All eyes will be on Cutler when Bears face Saints
The pressure on Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has been turned up to the highest level of his career even before he drops back for the first time tonight against the New Orleans Saints.
His offensive coordinator, Aaron Kromer, tossed him under the bus. Then his go-to wide receiver and presumed best buddy, Brandon Marshall, got behind the wheel and backed over him.
But Cutler has managed the fallout much better than he manages games — at least according to Kromer's comments. Cutler took the high road in publicly pardoning Kromer and rationalizing Marshall's barbs.
To recap, Kromer expressed frustration over Cutler's game management, specifically changing running plays based on defensive alignments, to an NFL Network reporter. That led alarmists to wail that player-coach trust at Halas Hall had been irreparably damaged.
Then there was Marshall agreeing that he, too, would have buyer's remorse over Cutler's seven-year, $126.7 million contract that includes $54 million in guaranteed money in this year and the next two.
Even worse, Marshall (ribs, lung) is finished for the season, leaving Cutler without the player who has caught far more of his 3,804 NFL passes than anyone else.
How all of this affects the besmirched Cutler and the underachieving Bears offense will be on display for a national-TV audience at Soldier Field.
“When you just got paid a big contract, and you're a quarterback, that's part of the deal, part of the job,” Cutler said of the scrutiny and criticism. “To say it doesn't affect me, I don't know if that's true or not. I'm human just like everybody else. I hear about it.
“But at the end of the day, I've got to worry about the Saints and just keep trying to improve this team. If I play better, that gives us a better chance to win.”
With the future of almost everyone in the organization in jeopardy, Cutler's career with the Bears could hang in the balance as well.
“It's something (that) at this point in my career, it's out of my hands,” Cutler said. “I'm trying to worry about the Saints and how I can improve my game for this game. Whatever happens, we'll talk about that when that happens I guess.”
For now, Cutler says he doesn't hold a grudge against Kromer and hopes the coach's apology and the aftermath serves to create a better environment of cooperation and teamwork.
“I wasn't angry at him,” Cutler said. “The way that he talked to us and approached the issue, I think it kind of cleared the air a little bit with everybody. I want to play better, the offensive line wants to play better, the receivers want to play better. We all want to play better on offense, and that's the main issue.”
An offense that was eighth in total yards last year has plummeted to 18th, and it has fallen from 16th to 26th in rushing yards. Cutler has received much of the blame, but Kromer took responsibility for the drop-off.
“I would put it on me because my job is to make sure we score touchdowns and be efficient,” Kromer said. “If we're not, then that's on me. I have to coach Jay better. I have to coach the offense better for us to be better.”
The Bears should have an excellent opportunity to improve against a Saints defense that is 31st in total yards and 29th in both passing yards and rushing yards allowed.
The Saints also are dead-last 32nd in third-down defense and 30th in points allowed. They've allowed 359 points, just 19 fewer than the Bears, who are last.
The Saints have allowed more than 30 points six times, but the Bears have yet to score 30 this season after doing it six times last season.
Can they do it tonight after a week of tumult?
“Some guys are going to move on faster than others,” Cutler said. “Some guys might not trust again in that situation. The leaders of this team have to talk to the young guys.
“Some guys don't even know what's happening. We've got so many young guys in that locker room, they're just trying to figure out what their alignments are and what their jobs are each day. The leaders of the team have to take hold of this and continue to be professional about it and keep moving on.”
Tonight will illustrate what kind of leadership and how much trust remain on this Bears team.
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