbles. Just throw it away Jay and live to fight another day without losing seven or eight yards.

Again, I will reiterate what I have said many times. When Cutler has good protection, he's an very good QB. But do you know what makes an excellent passer? The ability to make plays when you don't always get good pass protection. And that includes knowing when to throw it out of bounds.

I realize this has turned into a bit of a negative rant, but it's an issue that seems to keep frustrating me. I still get the impression that Cutler feels that everyone else is to blame. Like he's always looking for an excuse. I still feel he thinks he's better than the rest of the team, and secretly wishes he played on a team that performed consistently better than the Bears have in recent years. Do I have any real evidence for this? No, not really, but a lot can be read into body language and the way he holds himself, and the things he says and does.

The fact is that Cutler threw four interceptions, and if we are kind enough to perhaps say that one of those wasn't entirely his fault, those interceptions seriously hindered the Bears chance of winning the game.

I understand his frustration when he feels the offensive line isn't carrying their weight, but he needs to remain composed. Keep all that chest beating and shouting at team mates to the locker room if you have to.

Regardless, there's going to be losses like this. The line is not always going to play great. But Cutler must shoulder some of the responsibility and remember he is part of a team. He has the ability to be great, but he can't lose the plot when things don't go his way.