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Has your perception of Jay Cutler changed?

There is arguably no more polarizing a figure in all of Chicago sports than Jay Cutler. He plays the highest profile of positions on the most popular sport, so he obviously has a lot of eyes on him. People either love him or hate him, but has your perception of him changed?

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Grant Halverson

There are a lot of legitimate reasons one could construct an anti-Jay Cutler argument, much like there are plenty of reasons one could debate on the pro-Jay side of things. Which ever side of the Cutler fence you sit on, odds are you've been there for quite some time.

Some people have soured on him very early in his Chicago Bears career, while others just never got on board the Cutler bandwagon.

The off field 'don't care' instances, the bird flip, the body language, the aloofness, the bluntness, and the unwillingness to give the carbon copy sound-bite just rubbed some people the wrong way. But some of that stuff also endeared him to others.

This off season there has been more positive things popping up about Jay Cutler than any other time during his Bears career.

Would you believe there was a "Why Jay Cutler is My Hero" essay contest held at the South Shore International College Prep High school in Chicago?

"It's kind of embarrassing reading some of them," Cutler said. "Just listening to someone talk about you is flattering to say the least. To be able to come down here and meet the kids and meet the winners, it's been a very good experience."

Jay also was asked about his GM Phil Emery, and he praised his work this off season.

"He's doing a great job, Phil's always had a plan. You can trust him that he's always going to do the best possible thing for this football team and bring some guys in that are not only good people but are going to help us out on the field. He's given us some flexibility moving forward, and I'm excited to see what he wants to do next."

Cutler is even working out with soon to be rookie QB, Teddy Bridgewater.

And here's the latest tweet I saw come across my Twitter feed...

For the record, that's Jay in 1st, Marquess Wilson in 2nd and Matt Forte in 3rd.

It's not just paintball and go carts, but also workouts and football activities down in Florida for Jay and his teammates..

A big reason for the positive publicity is his friendship with wide out Brandon Marshall who is very active on social media. His tweets and Instagram pics have been showing up all over.

Cutler being a good teammate would destroy the narrative that some have about him. The perception that Cutler doesn't care is starting to be broken down as well.

Year two of the Marc Trestman regime has many NFL experts predicting good things for the Chicago Bears, and Jay Cutler in particular.

Under Trestman, Jay has seemed to mature, both on the field and off. Here's Trestman on Cutler from the Sun Times.

"He was exceptional over the last 12 months. I've watched most of his press conferences, but not all of them. I thought he handled himself honestly. He had very good demeanor and was consistent through the success that we had and the adversity that he had. I was very impressed with the way he represented our football team and have been since I've gotten here."

Perhaps last year being the first season Jay was unquestionably the face of the franchise had something to do with his growth.

Has any of the recent Cutler publicity done anything to change or to strengthen your feelings on him in any way?

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