Trestman has Super belief in Cutler
Marc Trestman is a walking paradox.
He seems able to take any quarterback, including Josh McCown, and make him look like an all-pro, a convenient skill that can save an organization millions and guarantee success at the position regardless of stature.
But give him a chance, and Trestman will make it very clear that his quarterback was Jay Cutler, is Jay Cutler and will be Jay Cutler.
Trestman likes McCown and appreciates the job he's done with Cutler injured. Fact is, Cutler could learn a thing or two from McCown about using his brain more and his brawn less. A strong arm may give you the opportunity to make every throw, but the defense doesn't offer the same promise.
McCown was wise to protect the football, wise to take what the defense made available. He kept it simple, used his large wide receivers and didn't try to do things he has never been able to do on a football field.
But Trestman knows the difference.
After all, he's the one who has created from thin air a career for a 34-year-old backup QB who wasn't even in football two years ago. Trestman knows a guy like McCown is a good option when there's no better option.
Trestman rented an economy car that kept him on the road for a few weeks, but in order to win the Super Bowl, Trestman believes he must return to his luxury automobile, with the leather seats, climate control and monster engine.
It's not going to happen this year, not with this defense, but the entire point of this season was building an offense and making strides toward winning it all.
McCown, bless his heart, does not get the Bears closer to a Super Bowl.
To borrow from Max Mercy in “The Natural,” “How can somebody play that well that came from nowhere?”
The answer is Trestman.
You saw what he did first with Cutler, and now with McCown. In McCown the Bears have found a competent No. 2, which is crucial because Cutler won't stay healthy for an entire season, but the backup will be 35 in July and Trestman has made it quite clear that he wants to move forward with Cutler.
Now, a head coach's desire does not always jibe with that of management, and important factors like money and length of contract come into play, but in this case a coach was hired with the expressed purpose of finding a QB, developing a QB and winning with a QB.
Trestman has found his QB in Cutler and it would surprising if Phil Emery couldn't get a deal done with Cutler, who wants to stay and only needs to be reasonable to make it happen.
As for the public negotiating of the last couple weeks, it's meaningless.
Emery merely answered a question when he said he didn't like the idea — financially speaking — of the franchise tag for a quarterback. Cutler's camp replied by leaking a rumor that the Titans would be interested in Cutler and Cutler in the Titans. And then came another discharge from the Bears with a rumor that if Cutler asks for too much, the Bears will move on.
It's normal posturing, and assuming all parties keep a level head, a new contract for Cutler shouldn't be all that difficult to get done, even with the fan base suddenly enamored with McCown — the same fan base that laughed when McCown was re-signed.
But this is more than the usual reaction of falling in love with the backup QB. In the five years of Cutler in Chicago, there are many reasons you can find to be unhappy, and McCown's conservative, consistent play of the last month has only brought a reminder of the aspects of Cutler's play and personality that Chicago doesn't appreciate.
And it doesn't help that the Bears are rushing him back on the field while McCown is coming off the game of his life. The last time the Bears pushed Cutler to return, it didn't go well, and it might not this time, either.
In 2008, Kyle Orton was playing very well when he suffered a high ankle sprain. After the Bears lost the next game with No. 2 QB Rex Grossman, Orton came back too soon the following week and was barely able to move in a blowout loss at Green Bay.
In that case, the Bears desperately needed Orton to return. They can't make the same case this time, not with McCown getting it done.
And that is further proof of what Trestman sees in Cutler and why he wants him back on the field — healthy or not.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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