Much has been made of the numerous offensive coordinators Jay Cutler has had during his time with the Chicago Bears. With a new regime in Marc Trestman comes another new OC for “Cutty.” That would be four OCs in five years for Jay Cutler during his time in Chicago. That’s Ron Turner, Mike Martz, Mike Tice and now Aaron Kromer.
So how does Jay Cutler fared under each one? Who’s gotten the most out of him? What about the Cutler juxtaposition with his numbers with Denver?
Denver Years G GS rec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Rate
2006 5 5 2-3 81 137 59.1 1,001 9 6.6 5 3.6 88.5
2007 16 16 7-9 297 467 63.6 3,497 20 4.3 14 3.0 88.1
2008 16 16 8-8 384 616 62.3 4,526 25 4.1 18 2.9 86.0
His best year as a pro was 2008. That’s when he threw for the most yards; by a wide margin. Sure, the interceptions seem high; but the interception percentage is the third lowest of his career. Yet the QB rating is the worst of his Denver days. You can see why the Bears were so excited to trade for Cutler after that season and jettison their “game manager” Kyle Orton in return.
Bears Years
Ron Turner
2009 16 16 7-9 336 555 60.5 3,666 27 4.9 26 4.7 76.8
Obviously, Turner was just not a good fit for Jay Cutler. This was his worst year by far as a Bear. And it’s the season that started the idea he can’t play well in night games/national television games. His numbers from 2009 would be definitely inflated if you subtracted those night games from the statistics. And it’s why the Chicago Bears Media Relations denied Bob Costas his interview of Cutler and Lovie Smith before a Sunday night game. Also, because denying journalists access with no consideration at all for the media members accomplishments and qualifications is exactly what that department does.
Mike Martz
2010 15 15 10-5 261 432 60.4 3,274 23 5.3 16 3.7 86.3
2011 10 10 7-3 182 314 58.0 2,319 13 4.1 7 2.2 85.7
What a disappointment this was. We all had such high hopes for the Martz and Cutler combination. Although 2011 did produce his lowest interception percentage in a single season. Martz’s schemes were especially awful at protecting Jay Cutler. They just didn’t block well at all. Since coming to Chicago, only the Cardinals have had their quarterback sacked more than Chicago. Still it was an upgrade over Turner.
Mike Tice
2012 15 15 10-5 255 434 58.8 3,033 19 4.4 14 3.2 81.3
The transition from Martz to Tice was pretty much holding steady, statistical wise. Cutler didn’t really progress or regress. And the bottom line is this- he hasn’t been a Pro Bowl star QB. Initially hyped like one. And yes paid like one. But he hasn’t played like one. Maybe Kromer will make that happen?
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, a Fox Sports affiliate. He is also an analyst for 95.7 The Fan, and writes on Chicago sports media for Chicago Now. President Obama follows his Twitter account (@PaulMBanks)