Week 21 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 21 Projection

WK	OPP	RES	CMP	ATT	PYD	Y/A	PTD	INT	RSH	YD	Y/R	TD	FPT
SEASON TOTAL			182	314	2319	7.4	13	7	18	56	3.1	1	179

Week 21 Injury Status and Other News

No official injury reports have been released yet

[Wed Feb 1, 5:26 PM] Jay Cutler Bears offensive coordinator Mike Tice said he has spoken nearly every day to Jay Cutler to inform him about what the offense will look like next season. Tice said Cutler has agreed with some of the things being discussed but has shown reluctance with other things. Tice said the team will keep the same terminology to help with the transition but he also is open to using a no-huddle offense at times.

Week 21 Matchup Info

The Chicago Bears have a bye this week.

Game Summaries

Week 1 vs ATL - Cutler had a very up and down day on Sunday. He was very lucky at times and got away with a lot of hasty decisions and risky throws. Cutler was his usual gunslinger self as he threw bullet after bullet downfield to his speedy options and threw caution to the wind. Cutler likes new target Williams and will use him in situations where he can outjump or out muscle the defender for the ball. Cutler had two passes in this game that should have resulted in two interceptions for the Falcons. Both times the pass was deflected and simply fell through Falcon defenders hands harmlessly to the dirt. Cutler did get sacked and held onto the ball too long at times but he made up for it with huge chunks of yards he would get by looking downfield a lot. Cutler missed a wide open Davis in the red zone for an easy score due to pressure but was able to hit TE Spaeth later in the game for one of his scores. Cutler liked to hold the ball and to allow his recievers to uncover, which led to good things more often than bad things in this situation. Cutler was lucky that, a silly pass into a defender which turned into a pick 6 for Atlanta, was almost meaningless as the Bears were up by too much late in the game.

Week 2 at NO - Cutler started the game strong. Early on he was faced with a big pass rush that he eluded and found Matt Forte after scrambling around the pocket and actually rolling to his left which is hard to do since he throws right handed. He would go on to find the rookie WR Dane Sanzenbacher on that drive for the Bears' only TD of the day. After that he appeared to have very little sense of when and where the pass rush was coming. He has to know that he only has a limited amount of time and to expect the pass rush. At times it seems there is no one home in his head. He had 11 dropbacks, 4 knockdowns, and 4 hits early in the 2nd Q and even though he was not sacked a lot in the beginning of the game he was still getting a ton of pressure. Then he threw the ball high after a big hit on the next play so all the hits add up and impact his ability to complete passes. 42% COMPLETION RATE just won't get it done. After the TD drive the Bears ran 9 plays for 18 yards and punted the football 3 times, that's not good and it means owners are watching Cutler drink Gatorade. You don't often see a 2 minute offense consist of check downs to the RB but that's exactly what Cutler did before the 1st half putting a FG on the board to pull within 6. Cutler lost his rookie RT late in the 1st half and it had a big impact on pass protection in the 2nd half as the Bears became predictable and the sacks started to mount eventually causing Cutler to make mistakes including a key fumble resulting in the Saints going ahead 23-13 in the 3rd Q. New Orleans sacked Jay Cutler 5 times in the 4th Quarter. That sums up the day for Jay Cutler. Mike Martz did him no favors by only calling 2 runs in the entire 2nd half.

Week 3 vs GB - Although Cutler had an OK day from a fantasy prospective, Chicago fans were frustrated again by his lack of consistency in moving the Chicago offense. Cutler got off to a slow start, completing just three of six passes in the first quarter, and he had one interception about 10 minutes into the game. On the play, Cutler pump-faked to Roy Williams down the right sideline, and then half-threw/half-chucked the ball downfield in the general direction of Roy Williams. The ball was overthrown and intercepted on a play that could have gone for a huge gain, but ended in a turnover. In the second quarter, it was a different story, with Cutler making sharp throws to Devin Hester and Johnny Knox for big gains, and eventually finding Dane Sanzenbacher behind the defensive line for a quick score. The third quarter was back to miss-firing, with several passes sailing well over the heads of receivers, a crazy wildcat play where Cutler lined up as a receiver, only to have it called back for a false start and a fumbled snap that Cutler had to fall on to avoid another turnover. In the fourth quarter, Cutler threw his second interceptions, another pass attempt to Roy Williams that sailed over his head and was picked off. However, two plays later the Bears had the ball back, and Cutler threw a perfect strike to Kellen Davis for his second TD pass of the day. Cutler definitely has the arm strength to air it out, but between the passes that are off target and the key drops by his 'go to' guys, Cutler continues to struggle as an NFL QB. He'll certainly have to put up big numbers from week to week because the Bears look like they will be playing from behind a lot.

Week 4 vs CAR - Jay Cutler played second fiddle to a dominant ground game led by Matt Forte for the majority of this game, attempting only 17 passes. On the first offensive series Cutler did not have to pass once. Out of an empty backfield in the red zone, however, he did attempt to run the football himself for a score but was tackled short. Cutler barely had to air it out in the first half and had less opportunity to do so due to two Devin Hester return touchdowns which limited the offense's snaps. In the second half the locks were taken off the passing game as the Panthers began to play better against the barrage of runs they were facing. Cutler did a decent job evading pressure on occasion but his offensive tackles failed to hold up and often Cutler had to step up as the pocket collapsed. The rocket-armed quarterback completed some nice passes to the outside to the likes of Knox and Sanzenbacher for key first downs, showing terrific arm strength and delivering catchable footballs. In the third quarter, Cutler's protection let him down and he was being squeezed by the pass rush he threw a hopeful pass over the middle intended for his tight end. Instead it was tipped into the air and intercepted. With the limited action Cutler had actually passing the ball, he did what was asked of him and kept the Bears on the field in several third down situations. Questions still abound regarding his protection. The Bears established a running game, which helped Cutler immensely, but that won't be the case in every game.

Week 5 at DET - His 1st drive of the night was dictated by 3 false start penalties along his OL and TEs. Cutler is working with a very young and inexperienced OL. His 2nd drive of the night included many Detroit penalties that helped bail him out of some bad situations but in the end the Bears did not cash in on this drive. He took the Bears down the field in the 2nd quarter hitting most of his receivers while scrambling for his life but he cashed in when he found Kellen Davis in the back right corner of the end zone for the score. He only missed 3 of his 1st 14 passes in the first half. The OL could not buy him any time to test the Lions deep. Most of his passes were quick screens or of the short variety. The 2nd half was a disaster as he couldn't set his feet almost the entire rest of the way. Detroit was coming off the ball like a jailbreak almost every time. You can't expect miracles and Jay Cutler had zero time to throw the football. His OL didn't just hang him out to dry on pass protection, they were an equal opportunity bunch of goofs with numerous false starts and holding calls at the worst time. It was 21-10 in the 4th quarter when Garza was called for a hold and Webb for another false start which put Cutler in 2nd and forever, absolutely pitiful. Cutler still hung in there and managed to close things to 21-13 late before the Lions iced the game. Cutler will remain a tough start most weeks because of the poor pass protection he is being given. The Bears will get back their rookie RT-Gabe Carimi soon and that should help some.

Week 6 vs MIN - What a difference that six days makes. On Monday in Detroit, Cutler was running for his life. Making plays on the run and doing everything that he could to avoid huge losses due to sacks. In this game, despite a strong Viking front four, Cutler had time to throw the ball. When the pocket collapsed, he was able to move around with purpose and buy time to find the open man. On the opening drive of the game, Cutler avoided the pressure by stepping up and fired the ball deep down the middle of the field to Devin Hester who was wide open for an easy TD pass. In the second quarter, Cutler again found Hester on a deep crossing route for a 23 yard catch. It set up the 17 yard TD pass to Sanzenbacher that was another perfectly thrown ball from Cutler to his receiver in the end zone. While Cutler doesn't always throw the prettiest ball, and sometimes even side-arms his passes a bit, he does have great arm strength and he can really chuck the ball down the field. He is making much better decisions and you can seem him work through his progressions more than he has in previous years. If the Bears can continue to give him strong protection, he's going to find ways to keep his team in the game.

Week 7 at TB - Cutler had a typically uneven game. He threw two picks, one that was mostly his fault (under pressure and threw off his back foot), and one that mostly wasn't (throw to Marion Barber a bit high, but should have been caught, not tipped into Tanard Jackson's waiting arms). He threw a nice TD to a wide open Roy Williams and softened up the Bucs defense with some good throws downfield to Johnny Knox and Roy Williams and lots of accurate short tosses, but Cutler also threw bad balls that could have been a pick six and an interception in the Bucs red zone and never really got in a rhythm or functioned as the engine of the offense (that would be Matt Forte). Cutler's offensive line did give him decent time to survey the field on most snaps, and he should get Earl Bennett back after the bye, so Cutler's value is intact, but his outlook in any given week is tough to peg, especially with Matt Forte turning this offense into a very balanced attack.

Week 9 at PHI - The first Bears drive proved to be a microcosm of a good part of the game. Cutler's first throw was a laser to an open Roy Williams, who dropped it. His second was slightly off target to Devin Hester, who fell down. On this third throw, Cutler looked to Earl Bennett and was comforted to find a WR that could get open, catch the ball and stay on his feet. Finally to end the drive, Cutler took advantage of the defense's mistake and found little-used TE Matt Spaeth in the end zone. The second drive started off with Spaeth, on a pass that Cutler fit through a pinhole. He also hit Williams (who held on) and Johnny Know for 14 yards each. Just when it looked like the Bears may be unstoppable, Cutler made a terrible pass on a simple throwback play to RB Matt Forte who had all kinds of room to run. The next pass was dropped, this time by Hester, and the drive was over. Cutler was reeling at this point and completed only 3 of his next 8 passes, fumbled a snap, and was fortunate to have an INT dropped by Nnamdi Asomugha. He was nowhere close to his receivers and the receivers were open. Cutler started the 2nd half by throwing an absolutely beautiful ball, 50 yards downfield, right into the gut of Roy Williams, who dropped it. Still, Cutler was on target and that didn't change for the rest of the half. He went back to his favorite receiver, Earl Bennett, hitting him in stride on a 20 yard post and moved the Bears into field goal range. As the 4th quarter started, Cutler decided to entertain all those who love to compare him to Favre with one of the Favrest drives you'll see. He fell down in the pocket (untouched) on the opening play, jumped back up and dumped a pass off to Marion Barber. After hitting Earl Bennett wide open in the flats, on the next play he scrambled right and at the last minute flicked the ball sideways to Devin Hester who took off down the sideline. Cutler finished the drive off with a perfect throw to Bennett in the back of end zone, again taking advantage of poor Eagles' coverage to give the Bears a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Running Backs

Week 10 vs DET - Cutler had the advantage of being the QB who didn't have to do too much in this game. With the Lions on the ropes since their first possession, Cutler was able to drop back into 'game manager' mode and simply hand the ball off, keep the chains moving and avoid making any huge mistakes. From a passing prospective, Cutler has clearly fallen back in love with Earl Bennett. Bennett is his favorite target and he looks to get Bennett the ball whenever possible. In the second drive of the first quarter, Cutler rolled out and threw a perfect 15 yard strike to Bennett between two defenders. A few plays later, he looked to Bennett on a short play action. Six of Cutler's nine completions were to Bennett, and Bennett caught everything that Cutler threw in his direction. For the game, Cutler looked comfortable moving around with the designed roll-outs and play action passes. He didn't try to force the ball into coverage and threw the ball away when things were breaking down. He even scrambled four times when the pocket had collapsed and there was room to run. He sat out the final series as Caleb Hanie just handed the ball to Marion Barber.

Week 11 vs SD - Before getting into Cutler's performance in this game, multiple reports are coming out of Chicago that Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing hand. The injury will require surgery and force Cutler to miss most of the rest of the season. As for the game itself, Cutler played arguably his best game of the season. The offensive line actually protected him very well, and on the rare occasions that he was under a lot of pressure he was usually able to stand tall to the pressure and check down to his secondary options. On one particular play, he was in the process of being sacked but as he was falling to the ground he managed to stay upright and find Roy Williams for a key first down conversion. As he did, his knee was seemingly twisted and then as he fell he got kicked in the back of the head by someone's knee, causing his helmet to pop off. But he completed the pass. Cutler picked the Chargers apart with a lot of short, quick passes, and there was seemingly always someone open (particularly on third downs). Cutler seemingly had a touchdown pass to his good friend WR Earl Bennett, but after a review it was determined that Bennett hadn't maintained full control of the ball all the way to the ground. It didn't really affect him, however, as he managed to toss a touchdown three plays later on the same possession anyway. In fact, his two touchdowns were both perfect passes, the first one a strike between defenders to TE Kellen Davis. The second was a bit more difficult, a floater to the back line of the end zone off of his back foot to WR Johnny Knox, who did a great job of adjusting to the ball and bringing it in while keeping his feet inbounds. Cutler's third touchdown of the afternoon was actually a rushing attempt, as he leapt over the pile and stuck the ball out over the goal line from a yard out after Matt Forte couldn't get into the end zone on first down. Even Cutler's interception was not his fault in any way. He threw a slant pattern to Knox, but Knox lost his footing and slipped. As he fell to the ground, the San Diego defender just sat tight and the ball went right to his hands. In fact, Cutler was one of the ones who got in the way enough during the runback to prevent it from being a pick-six in the other direction.