Cutler won't dwell on 5-turnover nightmare
Having an extra week to stew about turning the ball over five times in the second half last Sunday shouldn't be a problem for quarterback Jay Cutler, according to offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
“If you know Jay, then you'd know not to ask that question,” Martz said. “Jay is a strong man, and he's very, very strong emotionally, and he's confident (so) I'm not concerned.”
Cutler's passer rating has plummeted from 109.7 to 84.1 over the past four games, and he has thrown 33 interceptions and 34 touchdown passes in 22 games as a Bear, providing ammunition for his critics.
“I think a quarterback of every franchise is going to be scrutinized and weighed in (on), and everyone's going to have an opinion,” Cutler said after getting a day off from throwing Wednesday. “That's just kind of the world we live in right now with the media access and how things happen so quickly.”
Cutler's solution to the negativity is to ignore it.
“I don't listen to anything,” he said. “I listen to what's happening inside our building. There are so many distractions out there. We've just got to hold ourselves up and just concentrate on what we're doing and listen to our coaches and our players and go from there.”
Another line(up) change: Assuming guard Roberto Garza gets his starting job back when he's healthy, which should be by the time the Bears play the Bills in Toronto on Nov. 7, the offensive line should be sporting its fifth different alignment.
Garza was moved from right guard to left guard in training camp, but with former left tackle Chris Williams having started the past two games at left guard, Garza could be moved back to right guard, replacing Edwin Williams, who replaced Lance Louis. Rookie J'Marcus Webb has received good enough marks in his three starts at right tackle to remain there. Coaches also like his potential and physical attributes at right tackle.
“I'm excited for him to be in there, and I'm excited for the opportunity,” offensive line coach Mike Tice said. “Hopefully things go well and continue to progress for Roberto and potentially that could be a good pairing.”
Plan B: When the Bears went to a short passing game at the end of the first half against the Redskins, the results were encouraging, as they went 70 yards in 7 plays for their only offensive touchdown on the day.
The same philosophy worked in the second half, as Jay Cutler threw for 180 yards. The problem was the 6 turnovers that killed all but one of their second-half possessions. It's the same philosophy that worked so well against the Cowboys in Week 2 after an early onslaught of pass-rush pressure.
“We had a lot of short passes, mostly because of what we were seeing,” offensive coordinator Mike Martz said. “We're still trying to move some things around and try to get Matt (Forte) the ball a little more out of the backfield, moving him around. Those are things now that they're more comfortable with then maybe they weren't as comfortable with before. As we move on, there are things that maybe we can be a little more complex and move in and out of as we need them.”
Award winner: Defensive tackle Anthony Adams was named the Bears' winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, which is presented to the one player on each NFL teams who best exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage and serves as an inspiration in the locker room.
“Anthony Adams does so much for our team,” coach Lovie Smith said. “(He has) character, leadership, (and) he's a guy with a lot of personality that keeps the group live at all times.”