Remember the sight of Jay Cutler sulking on the sidelines of the NFC Championship game? Remember how NFL players jumped on Twitter and blasted the Bears QB?
Given the news that Cutler did have a sprained MCL, most players backed off their criticism. Maurice Jones-Drew didn't. And he won't. The Jaguars RB says he hasn't apologized to Cutler and he doesn't plan to.
"I wouldn't apologize because I didn't do anything wrong, I don't think. I didn't commit a crime," Jones-Drew said. "I didn't kill anyone or rape anyone or anything like that. I mean, I stated my opinion, and it seems like you get more backlash for that than committing a real crime in some sense. I feel like I didn't do anything wrong. I just said what everybody else was thinking."
It's hard to remember, but nearly everyone dogpiled on Cutler. The thinking is, if you can walk, you can play. NFL tough guys said they'd need to be carted off the field in a playoff game.
I usually love bashing a quitter, but I managed to remain level-headed in the game's aftermath. Sprained MCL or not, Cutler should have gone back out there. He should have forced Lovie to yank him. And the team should have rallied to his side faster.
Looking ahead to this year, have we forgiven Jay? Do we have his back? Is he the unquestioned leader of the franchise?
We're hearing almost nothing about the guy, aside from his breakup with Kristin Cavallari. That's disconcerting.
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Jay should be grabbing the mic and telling reporters how this year will be different. He should talk about leading by example. He should talk about having a lot to prove.
But Jay's silent.
That's who he is.
A city rarely embraces the strong, silent type (or the sprained MCL, silent type, for that matter). It would be nice to hear a little fire burning inside our QB.
But he's just a quiet guy. And the only way for him to silence our loud, obnoxious doubts is to go out and dominate on Sundays.
In the meantime, we close our eyes and try to forget him standing there while the Packers took another step to the Lombardi Trophy.
