Chicago Bears: Move on from Average Jay Cutler

When you go to Yahoo! or Google and type in the name “Jay Cutler” you’ll receive links to a successful and award-winning bodybuilder. Below that, you’ll find links to the Chicago Bears mediocre quarterback.

Jay Cutler has been the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears since 2009. In those seven seasons he has virtually done nothing worth mentioning. Yet, every year he goes into training camp as the team’s unquestioned starting quarterback.

It’s mind-boggiling.

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What does this guy have to do in order for the Bears to start looking elsewhere for a viable franchise quarterback? Not win a division title in five straight years? Miss the playoffs in five straight years? Compile a record of 26-30 over the last four seasons? Lead the league in interceptions?

Evidently none of those scenarios are good enough reasons for the Bears to move on from Cutler because he has accomplished all of those feats since 2011. Yet, he still remains as Chicago’s signal-caller.

Still not convinced that he’s nothing short of average? Then let’s take a closer look at Cutler’s career.

Playoff History

Playoff Appearances: 1

Playoff Record: 1-1

Last Playoff Appearance: 2010

Cutler was drafted 11th overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Since then, he has played ten seasons in the NFL and has been the starting quarterback for either the Denver Broncos or Chicago Bears in nine of those ten seasons. In that span he has been to the playoffs just one time.

In 2010, the Chicago Bears finished 11-5, won the NFC North and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. However, it seems like the Bears got to that level of success in 2010 despite Jay Cutler and not because of him.

Chicago’s passing offense finished 28th during the regular season.

Chicago’s 20.9 points per game ranked 21st in the NFL.

Cutler’s 23 touchdowns tied for the 13th most that season along with Ryan Fitzpatrick and David Garrard.

Cutler’s 86.3 QB rating ranked 16th among quarterbacks with at least 300 passing attempts.

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Cutler’s 3,274 passing yards was 17th most that season behind Mark Sanchez and Chad Henne.

Cutler’s 60.4 completion percentage ranked 19th among quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts.

Cutler’s 16 interceptions was the 8th most by a quarterback that season.

“The Bears didn’t throw a lot and that’s why his stats look the way they do”.

Cutler’s 28.8 pass attempts did rank 30th in the NFL so that might be a valid argument. Then again, it’s even more alarming that he ranked 8th in the NFL in interceptions even though he ranked 30th in pass attempts.

Not to mention, Tom Brady only averaged 30.8 pass attempts/game (25th in the NFL) and Aaron Rodgers averaged 31.7 pass attempts/game (22nd in the NFL). Still, both of these players ranked in the top-eight in yards, top-six in touchdowns and top-three in QB rating.

Josh Freeman had 29.6 pass attempts/game (29th in the NFL) and Joe Flacco had 30.6 pass attempts/game (26th in the NFL) in 2010. They too finished ahead of Cutler in every major statistical category in 2010.

As for the playoffs itself, let’s give credit where credit is due. Cutler had a really good game in the Divisional Round. He finished with 317 total yards and 4 total touchdowns in a Bears 35-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. It was one of the best games of his career. However, his NFC Championship performance was dreadful.

He finished 6/14, 80 yards, 0 touchdowns 1 interception and 1 fumble before leaving the game with a sprained MCL in the 3rd quarter. The Green Bay Packers were leading 14-0 at the time and went on to win the game 21-14.

Other quarterbacks with the same 1-1 playoff record in NFL history: Matt Schaub, David Garrard, Aaron Brooks, T.J. Yates, Tim Tebow, Tommy Maddox

Record & Awards

Regular Season Record: 67-67

Playoff Record: 1-1

Total Record: 68-68

Winning Percentage: .500

Pro Bowls: 1

In terms of winnings percentage, Cutler currently ranks 18th out of 19 quarterbacks who have at least 125 regular season starts. The only player in NFL history with a worse regular season winning percentage with that many starts is Kerry Collins at .450. (This is according to The Football Database)

Out of 23 quarterbacks with at least 126 total starts (regular season and playoffs), Cutler is tied for the second-worse winning percentage (.500) with Jake Plummer. The only other quarterback with a worse winning percentage with that many total starts is Kerry Collins at .449.

Cutler has just as many playoff wins as he does Pro Bowl selections: 1.

The Pro Bowl selection did not even happen when he was with the Chicago Bears. It was way back in 2008 with the Denver Broncos. That season, the Broncos finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Cutler also finished second in the league in interceptions that season with 18.

In seven years with the Chicago Bears, he has 1 playoff win and zero Pro Bowl appearances. Is this what the  organization had in mind and expected when they gave up two 1st-round picks, a 3rd-round pick and Kyle Orton to acquire him?

Let’s hope not.

Notable quarterbacks with a better total winning percentage (126 game minimum), more playoff wins AND more Pro Bowl selections:  Brad Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck

Stats and Seasons

4,000 yard seasons: 1

30 TD passing seasons: 0

Winning Seasons: 2

Cutler has only finished top-ten in passing yards in two out his nine years as a starter. In 2007, he finished 10th in the NFL with 3,497 yards. In 2008, he finished with 4,526 yards which was 3rd best in the NFL. Both of those seasons were with the Broncos. That means in seven straight years (all with the Bears) he has never finished a season top-ten in passing yards. His best finish was in 2009 (3,666 yards) and 2014 (3,812). Both of those seasons he finished 13th in passing yards.

Notable quarterbacks with multiple 4,000 yard seasons: Andrew Luck (2), Jon Kitna (2), Matt Schaub (3), Matthew Stafford (4), Matt Ryan (4), Philip Rivers (6)

Cutler has never thrown 30 touchdowns in a season. In fact, he has never thrown 29 touchdown passes in a season. Cutler threw 28 touchdowns in a season just once (2014) and 27 touchdown passes in a season just once (2009). In six out of Cutler’s nine years as a starer, he never finished better than 13th in a season in touchdown passes.

Notable quarterbacks with at least 29 touchdown passes in a season: Matt Schaub, Kirk Cousins, Jeff Garcia, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, Blake Bortles

Cutler has led the league in interceptions twice (2009, 2014) and finished second in the NFL in interceptions in 2008. That’s right, Cutler has twice as many seasons leading the league in interceptions than he does playoff wins and Pro Bowl selections.

Only once has Cutler finished a season with a QB Rating in the 90’s. That was in 2015 when he set a new career high with a rating of 92.3.

Notable quarterbacks with a better rating than 92.3 (290 pass attempts minimum) in the last two years: Josh McCown, Tyrod Taylor, Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton, Ryan Tannehill, Ryan Fitzpatrick

In nine years as a starting quarterback, Cutler has only led his team to a winning record just twice (2010 and 2012).

“Yeah, well…he’s been hurt”

Okay, in the seven seasons where Cutler has played in 15 games or more, he has led his team to a winning record just twice.

Did you know that in both of those years the Bears had a top-ten defense? Actually, the Bears defense was top-5 in 2012. Basically, Cutler needs a good/great defense on his team in order for the team to get over the .500 mark. Without it, they don’t stand a chance.

“He can’t do it all! The players around him are always bad”. 

Uh-huh. Yeah. Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Greg Olsen, Matt Forte, and Martellus Bennett are just the worse players ever.

Don’t forget that Josh McCown threw 13 touchdowns and 1 interception to those same players over the course of eight games in 2013.

Didn’t Devin Hester return six kickoff/punt return’s for touchdowns between 2010-2011?

Perhaps Bears fans should have expected more from those defenses and special teams between 2010-2012 when it came to crunch time instead of Cutler.

“He never has any time to throw! He’s always being sacked!”

According to Pro Football Reference, out of 31 active NFL quarterbacks there are 13 quarterbacks that have a higher sack percentage than Cutler during their careers. Some of those 13 quarterbacks include Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Cam Newton.

Re-read those names and let that sink in.

2015 season

“He had a good season last year!”

No, no he didn’t. Maybe by Jay Cutler standards he did but by normal NFL standards, he did not.

Cutler finished the season with 6 wins out of 15 games.

His 3,659 passing yards ranked 19th in the NFL.

His 21 touchdowns ranked 17th in the NFL.

His 11 interceptions ranked 15th in the NFL.

His 92.3 QB Rating (career high) ranked 15th in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts.

His 7.6 yards per pass attempt (career high) tied for 10th in the NFL. He tied with Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota. Cutler sets a career high in his tenth season and two rookie quarterbacks only needed one season to tie Cutler’s career high.

That’s what people are saying was a good season? How low are these expectations?

“A lot of offensive players were hurt!”

Again with this? Didn’t Tom Brady lose Dion Lewis, LeGarrette Blount, Julian Edelman, Ryan Wendell, Nate Solder? Didn’t Aaron Rodgers lose his #1 WR Jordy Nelson? Didn’t Cam Newton lose his #1 WR Kelvin Benjamin?

Weren’t all three of these quarterbacks sacked more times in 2015 than Jay Cutler? In fact, wasn’t Drew Brees and Russell Wilson sacked more times as well but still managed to throw more passing yards and touchdowns while throwing just as many or less interceptions than Cutler?

What good, great and elite quarterbacks do is take situations that aren’t the best but still find ways to win. They elevate the players around them. What average quarterbacks do is pretty much what Cutler has done throughout the course of his career.

Nothing.

Francise Records 

Did you know that Jay Cutler owns many Chicago Bears records?

He’s the franchise’s leader in career passing touchdowns, most completions in a season and career, highest competition percentage in a season, most career passing yards and many more. (Full list can be seen here)

Yet, this says more about the horrible quarterback play the Chicago Bears have been getting over the last 40 years than it does about Cutler.

Kyle Orton? Rex Grossman? Jim Miller? Erik Kramer? Jim Harbaugh? Vince Evans? Bob Avellini?

Come on man.

Did you know Josh Freeman is the all-time leader in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history in QB rating in a season, highest completion percentage in a season, most completions in a career, most passing yards in a season and most passing touchdowns in a season?

How’s his career doing?

Matt Schaub owns nearly 30 Houston Texans records.

So what?

“Those franchises haven’t been around that long!”

Okay. Did you know Ryan Tannehill owns the Miami Dolphins franchise record for most completions in a season, highest completion percentage in a season and most consecutive completions? In fact, did you know his 25-consecutive completions is actually an NFL record? He also owns four Miami Dolphins rookie records over Dan Marino. Ever heard of the guy?

So what does all of that mean about Tannehill?

Nothing!

Yes, he’s shown glimpses here and there but the jury is still out on him. Just because he owns franchise records doesn’t mean he’s good or capable of being a franchise quarterback. The same goes with Jay Cutler.

If the standard for being good or great is owning some franchise or NFL records than the guys above meet that standard. Don’t forget guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Marc Bulger and Mark Sanchez too.

Time to Move On

Cutler has shown and done nothing in a decade to be considered anything more than average. He doesn’t have the playoff appearances, playoff wins, stats, winning percentage or awards to prove otherwise.

Listen, Jay Cutler the husband and Jay Cutler the father is probably terrific. In the grand scheme of life, those qualities are WAY more important than what he does or doesn’t do on the football field.

Let’s face it: 99% of the population can’t say they were or ever will be an average quarterback in the NFL for over a decade. It’s a remarkably hard profession.

That still doesn’t mean the Bears shouldn’t move on from Cutler.

My colleague, Joe Soriano, believes Cutler gets way too much criticism and thinks people need to lay off. Personally, he deserves the criticism and some more. He’s the face of the franchise and the leader of the team. He should have the expectations put on him of making the Bears a good team. He plays the most important position in the NFL and he does it at a mediocre level.

If the excuses every year are, “he needs a better defense”, “he needs better special teams”, and/or “he needs better players around him”, then he’s not a franchise quarterback. He can’t elevate the players around him and make the team better. No true franchise quarterback finishes in the bottom half of his own division in four out of the last five years.

When life gives Jay Cutler lemons, he simply bites into them.

It’s time for the Bears to start looking for a franchise quarterback and that means taking a good long, hard look at players like Carson Wentz, Jared Goff and Paxton Lynch in April’s NFL Draft.

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Maybe one of these quarterbacks is the answer and maybe they’re not but what is the Bears organization and/or fans afraid of?

Not having a winning season?

Finishing 3rd or 4th in the NFC North?

Well, isn’t that what they have experienced in five out of the last seven seasons with Jay Cutler?

Maybe doing it in six out of the eight seasons will force some changes.

Maybe.