LOWER THE BOOM: Jay Cutler – A History of Violence

Jay Cutler was cleared to play after suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago at the hands of the New York Giants.  But how long will he last and more importantly, will his next big hit be his last?

Brad Biggs proves yet again why he’s the best in the business, citing at least 4 other concussions that Jay Cutler suffered prior to joining the Bears while in college at Vanderbilt and with the Denver Broncos.  Everyone had always lauded Cutler’s toughness, but toughness and brain damage are two very different things.

I said right after the concussion, the Bears need to be extra-cautious with the Franchise QB but I had no idea that Cutler had come to Chicago pre-concussed.  Jay admitted himself that “those second concussions are kinda tricky.”  I guess he was speaking from firsthand experience:

"Cutler denied having previous concussions, but a Nov. 13, 2004, story in the Tennessean said he suffered three concussions playing at Vanderbilt. He suffered another in the Broncos’ 2006 season finale at San Francisco, making the hit against the Giants — and he’s not positive it came on the final sack by nickel cornerback Aaron Ross that knocked his head into the turf — Cutler’s fifth known concussion."

So here’s the multi-million dollar question: Did the Bears do their due diligence before bringing Cutler in, knowing he had a history of concussions?  Did they bother to do any research before ponying up millions of Virginia McCaskey’s not-so-hard earned dollars to Cutler in a large extension last season?  Who is running this team?

To make matters worse, the Bears continued to neglect their offensive line, failing to bring in any seasoned free agents or invest any high-round picks on an offensive linemen.

How about the cherry on top of this brain-bruised sundae?  They hire Mike Martz, known quarterback killer, to run Cutler and the offense through enough 7-step drops to assure that he gets killed.  The Bears’ plans are completely and totally in-congruent with their actions.

Before you make a large investment (unless you’re Mike North) you do a little homework, you identify pros and cons, you decide what your next best alternative is and you make an educated decision.  Once you decide to invest, you do whatever you can to protect that investment.  Based on Cutler’s history, does it sound like the Bears did any of that?

BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!

Through the month of October, my usual BEAR DOWN signoff will be in pink to raise awareness for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.