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Jay Cutler drama detracts from real issues

By Kevin Parvizi

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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has always been a magnet for harsh criticism, and his 3.0 INT% due to 15 total picks on the season has caused him to face more criticism than ever. There are some who believe the Bears should- and will- cut ties with the expensive quarterback after the end of the season, but, as I detailed last week, there’s almost no chance of that happening. It’s much better for the Bears to keep a talented quarterback and see if he can bounce-back, rather than trading him away and scrambling for a replacement. Instead of spending all of their energy trying to upgrade the quarterback position, they should make better use of their time by actually upgrading the unit that needs to be overhauled.

The Bears made sweeping upgrades on the defensive line by signing three big-name free agents in Jared Allen, Lamarr Houston, and Willie Young. Well, Young isn’t a big name, but those who knew him understood that he would be the Bears best pass rusher by the end of the 2014 season. His play has slipped lately, but he played well at the beginning of the season. Houston is difficult to grade since he tore his ACL, but Allen had a nice first season for the Bears, though he was a risky signing due to his age.

Although the Bears added three quality players to the defensive line, their efforts to upgrade the safety position were both a waste of time and money. I have no idea why Phil Emery thought it would be a good idea to sign M.D. Jennings when the Bears saw first-hand how many issues he has in coverage. Ryan Mundy was another waste of a signing, because he’s a complete in-the-box safety. The Bears needed better deep coverage after massive issues in 2013, but they decided that adding Mundy, Jennings, Danny McCray, and Adrian Wilson, who was cut in August, would be sufficient. Instead of going for quality, they went for quantity and have been burned. It also doesn’t help that Major Wright, who struggled mightily under Mel Tucker last season, has played better ball for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers than any of the Bears safeties.

So far this season, the Bears, per Pro-Football Reference, have allowed the fourth-most net yards per attempt at 7.2 (7.7 yards per attempt if you don’t include sacks). And with 30 touchdowns allowed compared to just 11 interceptions, they aren’t making enough plays to overcome those issues in pass coverage. Opponents complete 66.5% of their passes when facing the Bears secondary. With 279.3 passing yards allowed per game, the Bears only have the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Atlanta Falcons to thank for allowing more.

Kyle Fuller was an excellent offseason addition in the first round of the draft, and he should be a great corner for this team going forward. After a hot start, Fuller has taken his lumps due to injuries, but he and Tim Jennings, who has been the secondary’s lone bright spot this season, should form a strong partnership for years to come.

The dysfunction surrounding the Bears organization centers on Jay Cutler and the coaching staff, but the fact of the matter is that all of the reports and Aaron Kromer talk need to be ignored. We know who Cutler is as a player, because he’s too old to change; he’s a talented gunslinger who will throw too many picks. As we have seen this season, the Bears haven’t done enough to put him in a position to succeed, and I blame Marc Trestman for Cutler’s 10.4 yards per completion (a career-low and well below his career average  of 11.7). Cutler isn’t playing his game, which is making big plays with his playmaking receivers.

But even if you blame Cutler for all of his struggles this season, it’s important to realize that he isn’t the biggest problem. I mean, he actually had higher INT% in 2011 and 2012, and he has a higher completion percentage this season. The only two differences are his lower yards per attempt and the fact that most of his good numbers come in garbage time, and the lower Y/A stems from his low yards per completion. Given the fact that the Bears have a bottom-five pass defense, you really have to wonder why the Bears aren’t being more aggressive with their passing game, especially given Cutler’s arm strength.

It seems like the Bears issue really do start at the top. The pass defense was a major issue in 2013, so Phil Emery decided to make marquee upgrades by signing Mundy, Jennings, a pair of old sneakers, and some orange cones. Drafting Fuller and Brock Vereen were wise moves, but it just wasn’t enough. The Bears linebackers continue to be an issue, and with Lance Briggs likely done, that’s another position of need for the Bears. Some of Cutler’s issues deal with the coaching staff dialing up conservative plays that don’t suit their big-money QB’s game, and it’s unclear why they decided to move in that direction.

So while Cutler deserves to take some of the blame, hopefully Kromer, Trestman, Tucker, and  Emery realize that they deserve most of the blame for this season. If you aren’t getting better, you’re getting worse, and it looks like Tucker will be out the door after Emery failed to help the defense enough. Tucker deserves to go, but I wonder if the narrative would have been different had the GM decided to snag one good safety instead of adding a few players, such as Jennings, who are worse than what they had before. Speaking of narratives, it’s easy to blame Cutler for everything, because he’s the most present person and the easiest to blame due to the whole “Don’t Care” aura.

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