Is Jay Cutler the Goodest Quarterback in Bears History?
By Deez
I’m sorry but I just can’t use the other G-word when talking about Chicago Bears quarterbacks (yet). If Jay Cutler continues at the pace he is on and wins a Super Bowl in the near future, he may become the goodest in Bears history. Looking at Jay on paper, he has already performed better in two seasons than most Bears quarterbacks did in their entire Bears careers. Sure, the QB competition isn’t exactly eye-popping, but the Bears are a team that has been around for 90 years and has had what seems like 900 quarterbacks. I know Jay hasn’t won a Super Bowl (yet) or even played in a playoff game with the Bears, but despite his dissipating occasional bad play, he’s the best guy I’ve ever seen behind center in a Bears uniform.
With one game left this regular season, he already ranks 8th in passing yards (6,772) and 6th in touchdown passes (50) as a Bear. His back-to-back seasons with 3,000+ passing yards and 20+ touchdowns passes is the first time in Bears history that a quarterback has accomplished either of these feats, let alone both, in consecutive seasons. He has also had some very good single game performances. The Bears record for TD passes in a game is four, which had occurred only nine times from 1960-2008. Cutler has already tied that franchise record three times. Of the 30 games Cutler has played for the Bears, he has had a QB rating 96.0+ in 14 games and has thrown 0 or 1 INT in 20 games. Not great, pretty darn good.
Now, I’m not saying he’s as good as a Peyton Manning or a Tom Brady or even a Phillip Rivers, but he has the potential to be the best that this town has ever seen. Sid Luckman did lead the Bears to four championships and put up some good numbers, but that was in a different era. Jim Harbaugh and Rex Grossman are the only guys that have led the Bears to a Super Bowl, but they weren’t exactly pro bowl caliber players. Cutler has had to deal with two different offensive systems and once he gets settled, looks to be smart enough and physically gifted enough to prosper.
Even though Cutler has shown to have “improper” mechanics and to make some wild throws in the red zone, he does appear to be maturing. He has only thrown multiple interceptions in a game three times this season and has performed well enough to win seven of his last eight starts. He is even showing that the Bears can win because of him, not in spite of him. Winning is what counts and his numbers are impressive. When it comes down to it, the guy is only 27 years old and people can call him Jeff George all they want. He doesn’t care what the critics say. All that matters is that Jay is our quarterback and he looks to be sticking around for a while. That’s goodest enough for me.