Taking the Next Step

Rick Reilly is concerned about Jay Cutler's facial expressions, and his ability to command a room. As a Bears fan all I care about is Jay Cutler's ability to be a great quarterback. Hands down one of, if not the, most gifted quarterbacks in the NFL.

In his three seasons in Denver, Cutler was never called a winner. It's not a fair label because as a rookie he started 5 games. He wasn't given much of a chance to make an impact. In his first season starting he threw for 3,497 yards 20 TD's and 14 INT's. In his second season he went to the Pro Bowl, as he became one of three players ever, to throw for 4,500+ yards at age 25 or under. The Denver faithful, post-trade, put the short comings on Cutler, not their crap defense.

He was put on a huge stage the second he was traded to Chicago. Directing the #2 offense in 2008 didn't matter. It's almost as if he didn't have a career before the trade. In a new system, surrounded by inferior talent, and an offensive coordinator who didn't like working with Cutler, things went badly. Cutler led the NFL with 26 INT's and was enemy #1 by the media. Eli Manning throws 25 INT's this year and no one talks about it. Peyton Manning threw 100 INT's in his first 5 seasons. Jay Cutler threw 79 INT's.

In a season where everyone expected failure for the Bears. Cutler has led them to an 11-5 record and a 1st round BYE. While the defense deserves their fair share of credit. Cutler has had many chances to choke games away. Fast forward to the game against the Seahawks. Everyone said the game would be close, and Cutler would struggle. QB's making their first start have been terrible in recent years. Instead Cutler started his post season career with a 58 yard TD. He became the first QB to throw a TD on their first post season pass since Chad Pennington in the 2002 season.

When everything was said and done. He became just the 2nd player in NFL history to have 2+ passing TD's and 2+ rushing TD's. Otto Graham accomplished it in 1954 and 1955. Now Cutler is presented with a story book game against the Green Bay Packers. Cutler has yet to perfect his game, and he still has sloppy mechanics. A win Sunday over the Packers would raise the perception of Cutler around the league. He'd go from the playoff virgin to just being known as a winner. Lets just hope Cutler is up to the challenge.