Hell, would a quitter have risked injury and played Week 17 vs the Packers with nothing on the line? (and get sacked 6 times?)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jim_trotter/01/23/packers.bears/index.html

And for the Darwyn "I play competitive sports" line, I'm a high school (referee) and NCAA (field judge) football official. If someone is injured on the play and I know it, I stop the game and escort him to the sideline and ream the coach for putting an injured player in.
He had an MCL tear. One game when you are young isn't worth an entire career, unless it is the superbowl. And, again, the doctors and coach held him out, not a players decision.

"And for the Darwyn "I play competitive sports" line"

My point was that I'm not an coach potato fan. I have been steadily playing an organized sport since I was five. I'm familiar with injuries...I tore my MCL this past September, in fact.

The bottom line is that Cutler could have done more, but he didn't. Compare Stafford's efforts in a meaningless game with Cutler's in an all important one and you are left wondering where Cutler's passion is.

His actions didn't look good to fans and he certainly didn't do himself any favors toward convincing anyone that his reputation isn't deserved.

My Thoughts on the Steelers going again: Anger.

Also, Obiwan, you forgot to mention Clausen as great field generals, oh, and Tebow!

Also, dont jump at Cutler before you guys heard the MRI. He did not help himself by somehow managing to walk around, but he had a sprained MCL. It is hard to play with that, and the Bears didnt help by not providing him with crutches or SOMETHING to show the world he was hurt. Also, quoting Bart Scott about the Jets D in the 1st half, and Steelers D in the 2nd, "Their defense cant stop a nosebleed!"
(I know I probal should have put the last 3 replies into one, but I am posting as I read at random points.)

It'll be an amazing game. My deal is that i wish The Patriots had gone through. But i'd rather see the Steelers through than the Jets. Go Pittsburgh.

@fortknox:

It wasn't the Super Bowl, no...it was the game to GET to the Super Bowl, almost as big, and for a frnachise like Chicago who's not in this position every other year the way Pittsburgh is, it's just as big.

And I was referring to the baldness of the Blonde Bomber, and I KNOW he was bald during hisn playing days as well, at least in part...the point is, at least he didn't go out sporting pop star hair (though hair is really beside the point here.)

obiwan you forgot to mention the guy that actually made it to the super bowl... aaron rodgers! record high passer ratings in the playoffs plus the performances he's put on in the last 3 years prove he's up there with top QB's

And so I hear it's a strained MCL...

Still calling this gutless.

That's been played on before, and when it's a choice betweenn between playing for thirty minutes in excruciating pain when I can still walk and making the Super Bowl or coming out in a city that's all about toughness in their sports stars...

I PLAY.

And even if you want to disagree and say that it's too much to play on, of that Lovie kept him out...

Did Lovie keep him moping all by himself?
Did live keep him from strapping on a headset and helping out.
Did Lovie keep him from walking around on the sideline while his team burned?

Anyway you look at it, with that much on the line and the precedent set of so many QBs playing with just as bad or worse and in a league where playing through pain is one of the hallmarks...

Cutler chickened out, abandoned his team to go pout, or both.

And neither are qualities you want in your QB.

I don't have much to say about Aaron Rodgers because I try and forget that the 49ers drafted Alex Smith instead...oh, why, football gods...we had Montana and then Young and then Garcia...WHY cheat us out of Rocket Rodgers...WHY land us with Bad Alex?
(Oh well, he's had six years now, no way they let him have a seventh when it's clear to everyone that the NFC West crown, as sad as it is now, is there for the taking if the Niners can just get a real QB.)

Jim Harbaugh stealers. He should of landed in Carolina, and Luck, too.

Another possibility is that Lovie pulled Cutler to have the knee looked at, got the prognosis, and decided that since Cutler was a) playing crappy so far and b) hurt, his best chance laid elsewhere.

It would have been one thing if Cutler was tossing rocket armed bombs all afternoon before he got taken out for injury, but that's not the case. His passer rating was somewhere around 30. And it's known that the guy runs hot and cold, even the most casual of fans knows that, so Lovie sees that today is a "running cold" day and looks elsewhere.

Cutler's line:

6/14, 80 yards, 2 sacks, 0 TD, 1 INT, QB Rating: 31.8

When a guy comes in and throws four incompletions and has a better QB rating than you...4 balls, 4 incompletes...you really have no leg to stand on to ask or demand or beg to be put back in. Most QB's would be pretty resigned to their fate with that stat line and Hanie seeming to do pretty well.

I mean, would you be super excited about, "Yeah, I sucked it up and I'm sitting! I could play with this injury, but I was so ass out there that coach decided not to! Yeah!"

I know I wouldn't.

I tend to agree with Sacred. I think it was a combination of Cutler being hurt and being ineffective. He certainly got pulled because of the injury and to have it looked at. It was (or should I say is now) obvious that he was injured. The fact that he was playing poorly, has a terrible o-line and no mobility with a blown knee makes a backup look pretty enticing.

Even if you want to say he sucked=--and he did--you can't say ANYONE thought Hanie would be a better choice (ecen though he was.)

It's not like pulling Joe Montana when he was hurt and not playing well in 1987 for steve Young, or Jim Kelly for Frank Reich.

With a whole half to go and the first-string QB knowing the offense the best, even if he's hurting and not doing well I HAVE to think he's the better choice than a QB who hardly ever plays and then the 3rd-stringer who almost NEVER plays.

And, again, none of this changes his standing on the sideline by himself...

You also have to keep in mind that Cutler is 1) very young and 2) supposed to be a franchise quarterback for the Bears. Playing him while he's injured doesn't make sense if you want to get another 10 years out of him, even if it's the championship game.

I strongly disagree obi. I think a pretty much totally immobile Cutler is does not give the Bears the best chance of winning.

They tried the second stringer. Didn't like the look. So they went to the third stringer. I'm pretty confident that had Hanie been as incompetent as Collins, Cutler would have been back in.

No one gets to the NFL by being a sucky QB. The first time Reich saw the field for the Bills, all of us were pretty terrified. Hell, how about Cassell in New England when Brady went down? Back-up QB's aren't exactly scrubs pulled in off the streets and do get reps with the first string offense just in case.

How about the Redskins coach who claimed his back-up QB was actually more familiar with aspects of his offense than his starter?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medial_collateral_ligament#American_Football

"Depending on the grade of the injury, the lowest grade (grade 1) can take between 2 and 10 weeks for the injury to fully heal."
"Recovery times for grades 2 and 3 are difficult to predict because of the amount of damage done can take weeks to several months. It is difficult to apply pressure on the injured leg for at least a few days."

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=nfl&id=3608

"Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun Times reports that Jay Cutler's left knee injury is a Grade II MCL tear.
The Bears announced Cutler's injury as a "sprain," but in medical terms that's the equivalent of a tear. A Grade II MCL injury would usually cost a player 3-4 weeks, according to Jensen."

Are those of you bashing Cutler done being ridiculous? These injuries take a couple weeks at an absolute minimum to heal and can take up to months... and suddenly he's "quitting on his team" because his coach decides not to play him?

And YES, of course Lovie kept him from going out there! The Bears invested almost $50 million on him when he signed the contract in October 2009. You're insane if you think one playoff game -- in which he was playing badly as is -- is worth risking permanent injury to a $50 million investment.

Like... this is seriously one of the most irrational, rah-rah complaints against a sports athlete I've ever seen. There is no merit whatsoever in the complaint.

"There is no merit whatsoever in the complaint."

+1 Eden

Packers.

PAAAAACKERS!

Let's look at obi's first playoff thread to see who got it right.....

########################################################
The NFL Playoffs Are Upon Us! WHO YA GOT?
The Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Chiefs, Ravens, and Jets in the AFC!
The Falcons, Bears, Eagles, Seahawks, Saints, and Packers in the NFC!

12 Teams, 1 Dream...make your playoff picks, people! WHO WILL WIN SUPER BOWL XLV?

Page 4 of 4

Putin33 (264 )
Mon 10 Jan
I don't think you can compare pre-cap and post-cap teams. Seems like the rules are different. Especially with DeBartolo, he spent a crazy amount of money and had teams loaded with talent.
obiwanobiwan (157 )
Mon 10 Jan
Brady HASN'T tied ANYTHING yet this year!

Damn Pats fans, always jumping the gun to say their team and dynasty and QB are all the greatest ever...

Didn't you all learn your lesson in '07?! ;)

@Putin:

I agree, to an extent, I think you CAN compare them--after all, we're only talking football teams here, its not anything really serious like, say, baseball teams (LET'S GO METS!!!!!!!!)--but you do certainly have to factor in the pre and post-cap issue in.
obiwanobiwan (157 )
Mon 10 Jan
And I start the playoff season 2-for-4, calling the Jets upset over the Colts and the Ravens over the Chiefs but blowing it on my Eagles and Saints picks...

So the AFC worked out well for me, and the NFC's cruel to this Niner fan--what else is new? ;)
Spryboy (73 )
Mon 10 Jan
I am 3-1. Messed up on the Packers-Eagles game. The Seahawks will win the Super Bowl like I predicted!
Spryboy (73 )
Mon 10 Jan
I like how no one noticed I put Jimmy Clausen on my all time greatest list
President Eden (589 )
Mon 10 Jan
We all ignored it because it wasn't funny =P

Also, I'm currently 2/4... but I already lose on 4 picks (Saints winning it all, Philadelphia winning its next game). So I'm 2/8 and counting. Can finish no better than 6/12. Ugh.
butterhead (63 )
Mon 10 Jan
wow, I will just jump in here now... I am 3/4, I picked the Chiefs to beat Baltimore... Seahawks will beat Chicago next week, Atlanta will beat Green Bay, Baltimore will beat Pittsburgh, and New York will beat New England... championship game, Seahawks will beat Atlanta, New York will beat Baltimore... Superbowl, Seattle will beat New York... and thats how it will end...
Spryboy (73 )
Mon 10 Jan
butterhead, you are a genius, I agree with that Super Bowl winner
I actually changed my #3 since then, its the greatest person currently alive, Tim Tebow. :P
butterhead (63 )
Mon 10 Jan
thank you Spry, thank you... but I am no genius, just a boy with a dream...
fortknox (1394 )
Mon 10 Jan
I'm a big Steelers fan, but am afraid that the Ravens/Steelers game will be so physical (as per usual) that the winner will be so injured and beat up that they won't be able to take on the Pats/Jets...
Though a Steelers/Jets rematch is just what the doctor ordered, if you ask me...
akilies (776 )
Mon 10 Jan
bahahahaha seahawks and the jets- butterhead if that happens i'll give you all my points, and probably kill someone. and then hail you as the sports predicting god.

mapleleaf (424 )
Mon 10 Jan
Packers over Steelers in the Super Bowl.

goldfinger0303 (298 )
Mon 10 Jan
In my opinion, NFC championships are going to be Atlanta beating Chicago, and AFC championships are going to be Jets losing to the Steelers. For the superbowl, gotta go with the Flacons
Putin33 (264 )
Mon 10 Jan
If the Packers can now run the ball, there will be no stopping them in the NFC. I think Chicago & Green Bay would be a great NFC championship.

In the AFC, the only team capable of stopping New England is Baltimore, but I don't think they'll pull it off.

AFC - Baltimore vs New England
NFC - Green Bay vs Chicago

A rematch of the 1997 Superbowl. New England wins, sadly.
obiwanobiwan (157 )
Mon 10 Jan
I still see Baltimore beating New England and then the Falcons...I'll take that power defense of the Ravens over the flashy Falcons any day...
fortknox (1394 )
Tue 11 Jan
@Putin33... Baltimore?? Baltimore's secondary is worse than the Steelers. They get exposed when they play a heavy pass offense.
################################################################3