I was happily enjoying a good cup of black coffee on my morning commute to Ridgway last week when I heard a disturbing news report over the radio.
The number-one NFL best-selling jersey right now is none other than that of the whiney bum man-child Jay Cutler. Yes. His newly fashioned Chicago Bears jersey complete with his number and the stitching of his sour last name is the jersey bought by the most fans across the nation.
I spewed my coffee over the dashboard and across the windshield when I heard the sick and sad news.
I felt rage, disgust and then sadness. All of these poor bears fans don’t know what they are in for with this guy – a ton of interceptions, lots of bad talk and more than enough bitching and moaning toward coaches and his receiving crew. I remember when we pulled young Jay to the Broncos and there was so much hope and so much enthusiasm for the young QB in Denver. Many Bronco fans were blinded by the notion that he could be our next John Elway. Boy, where we in for a sad surprise, just like many of these fans are setting themselves up for in Chi-town.
When I was a fly-fishing guide, back in my youth, and a client would ask if we would be catching 30 rainbow trout or maybe even 40 rainbow trout. I would always answer: “We will be lucky to see just one rainbow trout.”
The reasoning behind it was simple: Expectations are the precursor to disappointment. And if they thought they were going to catch just one fish and ended up catching four or five, the outing was deemed successful (and my empty pocket was filled with needed tip money).
The same thing happened to us here in Broncoland with Cutler. He was going to be our shiny new Super Bowl MVP quarterback with few interceptions and just an all-around good attitude. Those expectations were a precursor to serious disappointment. He was full of interceptions and whiny behavior and couldn’t win a big game to save his life.
So I say this to all of you fans in the greater Chicago-land area: Save your insanity and lower your expectations of this young quarterback. He is a bum. He will blame everyone but himself when he plays poorly. You Chicagoans are preparing for another bone-cold harsh winter on the shores of Lake Michigan, and it won’t be getting brightened up by Jay. Don’t expect him to do well for your growing and improving team. All you will get is disappointment.
The NFL preseason is only going into its second weekend and already is starting in Chicago with Mr. Cutler. How about this headline in the Chicago Tribune: “Reality Intrudes as Jay Cutler Proves Human in Chicago Bears Debut.”
The Bears have had one game with Cutler and fans are already finding that the man-child isn’t all he has been hyped up to be. And guess what? He only played a small portion of that first preseason game, but he wasted no time in throwing his first interception. In true Jay Cutler form, he also wasted no time putting the blame on his receiver for his under-thrown ball, which ended in a pick.
When asked what happened on the dead-duck pass, Cutler simply brought receiver Devin Hester into the equation. “Devin is a more of a go-get-it guy,” Cutler told The Tribune. “He’s not really a back-shoulder, jump-up-and-get-it [guy] and…you learn from it.”
As it turns out, a receiver coach for the Bears laid the blame on both Cutler and Hester. Cutler had such a poorly thrown ball that it was Hester’s job then to break it up like a defender would. The last thing a quarterback needs to do to his receivers is turn them into defenders on his poorly thrown balls. That sounds like an offense I remember very well: Cutler in Denver.
I know, I know. Many of you reading this right now are saying, “Well, Gus, tell me about Kyle Orton’s three interceptions last week.”
Well, my expectations aren’t that high yet. And I don’t believe Kyle Orton’s Bronco jersey is even in the top 15 most sold NFL jerseys. I am not setting myself up for disappointment in the same magnitude Chicago fans are. And guess what? Orton didn’t blame anybody but himself for his poor play and vowed to get better as the season progresses. I guess from my standpoint, that’s all I can ask right now. If he came to Denver beating his chest like Cutler, it would be a different story, but he didn’t.
At least in Denver we have a good team and a young, innovative coach surrounding our quarterback. He has good receivers to throw to. In Chicago, on the other hand, Jay is the team. The organization has put all its chips on Cutler, which seems like a total loss and a hell of a lot of disappointment.
It's pretty obvious that his article is just a spiteful one. I can understand having hard feelings about what transpired here, but can we grow up? I truly doubt that Gus had these feelings prior to this fiasco. But I digress.
Here's my take: I didn't like how this situation went down. I had high hopes for the Bears (yes, Bears fan here), with Orton. We have Cutler now, and I still feel the same way. I don't see the Broncos being cellar dwellers though. I think this move is going to work out well for them too. They have a solid QB in Orton, who isn't going to put the Denver defense in as much trouble, because he's not going to turn it over as much. Plus, he's going to see more success with that great offensive line of theirs. Stick with what you're good at. If the Broncos run the ball, Orton will do enough to keep defenses honest, and the Broncos are going to surprise people.
Best of luck to both teams. I will be rooting for both to do well. I honestly will.
Nice writing though. I love how you word some of your analogies to pull off this "life is so horrible...so don't get your hopes up" negativity. Your description of how you were seeing all sunshine and roses until you heard the news about Cutler's jersey being the top selling at which point you spewed your coffee all over your car. Pretty classic use of hyperbole.