He is awful. He wasn’t worth what we gave up in the trade. Man, I wish we had Orton back!

The above are phrases that I have begun to hear all too much from Bears fans as of late. The ‘he’ I am referencing is the Bears’ new favorite person to blame for their poor 4 and 6 record (1 and 5 in their last six): Jay Cutler. I will argue that this season is not Jay Cutler’s fault. To start the Bears, who have been known to run the ball well, are currently 28th in the league in yards per rush attempt. This allows other teams to focus on their pass rush and the offensive line has been allowing opposing teams to get to Jay Cutler frequently. In the past four games they have allowed nine sacks and Jay Cutler has been sacked twenty times thru ten games this season.

Compare that to the 11 times he was sacked in 2008 when he played for the Denver Broncos (trust me he has been hit hard more than twenty times this season). Watch the next Bears’ game closely and watch Jay Cutler, he is not given the opportunity to play quarterback; he is running for his life all game long. I am not going to say he is perfect, no NFL quarterback is, but, Jay Cutler has been put in a very difficult situation.

He plays for a team that cannot get the running game going against anyone, and his line gives opposing defenses free shots at Chicago’s future quarterback and what many people saw as the Bears’ savior.

So please, cut Jay Cutler some slack.

Steven Torrez,

junior LAS