Ask almost any Bears fan if they’d like the team to switch places with the Indianapolis Colts, and the answer would almost unanimously be yes.
The Colts have the odds-on-favorite MVP in Andrew Luck and are real contenders for the Super Bowl.
With all that going for them, it seems strange that the Indianapolis Star would write such a sharp-tongued story comparing Jay Cutler to Luck as the Bears prepare for their preseason game against the Colts.
Consider, for a moment, the dichotomy at work at the Colts’ West 56th Street practice facility this week: The two starting quarterbacks will be Cutler … and Andrew Luck. It’d be hard to find two faces of a franchise more distinct. One is loved by his city. The other is loathed.
Most of the story compares Luck to Cutler, a comparison seemingly not worth the time or energy.
The author continuously cites Cutler’s past incidents and his “body language” issues. They then bring up Luck’s “Average Joe” demeanor.
Cutler’s former teammates don’t call him an average Joe. They call him out. Marshall did. Brian Urlacher did, saying Cutler was being paid like an elite quarterback but not playing like an elite quarterback. So did former Bears captain Adewale Ogunleye, who trashed Cutler in 2012 after the quarterback was caught yelling at and pushing his own offensive lineman, J’Marcus Webb, in a loss to the Packers. Just this summer, Lance Briggs, a former Bears linebacker, said there were times during his stay in Chicago he wanted to punch Cutler.
The story reads, time and again, like a pile-on piece. It brings up many of the story lines both local and national media have used while writing about Cutler.
Bears fans not of one mind on Cutler
While there is no arguing the legitimacy of the stats comparing the quarterbacks, nor the cherry-picked quotes from former teammates, the piece does take a few liberties.
The author cites Bears fans who burned a Cutler jersey, while ignoring the many No. 6 jerseys at every Bears game.
It cites his monstrous contract, even though almost no player would turn down a contract of that size.
The story even criticizes Cutler for his marriage to former reality TV star Kristin Cavallari.
The Colts will almost undoubtedly finish with a better record than the Bears this season. But this preseason story seems more a hatchet job than profile.
One thing is clear, the Santa Claus, IN. native’s home may not be so sweet.
