Twenty-four hours ago, the City of Chicago was poised to burn effigies of Bears' starting Quarterback Jay Cutler and run him out of town.
In the NFC title game, Cutler went 6 of 14 in passing, accumulating only 80 passing yards and tossing an interception against a staunch Green Bay defense. After sustaining several injuries in the first half, one of which was a clearly visible bloodied elbow on his throwing arm, he took the field to lead the Bears in their first possession of the second half. He was completely ineffective as they quickly went three-and-out. That turned out to be the end of Cutler's season. Head Coach Lovie Smith turned to back-up QB Todd Collins for the Bears' next attempt at something resembling offense.
That was when the TV cameras captured Cutler on the sidelines, in glorious 1080p, with not only his usual pout and sour disposition, but walking around. "A-ha!" everyone watching yelled at once. There Cutler is, disinterested and walking around, with a supposed "knee injury"? The natural conclusion is surely that if he's ok enough to walk on the sideline, then, by golly, he should get his rear out on the field and play some damn ball. Football is a MAN'S sport, after all.
Cutler continued to show movement along the sidelines during the second half, even resembling something akin to "pleased" when third-string QB Caleb Hanie led two successful drives in the 4th Quarter, resulting in 14 points for the Bears. And that's when the mob truly turned.
Chicago was ready to carry Hanie on their collective shoulders as their new Golden Boy, while forcing Cutler to slink out of town before nightfall, lest he be faced with pitchforks, flamethrowers, and a cyborg Walter Payton. Many an article, like this one (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=lc-cutlerinjury012311) and others like it, would have you believe as much, anyway.
Then the condemnation came from the social networks, chief among them, Twitter, where great thoughts and wisdom are creatively crafted in no more than 140 characters, just like only the best parts of the chicken can be squished into McNuggets (try and fit a run-on like this in a tweet!). Digital Democracy allows any Tom, Dick, Harry, or Sally to spout-off (a-hem); even other football players. Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew was attributed to the following Tweet: "All I'm saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee... I played the whole season on one..." (http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/news/story?id=6054047). Since it was reported, MJD has redacted his nuggets (gosh, it was all a joke!) (http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AgJ0hS.3jvFsqUN1Jynfrbo5nYcB?slug=ap-jaguars-jones-drew). That's some solidarity from a fellow union member with a lock-out looming.
Fast forward all the way to today and an MRI reveals Cutler has a sprained MCL (which in the same ESPN article as the MJD quote described it as "Jay Cutler does indeed have a knee injury" rather than something like "Jay Cutler's knee injury is confirmed as a sprained MCL...which would leave most of us wallowing on the floor, crying like a dying Ewok.")
So, is Cutler vindicated? Sort of. After all, he does present himself as a rather unlikeable yokel and a bit of a douche (ok, a lot like a douche, and nothing like that dreamy Brady...<3! ). But I know that if I were faced with taking even one of the hits Cutler did yesterday, I'd probably end up in a ball on the frigid ground, trying desperately not to soil myself. That's why I think it's incredibly important not to jump to conclusions (even as I'm about to jump to one right now).
At its core, the NFL is a business. More than that: it's a conglomerate. And more than at any other point in its history, it is going to start operating like one. That means protecting their investments.
This season saw teams play it safer than ever with players who sustained concussions; see a partial list here (http://deadspin.com/5667912/the-year-in-nfl-concussions-so-far-a-horrifying-video-compilation). The Green Bay Packers' own Aaron Rodgers sustained two separate concussions, knocking him out of one of their biggest games of the year at the end of the season, with a chance at the playoffs on the line. Whether it's players sitting out due to concussion or harsher fines for helmet-to-helmet hits or requiring all players wear thigh pads in 2011, the game has changed. (I leave it to you to decide whether this is a greater indication of America switching to a risk-averse mentality, as discussed here: http://www.dennisprager.com/columns.aspx?g=acc8475b-3839-4a0a-aab4-f87755635828&url=from_yale_to_the_nfl_are_we_still_the_home_of_the_brave)
To the City of Chicago and fellow football fans: get used to it, because it's only going to continue down this path. If you want to see "real" football, I suggest you pop-in your Time Life DVD copy of the "Ice Bowl," because the #1 overall draft with $50 million in guaranteed money isn't going to be able to insist that he play until he has to be carted off the field.
And, honestly, Chicago, did you really want a QB with a bad knee and a dinged-up throwing arm out there, trying to force play after play that just isn't going to happen? Or would you rather have a coaching staff that prepares for a worst-case scenario and has a suitable back-up ready to go at a moment's notice (this coming from a Longhorn who knows all too well...)?
The NFL is now a world where running back by committee is the rule rather than the exception; the excuse that the back-up QBs just don't get as many reps in practice won't cut it for long. The championship teams of the not-too-distant future, I predict, won't have the most versatility in plays alone, but in on-field leadership.
Does it suck to lose (yet again)? Hell, yes. But doesn't it suck even more not to learn from mistakes?
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