UPDATE: Jay Cutler gets called out by NFL brethren

Jay Cutler/Courtesy: Brian Cassella-Chicago Tribune

Wow! Though we've never been a big fan of Jay Cutler (he's overrated), he's not a horrible quarterback either. In fact there are many, many worse qb's with starting jobs in the NFL.

That being said, we are floored at the reaction to what happened to Cutler in the NFC Championship game on Sunday. Cutler was apparently injured late in the 2nd quarter versus the Packers, hurting his knee. He tried to begin the 3rd quarter but apparently, according to reports, felt he couldn't play on the knee injured as it was.

That unto itself is not a major issue. Except, Cutler, someone not held in incredibly high esteem by neither writers or apparently players outside his team, spent the 2nd half standing around on the sidelines. Several players who--weren't playing--called Cutler out.

Said Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew on Twitter: (Jones_Drew32: "Hey I think the urban meyer rule is in effect right now...When the going gets tough....QUIT...)

Jones-Drew added: "All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee...I played the whole season on one"


NFL Network Analyst Deion Sanders had this to say: "There's reality and perception. Reality, he may have been hurt. The perception is he tapped out. With everything that's at stake in a playoff game...you go to the Super Bowl, carry me off man. You've got to carry me off that field to get me off that field. No one's going to tell me I'm not going back in...".  "And I shouldn't say this on television. Michael, I got everything on my body pretty much shot up inside that locker room to go out there and continue to play this game...I was going to allow that city to know I gave you everything that I could."


Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times has more on the incredible reaction to this RIGHT HERE

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune says Cutler's toughness was not the problem read it, RIGHT HERE

For his part, Cutler has only missed one full game in his career (concussion). We can respect that. The Bears players have stuck up for their quarterback, as they should.

The amazing thing to us is the almost universal criticism. While we can understand that NFL players might criticize this amongst themselves, the fact that so many of them went public is unheard of. We really think, until we find out how serious Cutler's injury is, there's no room to be critical. Sure, we understand the NFL "Tough Guy" mantra and play through it all and the stuff the Deion Sanders said. But everyone is different.  Injuries are different. If you can't go, you can't go. For all any of the "Critics" know, he could have had a brace on under the Parka/Plastic bag.

As the saying goes..."Don't hate the play-a"....

Here's Cutler his ownself. Thanks CSN Chicago:



MONDAY PM UPDATE: Cutler has a sprained knee ligament and would have been questionable had the Bears won Sunday.

Head coach Lovie Smith says Cutler sprained one of his medial collateral ligaments in his right knee.

Asked about Cutler on Monday, backup QB Caleb Hanie said: "He's limping around
and feels bad that we lost."

DEVELOPING: Packers Advance To Dallas With Win Over Bears

It took a little while but the Green Bay Packers are heading to another Roman Numeral Classic- and some guy named Favre has nothing to do with it at quarterback...

Thank goodness...

Aaron Rodgers ran for a score, threw for 244 yards, and saved a score from happening with a shoestring lunge at Brian Urlacher and the Packers win in Chicago 21-14 over the Bears.

Bears starting QB Jay Cutler only lasted into the third quarter with a knee injury. Todd Collins saw some duty- going 0-for-2- before Bears OC Mike Martz had to talk into the ear of third-year player Caleb Hanie from...???

Anyone...???

Colorado State...

Coming into the game, Hanie was 5-for-7 for 55 yards passing on the season...

Here's BJ Raji's pick and return for score against Hanie to make the game 21-7 before Hanie threw for a score of his own... to a teammate...
((HT: NFL on FOX/Youtube))


"It's a dream come true," Rodgers said after the game. "It's an incredible feeling. I'm at a loss for words."

Trent Dilfer and Merril Hoge analyze...
((HT: ESPN))

NFL Playoffs: It's Chicago and The Jets (?)

((HT: NFL/NFL Network/Youtube))

The first game on Sunday was to determine if the Seattle Seahawks could make it:
A) To .500 and,
B) The NFC title game at Soldier Field...

Didn't happen...

Jay Cutler ran for two touchdowns and threw for two as Chicago and Green Bay will play for the 182nd time next Sunday- but their first meeting for the NFC title.

The Bears won 35-24...

Here's your highlights...


The Packers lost to the Bears 33-14 at Wrigley Field a week to the day after Pearl Harbor in their only previous playoff meeting. Green Bay beat Chicago 10-3 in the season finale this season to clinch a playoff spot earlier this month. The Packers haven't been to the Super Bowl since the 1997 season, when they lost to Denver.

Remember that whole Terrell Davis-John Elway thing...???

And it'll be the Patriots smelling the agony of de-feet in their 28-21 loss to the New York Jets Sunday...

One of the early failures was a fake punt with the Pats down 7-3
((HT: NFL on CBS/Youtube))


Let's hear from the fella's that called the game Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. (Thanks CBS Sports.com)



Jeff Howe of NESN.com found out that the call was Chung's to make...
"We trust the decision Patrick makes," Mesko said. "It just didn’t work out in that particular occasion. That’s why the coaches trust him to run it, and that's why they give him the green light, if he has it."

Mesko said the play was implemented in training camp, and it's the first time it was run this season. Chung has the green light from the coaching staff to call for the direct snap by making a signal at the line.

"It would have definitely swung momentum our way if we could have marched down and take the lead into the half," Mesko said.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about the fake punt after the game.

"We just made a bad mistake," said Belichick, who wouldn't add anything else about the play

So now you get to root for a loudmouth with an alleged foot fetish or a QB who was alleged to have done some not-so-nice things in rural Georgia over the summer...

Like your choice...???

And it seems the Jets post-game celebration was way to over the top for the Patriots. Comcast Sportsnet New England is reporting that according to tweets written by fans Jets coaches were flipping the bird to Pats fans.

Patriot wide receiver Deion Branch says the Jets are classless. (Thanks Comcast Sportsnet New England)

We were wrong...Hue Jackson goes to Oakland as OC

Count us among the confused. It appears that after interviewing for three days with the crazed Al Davis to be, we thought either Head Coach or Offensive Coordinator that Hue Jackson will be the second of the two choices. He was scheduled to interview withe the Chicago Bears for their open OC job today but cancelled and multiple reports have him taking the Raiders job.

Check out this report from the Chicago Tribune RIGHT HERE

Also, here is FOXSports' Jay Glazer's story RIGHT HERE

This is only worth reporting for a couple of reasons. One, we speculated that Jackson could end up the Head Coach in that bizarro world known as Oakland. It appears now that we were wrong. Two, it also appears that the thought of working with the underachieving JaMarcus Russell was more appealing than working with Jay Cutler who is developing a rather bad reputation very quickly.

Cutler Completion To Stafford= NCAA Violation

((HT: Athens Banner-Herald/Marc Weiszer))

Georgia self-reported eight NCAA secondary violations - four involving the football program - during the first six months of 2009, including one that came after a tip from the NFL Players Association led the school to discover that four players got complimentary tickets to an Atlanta Falcons game.

The NFLPA had concerns that agents had been inappropriately contacting a Georgia draft prospect, according to a copy of a letter sent by Georgia to Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive and obtained through an open records request.

The Georgia's player's name was redacted by the school, which cited a federal student privacy law, but fullback Shaun Chapas said Wednesday that quarterback Matthew Stafford got complimentary tickets.

The player told Georgia officials he got four tickets from NFL quarterback Jay Cutler ((pictured, thanks NashvilleScene.com)) for a November game. Cutler was playing for the Denver Broncos at the time and is now with the Chicago Bears.

The Georgia player told athletic department officials that he had known Cutler since his junior year of high school and had maintained a relationship by phone and text messages. The player said he texted Cutler for tickets for the Broncos' Nov. 16 game at the Georgia Dome.

Stafford was the top overall pick in April's NFL draft by the Detroit Lions and signed for an NFL-record $41.7 million in guarantees.

The players that got tickets, valued at $40 each, donated that amount to the Boys and Girls Club of Athens.

"We had to pay the money back for the tickets, which is fine," Chapas said.

The NCAA defines a secondary violation as "isolated or inadvertent in nature," and providing only a "minimal" recruiting or competitive advantage.

Georgia listed the violation as being reported on Jan. 9, two days after Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno held a news conference to announce their entry into the draft. The letter to Slive was dated Dec. 10.

This spring, Georgia pushed for an NCAA rule change that would allow players to get tickets from NFL players instead of getting them under the table, but it was shot down by SEC schools. Georgia athletic director Damon Evans wanted current college players to be permitted to get tickets from friends that were former teammates.

"It failed mightily," Evans said at the SEC spring meetings in Destin, Fla. "I think they were looking at all of the unintended consequences that may come out of it."

The other football violations were for a non-coaching staff member attending a coaching clinic, a UGA booster phoning a recruit after signing day and a coach leaving a message for a recruit after another coach spoke with the recruit the previous day.

Among the violations in other sports:

► The softball team exceeded the NCAA maximum equivalency limit by distributing 12.45 scholarships.

The NCAA permits 12.0. The case was reported in June and is not yet resolved. Georgia's scholarship aid could be reduced to 11.1 as a penalty for a year.

► The women's basketball coaching staff provided an additional hotel room for a recruit's mother while the recruit and mother were on their way to campus for an official visit.

► A women's tennis player received a grant-in-aid for less than a one-year period against NCAA rules and a track and field recruit took an official visit without being added to the NCAA's eligibility center's Web site.

All have been resolved by the NCAA and SEC except for two that were reported in June.

Georgia's eight violations were down from 15 in the second half of 2008 and 14 in the first half.

"I think based on our coaches, how they're acting, our monitoring, that's a relatively low number, which is indicative of our coaches doing the right thing," said assistant athletic director for compliance Eric Baumgartner.

Pack Your Bags Jay Cutler

Well, the whiny bitch of the west Jay Cutler, willingly or unwillingly got his wish today. He was traded...to the Chicago Bears.

Check out the story from the Denver Post here .

Hmmmm. Good Quarterback+bad attitude traded for a mediocre Quarterback (Kyle Orton) and some draft picks. Maybe the Bears have finally gotten their Franchise Quarterback, who knows. What we do know is that the Broncos have the potential to be a really bad team next season. Orton hasn't really proven anything yet in the pros and the Denver "D" is still horrible. As for the Bears, if Cutler's head is in the game...and/or nobody upsets him, they could be really good. For years, between Orton and Rex Grossman, the Quarterback play has been what has killed them. Until we see who Denver picks in the draft, the jury shall remain out on this verdict.

((photo courtesy of Andy Cross/Denver Post))

Here's coverage from Chris Tanaka and the battalion from KDVR-Fox 31 in Denver...

Washing Broncos Cutler-y

((HT: Mike Klis/Denver Post))

Seems like the on-again, off-again relationship between Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels and QB Jay Cutler is, officially, off.

Irreconcilable differences that not even emoticons on text messages can fix...

"Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by head coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement. "A conversation with his agent (Bus Cook) earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos. We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded."

Cutler heard about Bowlen's statement Tuesday, but said by text, "I'm not talking about it."
For now, the Broncos' starting quarterback is Chris Simms, who has thrown just two passes since sustaining a ruptured spleen in the third game of the 2006 season, or nine games before Cutler replaced Jake Plummer as the Broncos' starting quarterback.

Good luck with that one...

Washington and the Jets are in play for Cutler's moodiness...

Was it really this long ago...?

((HT: ESPN/NFL))