A rant on Jay Cutler...

by Delmuir on Jan 26, 2011 11:34 PM PST

For the record, I find Cutler to be a bit of an idiosyncratic jerk.

That being said, this entire assault on him is BS. No nuance, no 90-10, but rather 100% BS.

I listened to a lot of commentators, athletes, and worst of all: sports journalist write about him and it infuriated me... as a sports fan.

The notion that he should be condemned for not "becoming a cheerleader" is nonsense. Can anyone even imagine him doing that? That's not his style and if he tried it then, he'd be a phony and his teammates would be insulted by the disingenuous performance. Besides, he isn't the leader of that team... Urlacher is. He's the QB but not the leader, and he never has been.

The idea that he isn't tough is even more insulting as by every measure, he's as tough as they come. It's also worth pointing out that no matter how badly he gets hit, he never throws his teammates under the bus. He's an asshole, but an honorable one.

On the notion that somehow he should have tried to stay in the game unless "they took his helmet," I laugh. He was told not to play at halftime and he started the second half. He ignored the doctors. He also couldn't throw the ball, at all. I saw the game and he flat out, could not throw it. He did the right thing, the smart thing, and the best thing to give his team a chance to win.

I realize that this has nothing to do with the 49ers but I hope that we as fans will learn from this... not all players are the same. They aren't all vocal, charismatic, or even pleasant. We should treat them honestly as fans though and hopefully we'll be better fans than those ass-clowns in Chicago who threw their QB under the bus.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Oh I agree

I’m no fan of Cutler, but this nonsense about him being a quitter is absolutely ridiculous.

by tarlinian on Jan 26, 2011 11:37 PM PST reply actions

100% agree.

Cutler is not a quitter or a pussy. I would love to see him in a Niners jersey, though it would never happen. Chicago doesn’t deserve him.

by Diplitomus on Jan 27, 2011 6:32 AM PST reply actions

Cutler

It’s hard to defend Cutler, especially as all these current and former players bash him, but I am on his side in this case. We talk about player safety and health all the time, but suddenly he should be risking permanent damage to his knee? Just because Philip Rivers played on a blown-out knee doesn’t mean everybody should do it.

by David Fucillo on Jan 27, 2011 8:09 AM PST reply actions

I think Rivers had surgery on his knee...

after he hurt it, and then played the next game.

Bite my shiny metal sig

by drummer on Jan 27, 2011 8:54 AM PST up reply actions

Cutler

It seems like this isn’t the first time he has “quit”. Regardless of the injury, his general demeanor sometimes seems flat. He’s got the Alex Smith bug… he just doesn’t seem like he knows how to lead his team. If you look at the expression on his face more than half the time, he just seems way too casual. No emotion whatsoever.

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi

by Drew Kerr on Jan 27, 2011 1:55 PM PST up reply actions

When did he quit before?

When he was being sacked like 6 times a game? Nope.

And his face looks like that because he has diabetes. He may not be loud and obnoxious like Rivers but its not because he doesn’t care.

There is a reason all his teammates are defending him

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"

by SportsChicken on Jan 27, 2011 4:28 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

haha...."his face looks like that because he has diabetes"

This is probably the best possible excuse I’ve seen for him yet amongst the days of backlash. His face looks like that (glazed gaze, perma-smirk) because he is a self-absorbed, condescending all-time jerk by all accounts, someone you don’t want around……I think it was a teammate that said “Jay Cutler doesn’t want to be friends with you, and you don’t want to be friends with Jay Cutler”.

by Stoned Slacker on Jan 27, 2011 5:11 PM PST up reply actions

Yep

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi

by Drew Kerr on Jan 28, 2011 4:51 PM PST up reply actions

Facial expressions mean absolutely nothing.

You know how much facial expressions mean?
Someone once said I looked ‘angry’ when I wasn’t even close to angry.
In fact I was happy.

And this isn’t just a once in a while thing.
People are ALWAYS drawing conclusions about my emotions based on my facial expressions, and they’re almost always wrong.

Sometimes your face JUST LOOKS THAT WAY.

It’s subjective BS that I wish people would just shut up about.
They do the same crap with Jonathan Sanchez, saying that he ‘buckles under the pressure’ and they use his facial expressions as their evidence.

Enough already.

by AmorVincitOmnia on Jan 28, 2011 5:24 PM PST up reply actions

Do you mean Mark Sanchez?

Or Jonathan Sanchez from the baseball Giants?

Either way it doesn’t matter, to say that a persons facial expressions mean nothing is just inaccurate and false. Some people may have your issue where it’s hard to tell, but a majority of people don’t. You are making an assumption that Cutler has that same problem. It is not a fact. And body language coupled with facial expressions trumps anything that you could possibly dispute.

I have seen Jay Cutler happy on plays and get pumped up, if it was true that he wears the same exact expression all the time, that his “facial expressions” would be the same no matter what the outcome may be???

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi

by Drew Kerr on Jan 29, 2011 12:00 AM PST up reply actions

Giants' Sanchez.

Exaggerated the ‘means absolutely nothing’.
My real stance is that they mean very little, and shouldn’t be weighed nearly as much as they often are.

And the reason for this is: A ton of people could look at someones facial expressions and draw different conclusions from them. I could have looked at Jay Cutler’s facial expressions and saw a guy who did care, but was too upset for words. I actually know the feeling, and often times when that’s the case, I don’t wear my emotions on my face.
There’s FAR too many subjective ways to interpret what we saw, none of which actually come from a credible source. Amateur armchair psycho-analysis of something that you see on TV doesn’t impress me, and I’ll always take it with a huge grain of salt. And anyone who is concerned about critical thinking will do the same.

by AmorVincitOmnia on Jan 29, 2011 12:01 PM PST up reply actions

LT

Remember when Tomlinson didn’t become a cheerleader in that playoff game a few years back? The media tore him up after that and his great image as a nice guy and good teammate was forever changed. I think it was he beginning of the end for him in San Diego. They certainly could have used him this year, he had plenty left in the tank and his presence could easily have been a difference-maker in getting them to the playoffs. It is never a good idea to judge players based on their sideline demeanor after an injury. Not everyone is a crazy, jacked up lunatic like P Rivers (who I love). I hope if one of our guys goes down in a game he will stay super-involved with his teammates on the sidelines, but these guys are still people, prone to getting upset or despondent in the face of personal adversity.

"In basketball -- as in life -- true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way." -Phil Jackson

by milldoo on Jan 27, 2011 9:04 AM PST reply actions

actually

I remember seeing cutler cheer on their third string qb when he through a touchdown, I think that counts as a bit of cheerleading. for jay cutler to show excitement is a big deal, him showing any emotion is akin to a normal person lighting themselves on fire and dancing in the middle of the field.

by FoAdTriPPinG on Jan 27, 2011 11:14 AM PST reply actions

100%

This whole situation is why people should keep their mouths shut until the details come out.

PLEASE get McFadden out of Oakland. The pain is more than I can handle. Oakland, where careers go to die.

by Arkie49er on Jan 27, 2011 2:24 PM PST reply actions

Anyone see Dilfer's comments?

Something to the effect of “when things go badly, Cutler is at his worst”. This is the whole point, while people are caught up on “toughness” they are missing the point. Cutler is tough, nobody makes it that far without being able to take a hit.

What Cutler isn’t is super-determined, or highly-focused, or a guy that will kill himself for his team…….which granted, these are all high standards, but this is the standard for the QB/leader/highest-paid players in the NFL. He was having a bad day, his knee hurt, and it all made him perform terribly to the point that he had to be removed. Guarantee a lot of other QBs in the league finish that game through sheer determination, they have a bad wheel but they grit it out, or flat out ignore the pain, and refuse to turn the game over to sub-standard backups. That’s why they get the respect while Cutler has dozens of players openly taking shots at him.

by Stoned Slacker on Jan 27, 2011 5:15 PM PST reply actions

Sorry but dude should have picked up a clipboard and been looking at the film the whole time to add any insight...

If you watched the game Cutler and Haine were buddy/buddy on the side lines before Cutler got hurt but not afterwards… why wasnt he trying to help him??

This was Cutlers chance to go ahead and make it his team by showing true leadership… he failed miserably….

by the way Cutler is from Santa Claus Indiana…. I dont know what to say about this

and he seems to fumble/throw an interception just about as many times as he has thrown for a Touchdown throughout his career

by thatguywiththebeardandthebanjo on Jan 27, 2011 5:32 PM PST reply actions

I've actually sprained my MCL before as well during a track meet.

I went back out and competed without a second thought but I’d say my strength and speed went from 100% to 40% at most. I had no spring in my jumps or steps at all and after a while your knee just locks up and its hard to even walk. The worst part of it all is sleeping at night and having your leg stiffen up. All in all it’s possible to play through a MCL sprain but Cutler would have been useless.

Niners, Lakers and the Warriors... when Lakers have the night off.

by afrikabamboodle on Jan 28, 2011 12:33 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

Did anyone try the new Jay Cutler smoothie at Baskin & Robins today?

Delicious. Orange sherbet, blueberries, and no nuts.

by JSing on Jan 28, 2011 8:02 PM PST via mobile reply actions 2 recs

Haha, nice!

rec’d …that was funny

Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing -- the result. -Lombardi

by Drew Kerr on Jan 29, 2011 12:23 AM PST up reply actions

The problem with this is

that the timing of it all. If this happened in the 6th game of the season, no one would have a problem. But he decided he couldnt go in the CHAMPIONSHIP game!! One game before the freakin Super Bowl!! How many times is he going to get that opportunity again. Possibly never, and I’d bet that if Cutler never makes it back to the Championship game again, he will look back on this and regret not playing thru the pain.

Its hard for me to be on his side on this when Rivers is playing on a bad knee in the playoffs, TO is playing the SB with severely sprained ankle and a fractured fibula, and Byron Leftwich is playing on a broken leg and has to have his linemen carry him down the field to line up for a play, and Ronnie Lott has his pinky CUT OFF so he can keep playing.

Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel. - Yogi Berra

by SoCal As Fan on Jan 29, 2011 10:21 AM PST reply actions

Rivers didn’t make the Superbowl, TO lost the Superbowl, Byron Leftwich doesn’t know what the Superbowl is. Looks like statistics are pointing that Cutler should sit down if he is injured and give his team a chance instead of stroking his ego.

by mcwagner on Jan 29, 2011 12:34 PM PST up reply actions

The Iggles didn't lose their Super Bowl because of T.O.

ISTR he had 124 yards receiving in that game. You are also forgetting Lott. He played games and was reasonably effective when he was on crutches both before and after game time. Cutler would probably get less criticism if he wasn’t otherwise such a puke, but there is an argument to be made that if he’s really that good, the Bears have a better shot at winning with him so long as his throwing arm still works and he’s halfway ambulatory.

by asleepinSF on Jan 29, 2011 2:46 PM PST up reply actions