Cutler understands why he had to miss a game

Jay Cutler has been hurt before, but he had never missed an NFL game because of an injury.

This time was different.

“I've been banged up before and stuff and still went out and played, said the Bears quarterback, who will be back in the starting lineup Sunday against Seattle, barring any setbacks.

“But your head and your brain are totally different. Once you start getting into that element, you kind of have to take a step back.

“This league is all about battling through injuries and stuff, but obviously concussions and your head are some things you have to take pretty seriously.

Before sitting out Sunday's game at Carolina with a concussion, Cutler had started 57 straight games and had been sacked 94 times. That's even before Oct. 3, when the New York Giants got to him nine times, one of which caused the injury.

Fortunately for Cutler, his concussion was mild, but he still had some of the classic symptoms as recently as last week.

“There's some dizziness, general fogginess of your surroundings. You're not as sharp, and your awareness is a little bit down, Cutler said. “So all of that stuff kind of combined into how I was feeling.

Cutler had similar symptoms in the Giants game even before halftime, when it was determined that he would not return to the field. Because he was sacked so frequently, it's still unclear which hit caused the concussion.

“I haven't really went back and watched it and really looked at each and every hit from a TV angle, so I'm not for sure which one it was, he said. “But there were some moments in the second quarter that I probably wasn't completely aware of what was going on.

That may have played into what was clearly his worst performance of the season.

“I don't think it helped, said Cutler, whose 102.2 passer rating for the season is still fifth best in the NFL. “But I still knew what was going on, I still knew where the hot reads were, still knew where guys were at on the field.

Although most of the blame for the 9 sacks goes to linemen, tight ends and running backs being beaten by Giants pass rushers, Cutler's inability to get rid of the ball sooner was partly responsible.

“It takes 11 guys to make a play go right, he said, “and it takes only a couple to make it go wrong, so we are all responsible.

But that game and the injury are in the rearview mirror as far as Cutler is concerned. He says he won't change the way he plays, which means he won't always slide feet first to protect himself from a hit when he runs the ball.

“That's kind of what this game is all about, he said. “Each week is a new fight out there; the slate is wiped clean. You've got to have a short memory in this league. I can't change the way I play.

And that's fine with Bears coach Lovie Smith.

“We let him play the way he normally plays, Smith said. “As far as being careful, you can't play football being careful. (But) you're always trying to play smart ball.

“If there's a time for a quarterback to run out of bounds or slide, they'll do that. We're going to protect Jay better and hope the running game will help out some also and let him just play his brand of ball.

ŸFollow Bob LeGere's Bears reports via Twitter@BobLeGere. Check out his blog, Bear Essentials at DailyHerald.com.