Jay Cutler Should Start for the Bears when he is Cleared to Play

Oct 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) rushes the ball against the New York Giants during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears have never had a great quarterback during the Super Bowl era. They’ve had a few solid, decent, or average ones, but every quarterback they have had has either been too frail, too inconsistent, too short, or too bad. Jay Cutler fits into those first two categories. Josh McCown doesn’t fall into any; his problem is his age. The Bears aren’t used to a controversy. It’s somewhat of a weird feeling, having two capable guys.

Now I love Josh McCown; he is the quintessential backup quarterback. He is a great leader with tremendous toughness and an admirable work ethic. But Jay Cutler has never really had the opportunity to play while the rest of the offense has been at this level. This is the potential future of the Bears, and we need to see how he plays in the offense that has finally clicked.

Cutler was doing well before the injury. His stats weren’t as good as McCown’s are now, but that doesn’t make him a worse quarterback. Early in the season, the offense showed plenty of sparks, but they weren’t beyond criticism. In week 7, Cutler threw a bullet right off the hands of Alshon Jeffery. A Washington defender caught it and scored. The Bears were 4-2 early in the season with a new offense. At that point, the offense hadn’t completely clicked yet.

Now, it seems as though the unit has almost reached the peak, at least for the season. They are playing at an unbelievable level. Some of these players are seriously improving each and every week, especially Jeffery. The offense has taken huge steps in the right direction. I don’t want to take anything away from Josh McCown, but I think the offense would be this good with him or Cutler starting. Jay was playing well in his first game back against Detroit until the ankle injury (I still hate thinking about that game). We still haven’t had the opportunity to see what Jay Cutler is capable of while the guys around him are all playing at a consistently solid level.

Also, remember that Josh McCown very nearly threw 3 interceptions Monday night and the week before in that dreadful Minnesota game. Now I understand that taking out a player who is playing well is not a good idea, but for the sake of the future, we need to see how Jay Cutler does when the talent around him is playing well.