Have truer words ever been uttered than those of the great Charles Woodson?
“Same ol’ Jay. … We do not need any luck, Jay will throw us the ball.” Now after this historic beatdown, this cataclysmic collapse of historic proportions, a game that would have had a score in the 70s or 80s if Mike McCarthy had not called off the wolves, Woodson’s comments seem, if anything, understated, as Cutty’s bad decision making, pouting and all the other negative qualities that define him reached an entirely new level last night.
Indeed, it is now certain, beyond all doubt, that Jay Cutler will be one of the worst acquisitions ever in the history of the NFL. He will prove to have set a proud, historic franchise back at least 10 years. With the boatload of draft picks they gave up to acquire him, the constant game-losing bad decisions that handed our Packers victory after victory, including the lost opportunity — for the Bears, at least — in the 2010 NFC title game. And with the $100 million albatross Cutler has hung around their necks, this acquisition, more than any other single decision, has now proven to be their undoing.
Of course it is not for a lack of physical talent and ability. Cutler has the physical tools to be a first-tier quarterback, in terms of arm strength, velocity, and the raw ability, however unrealized, to throw accurately. It is his intangibles that render Cutler a poison pill and locker-room cancer — his utter and total lack of fitness as a leader and his unwavering propensity for bad, game-losing, season-squandering bad decisions.
Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words. And so this article presents this still-shot, of Cutty! biting his thumbnails while grabbing his crotch.
https://twitter.com/nutsaq/status/531652567261282304/
One would be hard pressed to find a more stark antithesis to what is required to be a great leader, a great athlete and champion. The greater implication of such body language should require no comment, but this passage as to the psychological meaning of this bad habit is noteworthy:
People usually bite their nails when they feel anxious. Because feelings of anxiety are usually associated with feelings of loss of control people bite their nails when they feel they want to be more in control.
There are lots of gestures in body language that shows that a person is anxious (like fidgeting, sweating, tapping your hands on your lap quickly…etc) but when anxiety is associated with loss of control the person usually bites his nails.
The crotch grabbing of course speaks for itself. However, it must be emphasized it was certainly not in a masculine, chauvinistic manner, but the other kind more fitting a hopelessly neurotic and displaced adolescent.
Above and beyond the setbacks suffered by the Vikings putting all their eggs in the basket of a certain ex-Packer turned traitor, exasperated by the panic and desperation in reaching for Christian Ponder in the aftermath, Cutler has completely gutted the Chicago Bears, probably for a decade or more. Above and beyond the draft picks, the $100 million albatross, his failure led to the dismissal of coach Lovie Smith. And now this locker room poison has rendered Marc Trestman’s tenure in Chicago stillborn. The salary expended on Cutty! is of course exasperated by a league-leading number of free agents (31), which of course demonstrates a pattern of bad draft selections. Such a perfect storm can take years to recover from, sometimes decades, as demonstrated in the examples of the Raiders now or the Bengals in the 90s and aughts, among others.
This toxic, poison-pill effect in Chicago is in addition to Cutler’s less-than-flattering history in Denver. Josh McDaniels and Pat Bowlen at least saw him for the cancer he was. Trestman was not so astute, perhaps in eagerness to get his first opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL. Despite his peculiar appearance, which has sadly drawn too much focus, Trestman has demonstrated acumen as an innovator in offensive schemes. Jay Cutler, the team killer and coach killer, will likely make this stint in Chicago his one and only opportunity. But let us not allow compassion for a seemingly decent man in an impossible situation cause us to lose focus on what really matters. In conjunction with the setbacks suffered by the Vikings alluded to earlier, Cutty! has single-handedly ensured that contention for the NFC North will be between just two teams for the foreseeable future: the Detroit Lions and our Green Bay Packers. And that is something we should ALL be able to drink to. Here’s to you, Cutty!