Cutler hype finally quiets
| September 16, 2009 | 9:41 AM
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Don Banks at SI.com has apparently jumped off the Jay Cutler bandwagon. Early in training camp, Banks visited the Chicago Bears camp to study Cutler-mania and came away with this assessment:
Cutler has everyone excited in Chicago, and I can understand that. If the Bears can go 9-7 and finish just a game behind NFC North champion Minnesota last season with Kyle Orton under center, logically the thinking is that Cutler might be able to lift them to 11 or 12 wins. I witnessed the enthusiasm for Cutler first hand at Bears camp, because the second we wrapped up a post-practice, on-field interview, it sounded as if 5,000 fans simultaneously screamed for his autograph.
After Cutler’s four-interception debut against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Banks has a more sober take now:
Don’t believe the Jay Cutler hype. There were crowds of folks rushing to the conclusion that Cutler made the Bears instant Super Bowl contenders in the NFC, but why, given that Cutler had a losing record as a starter in his Denver career (17-20), and had never taken the Broncos to the playoffs? We got to see right away Sunday night in Green Bay what Denver fans already knew, namely that Cutler can hurt his team in some games much more than he helps it.
You can’t blame Cutler on all four of his interceptions against the Packers, because his receivers did him no favors in some cases. But he also could have had more than four picks if Green Bay’s defenders had shown some better hands. Cutler still trusts his gun of a right arm way too much in some cases, and his field awareness was woefully lacking against the Packers.
He’s still a mixed bag at this point in his development as a quarterback, not a savior. I’m not saying Kyle Orton’s cautious style of play would have definitely won that game at Green Bay, but I am saying Cutler’s mistake-filled performance definitely helped the Bears lose it.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
denver broncos, jay cutler, kyle orton
