This time, the overwrought newspaper headlines about Jay Cutler are real.
From the Chicago Tribune Thursday: “Cutler shows he’s no leader.”
The subheading: “QB message: He lacks respect and self control.”
The heading on the second page of the article: “Cutler gets an F in leadership.”
Give us a break. The paper is up in arms because microphones Sunday picked up Cutler saying: “Tell [Mike Martz] I said [blank] him.”
That doesn’t sound great, but we have absolutely no context for it all. What led up to him saying that? What is their relationship like?
Writers should want quotes in context, and we really have no idea where it came from. Dan Pompei asks what would happen if you said that to your boss?
The answer doesn’t matter unless you are on a football team. There are a lot of things done and said in a football organization that wouldn’t remotely be acceptable in a normal job. Cutler was unapologetic.
“You know, I’m a competitor, so is he, so is everyone on this offense and whether we’re up three touchdowns or we’re up three points, a second- or third-down call is as important as anywhere in the game,” Cutler said.
This is football. Yelling happens. F-bombs fly between coaches, players, officials, and everyone in between.
When Matt Cassel or innumerable other quarterbacks bark at their coaches on the sideline, they are often praised for being “fiery.” The only difference in this situation is that Cutler had a microphone on.