While watching Jay Cutler get through a terrible first half on Sunday against the Browns, I was pondering what Marc Trestman's postgame press conference would be like if his quarterback continued to struggle. Would Trestman channel his inner Lovie Smith and repeatedly say "Jay is our quarterback" in monotone as Smith did years ago when talking about Rex Grossman? How would the coach defend his decision to start a rusty quarterback when Josh McCown clearly had the hot hand?
Twitter exploded in outrage as Cuter's first half passes were as bad as Pablo Sanchez's in Backyard Football. Fortunately for Bears fans either Cutler shook off the rust or the almighty power of Ditka intervened and Chicago beat Cleveland 38-31.
Even after Cutler's impressive fourth quarter some Bears fans are calling for McCown to start the next game against the Eagles. Their reasoning: Cutler got lucky. This is true. Cutler was incredibly lucky with two passes that Alshon Jeffery reeled in. Jeffery is proving himself to be an excellent complement to Brandon Marshall. However, McCown also relied on luck while he picked apart the Cowboys pathetic defense, which was ranked last against the pass.
Some of McCown's passes were lofty and required his receivers to make highlight reel catches. Just look back at the touchdown pass McCown threw to Jeffery in the corner of the end zone against the Cowboys.
Don't get me wrong. McCown has proven that he can still play at the NFL level. He has certainly deserved a contract next season that pays him more than the league minimum that he is being paid now. I credit McCown's success more to Trestman's offensive system than the quarterback's skill level. Trestman's offensive play calling could transform former LSU QB and current McDonald's enthusiast JaMarcus Russell into a quality quarterback.
At the age of 34, Josh McCown is not an elite quarterback. In the coming years he will never develop into an elite quarterback in Trestman's system. You know who might turn into an elite quarterback running Trestman's offense? Jay Cutler.
No, Cutler is not an elite quarterback now. Yes, sometimes his cockiness makes people want to punch him in the face. However, the Bears have a major decision to make this offseason. They must decide if they want to sign Cutler to a long term deal, officially labeling him as their franchise quarterback. In a city where the greatest quarterback in the past twenty years to line up under center has been Rex Grossman, they need to make the right choice.
People will argue that the playoffs this year are more important than the future, and that McCown gives the Bears the best chance to lead them to the promise land. Yes, I understand that quarterbacks with less skill than McCown (Trent Dilfer) have won the Super Bowl. The problem is that those teams, like the 2000-2001 Ravens, had defenses that were lights out game after game. This year's Bears defense plays as poorly as my C level freshman team in high school.
The focus of the remaining games for the Bears should be on the future, rather than just the playoffs. Cutler needs to start the remaining games of the year so Bears' personnel can see if he truly is fully recovered from his injuries.
People might want the Bears to start McCown, while franchise tagging Cutler this offseason, delaying the evaluation process until next year. Sit back and think if Cutler would be okay with that. He will create more of a firestorm than I did when my local Dunkin' Donuts went out of business.
Why does Cutler get this special treatment and have all his needs catered to? The answer is because he is the best quarterback this city has seen in decades.
If the Bears want to make him the future of the franchise they have to get it right. While McCown will quite possibly be out of the league in three years, Cutler may be providing for the Cutlet (his child) with the millions the Bears give him. If they make this choice, let's hope it is the right decision. If it isn't, get the Chicago Police on speed dial because this city will riot.
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