Few if any plays in a football team’s playbook call for the quarterback to stand motionless with his hands on his hips as the ball is snapped — unless you’re the Miami Dolphins, last in the NFL in offense.
You might have seen it Sunday when the Dolphins ran the wildcat formation against the Saints in a game played in London. Cutler lined up at wide receiver, but that’s all he did. Cutler stood like a statue, playing 10 on 11, as the Dolphins snapped the ball to a back. Like most of the Dolphins’ offensive attempts this season, the play went nowhere.
Jay Cutler heading out wide in the wildcat like "dooooooooon't caaaaaaaaare." pic.twitter.com/8lLZY3egqQ
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) October 1, 2017
Cutler was roundly criticized on social media for adding another clip to his “don’t care” highlight reel.
“I warned them about running the wildcat with me” pic.twitter.com/GuvpI9nG1A
— will (@freewillyy22) October 1, 2017
During a mid-week news conference, the mercurial ex-Bear says he was simply doing his job.
“That’s what they told me to do,” Cutler said. “Sit there, don’t get hit, don’t touch anybody, don’t move. I feel like I executed that one.”
Dolphins coach Adam Gase backed Cutler: “Yes. As soon as he steps forward, they can knock the … I won’t say it, but they can hit him. If he steps back or doesn’t move, now you’re looking at different kinds of penalties. Until you go through it, where a quarterback steps off the ball and starts working downfield and you watch one of them get blasted.”
The Dolphins went on to lose 20-0 to the Saints, falling to 1-2. The Dolphins are last in the NFL in points scored per game (8.3) and yards per game (249).