The Bears' usual Wednesday presser sent the interwebs a buzzing with tweets by Zach Zaidman, Brad Biggs, SK Jensen and other Bears regulars complaining about national media members like Rick Reilly showing up and asking a ton of questions about Jay Cutler and his personality. A few takes on this can be found at the following:
David Haugh apparently enjoyed Reilly's prodding and blames Jay for not indulging the asshat.
The guys from FoxChicago interviewed Reilly afterward and he gave them a bunch of unfunny jokes ("he looks like he's wearing sandpaper underwear!") that he would re-use in his column.
Reilly pissed off Greg Olsen, who blamed the media for judging a guy most of them have never met.
Rick F*&king Morrissey of all people made the most sense, saying: "In the end, though, if it’s a choice between a nice quarterback who doesn’t win and a dour one who does win, we’ll take dour every time. What is it Al Davis says? Just win, baby. That’s all."
So today Reilly's column went up and it's a real doozy. While he defends Cutler to an extent by remarking how well he's played despite his poor offensive line and by noting his largely unheralded (because Cutler wants it that way since he thinks even good media coverage is pointless, and I don't blame him) charity work, the rest is filled with garbage:
"For a man from Santa Claus, Ind., Jay Cutler is one of the least jolly people you've ever met."
Har har.
"It's hard to say what interests Cutler, but it's definitely not you."
This is really what irks the media the most about Cutler. He doesn't give a shit what they think of him. Not in the slightest. For an industy filled with guys who'd love nothing more than for people to equate them in importance to the jocks they cover, the complete lack of power they have over Cutler is extremely frustrating.
"Once, during his rookie year in Denver, 45 minutes before a game, future Hall of Fame safety John Lynch was trying to explain something to Cutler about NFL pass coverage.
Except Cutler wasn't looking at Lynch. He was texting.
"Man, I'm trying to talk to you!" Lynch protested.
Didn't help. Cutler was all thumbs, head down. Finally, Lynch slapped the phone out of Cutler's hands, smashing it to the floor.
He listened after that."
Ahh, so the guy that broke Jay Cutler's phone isn't the asshole. Cutler is. For not listening to a guy who isn't his position coach, his offensive coordinator, or a coach of any sort. John Lynch is a defensive player. I understand logic would dictate he'd understand coverages, but he also doesn't know how to play quarterback. This may have been slightly dickish, but it was hardly any worse for Cutler not to listen than it was for Lynch to break the phone.
"One time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan thought it would be helpful for Cutler and Broncos legend John Elway to have lunch. Let Cutler drink in some of Elway's experience.
The three of them sat down at a Denver steak joint. Elway, polite as ever, tried to impart some wisdom. Except Cutler wasn't looking at Elway. He wasn't looking at Shanahan, either. He was looking at the TV. The whole time. With his baseball cap on backward. All the way through dessert. Elway did not leave impressed."
I don't care what John Elway thinks of Cutler or any other quarterback. John Elway just got fooled and lost 15 million dollars in a Ponzi scheme. John Elway relied on his athleticism and posted mediocre numbers for the first decade and a half of his career before Shanahan arrived. I'm 98.9% positive he'll be a complete failure as an executive. Nothing about Elway merely playing quarterback means he really is qualified to really offer Cutler advice. I hate franchises that think they need to pander to former players.
Also, both of these stories, I'm sure, come straight from Elway and Lynch's mouths. Lynch may have been trying to paint the story of the time he broke Cutler's phone in a light that doesn't make him look like an asshole that just broke somebody's cell phone. Elway is now an executive for the organization that booted Cutler before setting themselves on fire. He has a very good motive for making Cutler look unappealing to his fanbase. Forgive me if I'm not buying.
"He's an arrogant little punk," former Broncos radio color man, Scott Hastings, once said on a national show. "He's a little bitch."
Imagine that, another Broncos employee. Where were these people Before Cutler got traded, by the way? They couldn't possibly only be saying this now because they look bad for getting rid of him, right?
There's plenty more where that trash came from. Go and read it yourselves if you like. Sad that this is the shit the media chooses to cover in the middle of the goddamn NFL playoffs.
