The Jay Cutler-Mike Martz marriage promises to be one of the most fun stories to watch this season because everything seems possible.
Many folks expect the pair to crash and burn. But I could also see Cutler vastly exceeding expectations and putting up huge numbers because he has a proven coach on his side and still has incredible skills.
Cutler believes he will succeed because he’s put in the work this offseason, and because he trusts Martz completely. Which clearly wasn’t the case with his brief coach Josh McDaniels in Denver.
''That’s one of the things me and Mike talked about when he first got here was trust,’' Cutler told Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times. ''I just didn’t feel I could trust Josh.’'
There’s a pretty good reason for that. McDaniels never really wanted Cutler, even if he didn’t own up to it.
“He acted like he had no idea what I was talking about,’' Cutler said when he brought up trade rumors. ''Then it took him two or three days to finally admit that he tried to trade me.’'
McDaniels later told Cutler any player could be traded at any time. ''By that point, I was like, ‘You know what? Just trade me now,’'' Cutler said. ''I mean, just do it now. Let’s get it over with.’''
Cutler was criticized in Denver for a lack of leadership. But at least one key Bears veteran says Cutler impressed him late last season when the Bears won two games to finish out the year.
''I think he really showed his leadership there, when most guys could have packed it in. He kept us all working and moving forward,” center Olin Kreutz said.
Thankfully, talking season is over. Cutler can make Martz, Kreutz, and the few remaining believers in him like myself look silly by tanking again. Or prove just about everyone else wrong.