2013 NFC North/NFL Thread

[mu03eng]

The Titans are reportedly turning down the option on the oft-injured Jake Locker and moving on.

So they are going to replace one younger oft-injured Jake Locker with an older oft-injured Jay Cutler?

[JWags85]

So they are going to replace one younger oft-injured Jake Locker with an older oft-injured Jay Cutler?

I'd hope you're trolling, seeing as this is only the second season that Cutler has missed significant time since he became a starter.  And breaking your thumb isn't exactly an injury common with the injury prone.

[MU B2002]

I'd hope you're trolling, seeing as this is only the second season that Cutler has missed significant time since he became a starter.  And breaking your thumb isn't exactly an injury common with the injury prone.

But he's hurt right now, so that means he is injury prone.

That's how it works I guess. Oh and don't forget he missed the 2nd half of a game once.

[MerrittsMustache]

So they are going to replace one younger oft-injured Jake Locker with an older oft-injured Jay Cutler?

Hey, I'm just the messenger's messenger.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000293803/article/jay-cutler-could-be-targeted-by-tennessee-titans

[Hards Alumni]

I think the Bears front office has it right.  If you can keep Jay for a team friendly contract you do.  If not, see you later, Jay. 

He hasn't proven to be worth the big bucks.  Period.  He will be 31 next year, and he isn't a 'franchise' QB. 

As a Packer fan, I hope to hell that the Bears resign Cutler.

[wadesworld]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/10119874/josh-mccown-chicago-bears-start-jay-cutler-brian-urlacher

Weird.  Only Packers fans with green and gold blinders and pure hatred for Jay Cutler think so...

[jesmu84]

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/10119874/josh-mccown-chicago-bears-start-jay-cutler-brian-urlacher

Weird.  Only Packers fans with green and gold blinders and pure hatred for Jay Cutler think so...

Weird. Urlacher's rationale is simply "hot hand." Far different from anyhing you've said

[wadesworld]

Weird. Urlacher's rationale is simply "hot hand." Far different from anyhing you've said

Haha.  The guy played with Jay Cutler for quite some time.  He's not going to go out there and say Jay sucks.  The fact that he's saying McCown should start speaks volumes.  Loud and clear.

[brandx]

Weird. Urlacher's rationale is simply "hot hand." Far different from anyhing you've said

Interesting that Josh's QB rating is over 20 points higher than Jay has ever had. Maybe that's the reason Brian is saying this. A strong arm means nothing when it comes to knowing how to play the position. Peyton has the weakest arm in the league.

Could you ever imagine if Flynn threw for 500 yards and 6 TDs this week that anyone whatsoever would say he should start when Aaron is healthy? Never happen. Ever. By anyone. Especially a former teammate.

[MerrittsMustache]

Urlacher is entitled to his opinion but he is far from unbiased when it comes to Cutler. The two aren't exactly buddies.

[mu03eng]

I'd hope you're trolling, seeing as this is only the second season that Cutler has missed significant time since he became a starter.  And breaking your thumb isn't exactly an injury common with the injury prone.

Just some food for thought, source is KKFL

Jay Cutler
http://www.kffl.com/player/13538/nfl/injury_history/jay-cutler

Jake Locker
http://www.kffl.com/player/22275/nfl/injury_history/jake-locker

While perhaps over his entire career, Cutler has been durable, the trend over the last 3 years isn't really any different than Locker's and Cutler's age starts to factor into that, plus he's had two concussions.  He's certainly at risk for more.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I think the Bears front office has it right.  If you can keep Jay for a team friendly contract you do.  If not, see you later, Jay. 

He hasn't proven to be worth the big bucks.  Period.  He will be 31 next year, and he isn't a 'franchise' QB. 

As a Packer fan, I hope to hell that the Bears resign Cutler.

And as a Bears fan I hope he resigns too. With the Packers secondary Jeffery and Marshall would torch them for 150 yards each. Cant wait until week 17 when Rodgers, Cutler, Briggs and Tillman are back and there are no more excuses.

[damuts222]

Haha.  The guy played with Jay Cutler for quite some time.  He's not going to go out there and say Jay sucks.  The fact that he's saying McCown should start speaks volumes.  Loud and clear.

I want McCown to keep playing, but Urlacher and Jay were never close.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000296868/article/brian-urlacher-bears-should-start-josh-mccown-not-jay-cutler

[MerrittsMustache]

No one asked for it, but here's my take on the Cutler-McCown "controversy."

Jay Cutler is a significantly better and more talented QB than Josh McCown. Anyone arguing otherwise, quite frankly, is a football idiot. The Bears ceiling is higher with Cutler under center and he can make throws that McCown simply cannot make (McCown has said so himself). That said, McCown is very good in the Trestman offense and Cutler could learn a few things from the way it is being run conservatively by McCown. Namely, take the check-downs, have faith in WRs other than Marshall (particularly Jeffery - he's the real deal) and throw the ball away when it's not there. Nothing earth-shattering, I know. While McCown hasn't been afraid to take shots downfield, part of the reason those plays have been there is because the repeated intermediate passes get the safeties to creep up and become vulnerable deep as the game wears on. Cutler has the ability to do all of the things that McCown has been doing, but he can do them better. It's a matter of whether or not he does them that will dictate how far this team can go (along with the run D getting to some level of borderline respectability).

A couple other things worth noting...

- Prior to picking apart a historically bad defense, McCown lost two games to last-place teams with lower-tier defenses, while putting up just 21 and 20 points.

- Trestman doesn't completely trust McCown. He went conservative in regulation and in OT against Minnesota and it cost them the game, he took the ball out of McCown's hands on the biggest play of the Detroit game, etc. Trestman trusts McCown to make the right play, but he doesn't necessarily trust him to make the big play.

[NavinRJohnson]

And as a Bears fan I hope he resigns too. With the Packers secondary Jeffery and Marshall would torch them for 150 yards each. Cant wait until week 17 when Rodgers, Cutler, Briggs and Tillman are back and there are no more excuses.

Good chance, one or both will be out of playoff contention by then, so I wouldn't get too excited.

[brandx]

No one asked for it, but here's my take on the Cutler-McCown "controversy."

Jay Cutler is a significantly better and more talented QB than Josh McCown. Anyone arguing otherwise, quite frankly, is a football idiot. The Bears ceiling is higher with Cutler under center and he can make throws that McCown simply cannot make (McCown has said so himself). That said, McCown is very good in the Trestman offense and Cutler could learn a few things from the way it is being run conservatively by McCown. Namely, take the check-downs, have faith in WRs other than Marshall (particularly Jeffery - he's the real deal) and throw the ball away when it's not there. Nothing earth-shattering, I know. While McCown hasn't been afraid to take shots downfield, part of the reason those plays have been there is because the repeated intermediate passes get the safeties to creep up and become vulnerable deep as the game wears on. Cutler has the ability to do all of the things that McCown has been doing, but he can do them better. It's a matter of whether or not he does them that will dictate how far this team can go (along with the run D getting to some level of borderline respectability).

Pretty much agree, but you still leave out the one big thing.

Cutler will also make the big turnovers - regularly.

[MerrittsMustache]

Pretty much agree, but you still leave out the one big thing.

Cutler will also make the big turnovers - regularly.

Not necessarily. He didn't make "the big turnover" in 7 of the 8 games he played this season.

Avoiding that big TO is exactly why I wrote that Cutler could learn from McCown in terms of running the offense more conservatively and his doing so will dictate how far this team can go.

[LloydMooresLegs]

Jay Cutler is a significantly better and more talented QB than Josh McCown. Anyone arguing otherwise, quite frankly, is a football idiot.

MM = Dan Berstein?

[NavinRJohnson]

MM = Dan Berstein?

Nah. MM not a big enough pud whack. Clearly he's a fan though.

[MerrittsMustache]

Nah. MM not a big enough pud whack. Clearly he's a fan though.

I appreciate that, Clark.

[Lennys Tap]

No one asked for it, but here's my take on the Cutler-McCown "controversy."

Jay Cutler is a significantly better and more talented QB than Josh McCown. Anyone arguing otherwise, quite frankly, is a football idiot. The Bears ceiling is higher with Cutler under center and he can make throws that McCown simply cannot make (McCown has said so himself). That said, McCown is very good in the Trestman offense and Cutler could learn a few things from the way it is being run conservatively by McCown. Namely, take the check-downs, have faith in WRs other than Marshall (particularly Jeffery - he's the real deal) and throw the ball away when it's not there. Nothing earth-shattering, I know. While McCown hasn't been afraid to take shots downfield, part of the reason those plays have been there is because the repeated intermediate passes get the safeties to creep up and become vulnerable deep as the game wears on. Cutler has the ability to do all of the things that McCown has been doing, but he can do them better. It's a matter of whether or not he does them that will dictate how far this team can go (along with the run D getting to some level of borderline respectability).

A couple other things worth noting...

- Prior to picking apart a historically bad defense, McCown lost two games to last-place teams with lower-tier defenses, while putting up just 21 and 20 points.

- Trestman doesn't completely trust McCown. He went conservative in regulation and in OT against Minnesota and it cost them the game, he took the ball out of McCown's hands on the biggest play of the Detroit game, etc. Trestman trusts McCown to make the right play, but he doesn't necessarily trust him to make the big play.

Stache, I agree that Cutler is much more talented than McCown. If they were both pitchers, Cutler would be the one with better "stuff". That said, they have each played about the same number of snaps this year and McCown has been superior by every measurable. In fact, by the numbers anyway, McCown is having a better year than Cutler has ever had. Again, in baseball parlance Cutler may be a #2 starter and McCown a back of the rotation guy - but not this year.

[MerrittsMustache]

Stache, I agree that Cutler is much more talented than McCown. If they were both pitchers, Cutler would be the one with better "stuff". That said, they have each played about the same number of snaps this year and McCown has been superior by every measurable. In fact, by the numbers anyway, McCown is having a better year than Cutler has ever had. Again, in baseball parlance Cutler may be a #2 starter and McCown a back of the rotation guy - but not this year.

That's a fair analogy. However, much like pitchers, we should expect there to be regression to the mean at some point. Cutler's numbers this season are very similar to his career numbers, but McCown's are significantly better than in his first 51 NFL games. Shouldn't it be expected that McCown will eventually return to playing like a career back-up with a QB rating in the low 70s? In a tight playoff race, it's better to pull him one game too early as opposed to one game too late.

[Lennys Tap]

That's a fair analogy. However, much like pitchers, we should expect there to be regression to the mean at some point. Cutler's numbers this season are very similar to his career numbers, but McCown's are significantly better than in his first 51 NFL games. Shouldn't it be expected that McCown will eventually return to playing like a career back-up with a QB rating in the low 70s? In a tight playoff race, it's better to pull him one game too early as opposed to one game too late.

Evidence would suggest a regression to the mean - I would agree that's the most likely scenario. There's a chance, though, that a cerebral though physically challenged back up has found the perfect combination of coaching, system and surrounding talent to make him a different player. Since he's on a roll and Jay will surely be a little rusty, I'm not sure who plays the rest of this season is a no brainer. One thing is for sure - if they don't win out Trestman will be second guessed by fans and media alike no matter what he decides. At least you're putting your opinion out there before this Sunday.

[MarsupialMadness]

Cutler officially named starter for Sunday against Cleveland. 

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Good to see Jay is back. Let me put it this way. If McCown was really that god he wouldnt be a backup that the bears signed only in emergency a few years ago while he was still coaching a high school football team.