Week 9 QB projections • CHI Stats
QB Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears
HT: 6-4, WT: 225, Born: 4-29-1983, College: Vanderbilt, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 11
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Stats and Week 9 Projection
| WK | OPP | RES | CMP | ATT | PYD | Y/A | PTD | INT | RSH | YD | Y/R | TD | FPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | at ATL | L, 14-21 | 27 | 43 | 300 | 7.0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 | 24 |
| 7 | at CIN | L, 10-45 | 26 | 37 | 251 | 6.8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1.3 | 0 | 12 |
| 8 | vs CLE | W, 30-6 | 17 | 30 | 225 | 7.5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 0 | 12 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 153 | 239 | 1677 | 7.0 | 11 | 11 | 21 | 91 | 4.3 | 1 | 132 | ||
| 9 | vs ARI | PROJ | 22 | 35 | 253 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 0.1 | 19 |
Week 9 Injury Status and Other News
He was not listed on Friday's official injury report. Opinion (from The Upgrade/Downgrade/Waiver Report): Cutler was efficient and accurate this week, especially with his primary targets. The Bears leaned on Matt Forte in the red zone, limiting Cutler's opportunity against a struggling Cleveland secondary. Cutler should fare similarly against two AFC West opponents in the coming weeks with the Bears' current offensive philosophy despite the fact Cutler is more familiar with these defenses. Cutler shouldn't be expected to be more than a bye week replacement. Opinion (from Bob Henry's sleeper report): Let's not pretend that the Bears will be able to run through the Cardinals previously #1 ranked run defense the way the Panthers did on Sunday last week. Matt Forte has exactly two strong outings this year and, not coincidentally, they came against the Browns and Lions. The Cardinals will probably stuff the Bears attempt to run this week prompting Cutler to do his typical thing and try to carry the team's offense on his shoulders, or more accurately, his throwing arm. Cutler's mobility is a plus, allowing him to extend plays and find an open man down field, or get into trouble by forcing a pass into coverage for one of his 11 interceptions in seven games. The Cardinals have given up decent yards on occasion this year, but they're not your traditional soft matchup like the Titans, Jags, Rams, Chiefs, Lions and Bucs. In their last three games, they've intercepted 4 passes, allowed 2 TDs and 445 total passing yards. However, prior to that, against three better quarterbacks, they allowed 371/2/1 to Matt Schaub, 379/4/1 to Peyton Manning and 282/2/1 to David Garrard (ok, I lied, two better quarterbacks). By virtue of numerous pass attempts and a struggling ground game, Cutler should continue to churn out another game of 225 to 275 yards with a TD or two, but fully expect that he will follow suit with an interception or two to follow as well.
Week 9 Matchup Info
vs Arizona Cardinals (Neutral matchup) - Jay Cutler piled up yardage last week (17/30 for 225 yards passing, zero TDs and one interception, with 5/32/0 rushing in addition - a nice bonus for his fantasy owners), but the Bears' TDs were scored by Matt Forte and Charles Tillman (a 21-yard pick-six on the defensive side of the ball). The usual suspects led the Bears in receiving - Devin Hester had 7/81/0 during the game, with Johnny Knox contributing 3/44/0 and Greg Olsen pitching in 3/40/0. In all, five Bears caught passes last week. In all, it was an efficient outing for Cutler who minimized the mistakes that had plagued him in recent weeks. We'll see if he can build on the decent game this week.The Cardinals field a sub-par unit in this phase of the game, averaging 233 net passing yards allowed per game, with 11 passing TDs handed over vs. seven interceptions and 16 sacks generated (18th in the NFL in the latter category). They have allowed 790 passing yards per game in their last four contests, with nine sacks and five interceptions to their credit during that time span - the team has improved somewhat during the second quarter of the season. Last week, Jake Delhomme didn't need to throw the ball much (7/14 for 90 yards and one TD with zero interceptions) as the team rushed for 270 yards and two rushing TDs - Eli Manning was frustrated by Arizona two weeks ago to the tune of 19/37 for 220 net yards, one TD and three interceptions.
Cutler has been fighting through some problems of late but showed improvement last week - meanwhile, the Cardinals' rush D is collapsing which skewed their pass D's statistics to look better than usual in the near term. On balance, this looks like a fairly even matchup between mediocre-to-sub-par units that have been trying to find their way back to top form.
Game Summaries
Week 1 at GB - Someone needs to tell Cutler what color his team was supposed to be wearing, because it sure looked like he was targeting the Green rather than the White in Week 1. Cutler threw a career high four interceptions against Green Bay, and it was not like he was getting bad breaks with tipped passes. The Packers were everywhere the ball was when it was in the air, and Cutler was lucky not to have even more interceptions after the rocky start to his Bear career. He was under some pressure but more often than not it looked like he was out of sync with his receiving corps who struggled to find open spaces. The schedule does not get much easier next week as the Bears host Pittsburgh next week.Week 2 vs PIT - Cutler's game was like night and day compared to week 1. He was much calmer in the pocket and more willing to accept checkdowns, or even throw the ball away. Cutler moved around well under pressure, and the Steelers did bring the pressure, especially in the second half. His accuracy was mostly great, although he didn't air it out all day. Cutler's arm strength from bad platforms bailed him out a few times, and he was very impressive on a 97-yard drive in the first half, managing the offense, and also making plays based on his rare talent. Both of his TD throws were good reads and decisive strikes, one in between two converging defenders to Kellen Davis, and one on a quick slant to Johnny Knox. Cutler had a few short throws on the game-winning drive, but Devin Hester helped him on a low target that ended up being the key conversion of the game. Cutler looked like a winner today, and the rest of the team fed off of his energy.
Week 3 at SEA - Cutler showcased the many reasons why the Bears were thrilled to bring him aboard this off-season. He completed all but six of his 27 attempts, working well within and outside the pocket. Cutler was unafraid to go deep to Devin Hester or over the middle to Greg Olsen despite good coverage on both at various points of the game. Cutler was not only taking whatever the Seahawks gave him, but he also put balls in places where his guy could go up and make a play on the ball such as on Hester's leaping grab between two defenders. Hester made the play and turned upfield for one of Cutler's three touchdown tosses.
Week 4 vs DET - Jay Cutler may have left Denver this past off-season, but apparently the Denver has not left Cutler. He managed the game well enough in Week 4 against the Lions, mixing the pass in well enough to compliment a strong ground attack, but his highlight came on a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Channeling his best John Elway impersonation, Cutler leaped at the goal line and helicoptered through a tackle, landing in the end zone for the score. Cutler was also limited without a healthy Devin Hester and a Detroit secondary focused upon TE Greg Olsen, but he should easily remain as fantasy starting QB after the Week 5 bye.
Week 6 at ATL - Cutler's final numbers will look good in the box score however he had a very up and down performance this week. Quite honestly he could have had a huge game and led his team to a somewhat easy win, but instead he turned the ball over in the red zone and had two other drives stall inside the 10. Cutler got off to a fast start completing his first six passes before throwing a red zone INT. (His third red zone INT of the season) Cutler was shown multiple blitz packages early as well, however he was able to stand in the pocket on a play fake and took a hit to deliver a nice down field throw to Earl Bennett. Cutler showed a very nice touch on a TD pass to Johnny Knox early in the 2nd quarter but then he overthrew TE Greg Olsen for his 2nd INT. Other highlights included Cutler hanging in the pocket and taking a big hit to deliver a circus pass to Desmond Clark inside the 1 yd line. On the games final drive he scrambled for 30 yards, making tacklers miss along the way with some shifty moves. However in the end he was not able to deliver the tying TD toss and the Bears flamed out in the red zone in the final minute. Uneven.
Week 7 at CIN - Cutler didn't play as badly as his stat line would indicate. The first interception he threw wasn't totally his fault, as Earl Bennett made a half-hearted play on a pass that the defender anticipated. Cutler worked hard to move the offense against a Bengals defense that was working even harder. Cutler was under heavy pressure all day, but he did move the offense at the end of the first half. Time ran out of them and the Bears had to settle for a field goal. Cutler threw another pair of interceptions after moving the offense well early in the second half - bad throws, forcing the ball to Greg Olsen and Earl Bennett in triple coverage. Cutler finally found Devin Hester in the end zone after the game was decided.
Week 8 vs CLE - Cutler was efficient and accurate downfield, completing 20 of 25 targets to his top four pass catchers. He showed a strong arm, often fitting the ball into tight windows down the sideline and over the middle. At times, he held onto the ball a little long and his eyes went to the pass rush too often, missing open hot receivers while taking a sack. Other times, he stood tall in the pocket and took a hit while delivering an accurate ball. He was also effective scrambling out of the pocket.
