The Chicago Bears are 3-4, leading to a blowout in the locker room following Sunday's defeat to the Miami Dolphins. Much of the criticism has been laid at the feet of quarterback Jay Cutler, and former Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher is the latest voice to join the chorus. Urlacher, who played with Chicago from 2000-12, believes Cutler should be doing more with the bevy of weapons at his disposal.
Jay Cutler ‘hasn’t produced like an elite quarterback’, says Brian Urlacher
The retired linebacker says Cutler has the weapons around him but hasn’t been able to produce at an elite level.
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Few teams have a receiver tandem like Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, two big-bodied men to go up and snatch away jump-balls. Cutler also has a solid running back in Matt Forte who doubles as a pass-catcher, along with tight end Martellus Bennett. Yet the Bears have not reached 30 points in a game and have failed to score more than 20 points in any of their three games at Soldier Field.
Cutler has completed 66.7 percent of his passes but thrown seven interceptions ranking him third-worst in that category across the league behind Blake Bortles and Kirk Cousins.
On Wednesday, Urlacher took the air waves and spoke about the situation, per the Chicago Tribune.
"We say it every year how talented Jay is ... how much talent," Urlacher said during an interview on the "Kap and Haugh Show" on WGWG-FM (87.7). "But the NFL is not a talent contest. It's a winning contest. You want to win football games, that's what it comes down to.
"If your quarterback can't make plays in certain situations for you to win games, he's not getting the job done."
Cutler is an easy candidate to get most of the heat for two reasons. Outside of being the quarterback, Cutler also received a lucrative contract extension this summer, making his deal seven years for $126 million.
When asked if Cutler was elite, Urlacher was straight forward, per the piece:
”Financially, he is one of the elite guys in the NFL. You look at his contract, he was paid like an elite quarterback, if I am not mistaken. He just hasn’t produced like an elite quarterback.
“You look at the guys ... the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgerses, the Breeses ... those guys win every year. Even with no one around them. (Aaron) Rodgers has no offensive line, he wins. (Tom) Brady has no receivers, he wins. You look at Jay, he’s got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte) and a great offensive line ... Martellus Bennett ... and they can’t seem to put it together for some reason.”
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