Jay Cutler under attack for leaving Bears' loss with knee injury

This article explains a few things about , and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.



It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of . What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

The Chicago Bears defended QB Jay Cutler on Sunday after he came under withering criticism from fans, analysts and even fellow players for having left an NFC title game loss to the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury.

Cutler exited the game, with the Bears trailing 14-0, early in the third quarter. He remained on the sidelines, spending some of the remainder of the game looking sullen in a seat on the bench and some of it standing on the sideline.
Third-stringer Caleb Hanie rallied the Bears in a game they would eventually lose 21-14, but some fans took out their frustration on Cutler by burning his jersey in the parking lots outside Soldier Field.

Fellow NFL players questioned Cutler's toughness on Twitter during the game, and ESPN analyst and former Super Bowl-winning QB Trent Dilfer called him out after the game.

"You can play this position (QB) hurt," Dilfer said on ESPN. "Some of us have."

Cutler said he hurt his knee late in the second quarter and said he was unable to play effectively after trying just after halftime. (Video of Cutler's remarks below.)

"We gave it a go in that first series," Cutler said, "but couldn't plant and throw, so ..."

Players such as Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew and Cardinals DT Darnell Dockett suggested on Twitter that Cutler had let his teammates down.

But Bears LB Brian Urlacher rejected those who would question Cutler.

"Jay was hurt," Urlacher said.. "I don't question his toughness. He's one of the toughest guys on our — he's tough as hell. He's one of the toughest guys on our football team. He doesn't bitch, he doesn't complain when he gets hit, he goes out there and plays his ass off every Sunday, practices every day.
"So, no, we don't question his toughness."

Bears coach Lovie Smith said there was no hesitation to pull Cutler after officials determined his knee was too sore to play. He appeared to grow agitated by repeated questions about Cutler's status.

"He hurt his knee, and he was out," Smith said. "There's nothing else for me to tell you on that."

The Packers earned a berth in the Super Bowl with the 21-14 win. Before exiting, Cutler was 6-for-14 for 80 yards with an INT. He was sacked twice.

Cutler could not identify on which play he was hurt, and said he hoped surgery would not be needed.

He said it was a "lonely feeling" sitting on the bench in the second half while first Todd Collins and then Hanie replaced him.

Asked if he was disappointed when the decision to lift him was made, Cutler said, "I knew that it was probably better that I didn't."

If you've picked some pointers about that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won't really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don't use it.

Cutler In Haiku: Forget The Damn Injury

If you're seriously interested in knowing about , you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about .



How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

As I write this, two of the most popular posts on ChicagoNow are about fans complaining that Jay Cutler should have toughed it out and started the second half of the NFC Championship game against the Packers.

The powers that be at ChicagoNow even decided that this non-issue should be the "hook" of a Facebook item about one of those blog posts.

To their credit, the bloggers in question just seem to be reporting what fans - and other NFL players who didn't make the playoffs - are saying. I don't believe these bloggers are actually wondering about the size of Cutler's cajones. There are also some actual sports columnists defending the toughness of our shitty quarterback.

But is this really what we, as fans, should be worried about? Can we please stop this nonsense?

A big reason the Bears were close enough to tie the game in the last two minutes was because Jay Cutler was NOT playing quarterback. Caleb Hanie managed to do what Cutler couldn't ... SCORE SOME POINTS!

Maybe the offensive line didn't provide enough protection ... maybe the receivers should have caught some of those (very long) passes. (Did I mention that some of those passes were terribly overthrown?). But somehow they managed to perform when Caleb Hanie, and not Jay Cutler, was playing under center. Maybe Lovie Smith or Mike Martz should have called different plays. But somehow their play calling worked much better when Hanie was running the plays.

In any case, the injury is not the issue. Cutler's failure to get any production out of his offense is the real issue. Admit it, Bears fans, our team was better off once it was decided (whether by Cutler, the coaches or the doctors) that our "star" would not return for the second half. At least once the failed Todd Collins experiment was abandoned.

Stop the madness. Admit that Jay Cutler is not a pussy. He's just not a very good quarterback when it really counts.


There's no doubt that the topic of can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about , you may find what you're looking for in the next article.