Jay Cutler Is The Key To The Chicago Bears Season

Jay Cutler is still the quarterback of the Chicago Bears and they will go as far as he can take them. If you are a Bears fan and are basing any of the team’s future success on the subpar play from Cutler’s past, that means you believe the Bears are in trouble. What if Jay Cutler has a renaissance in his career? If that were to happen, the Chicago Bears would be right in the thick of things, and a wild card berth is not out of the question.

Last season was one to forget for Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. The defense was abysmal, Cutler was uninspiring, and then there was the coaching.

Whatever Marc Trestman said or did to the Chicago Bears the last two seasons it was an utter failure. The Trestman tenure is one that this historical franchise cannot repeat again.

Of the many low moments from last season, giving up more than 50 points to the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers was the lowest ever. Last season there was infighting inside the Bears locker room, players secretly tuned out the coaching staff and total lawlessness ran amok. Another low point from last season included an assistant coach coming forward as a source of leaked information leading to the eventual demise of Jay Cutler. The amateurish atmosphere lead to a drastic change in the coaching staff and the front office.

The hiring of veteran head coach John Fox was a strong move and a solid statement in the locker room, but if Jay Cutler does not play to his capabilities the hiring is mute.

Jay Cutler is talented. He can make all of the throws, he just needs to stop trying to prove just how good he is and play within the confines of the game plan. That is where having a coach like John Fox comes in handy. He will get his first crack at overseeing yet another chance for Cutler to prove himself. The first-year head coach has been pretty mum on Jay Cutler’s progress thus far. When talking to reporters, Fox was noncommittal.

“I got asked this 8,000 different ways. At the end of the day, we’re a performance-based business. No matter what we say about anybody, it’s going to come down to how we perform on Sundays or Mondays or whenever they line us up.”

That has not stopped Jay Cutler from acknowledging a change in the Chicago Bears training camp so far. He knows what Coach Fox expects from him and the team.

“Fox isn’t going to sugarcoat anything. He is going tell you exactly how it is. What he expects from you. How things are going to go day to day.

“He wants guys who want to win Super Bowls. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t want guys that are in it for themselves or want to go to Pro Bowls. He’s got one thing in mind, and that’s the Super Bowl, and we have to find more guys like that.”

The big game is out of the question this year, but if Jay Cutler can get the message and plays well, who knows. The embattled QB has all of the tools he needs in order to have a great season. In the end it will all come down to him.

First, he will have to eliminate the turnovers. For him that is a two-way street between him and the receivers. There was a lot of confusion out on the field for the Bears last season. Receivers ran the wrong routes, dropped passes and did not always hustle for the football. Jay Cutler made the wrong reads and repeatedly threw the ball in tight areas.

#Bears receivers making impact moves on and off the field: http://t.co/SGoG4GDhLG (@CSNMoonMullin) #BearsTalk pic.twitter.com/CEoW6nTjYv

— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) August 2, 2015

This year there will be some sort of adjustment. Cutler will have to be the leader of a young unit that now features Alshon Jeffrey as the number one pass-catcher. Rookie Kevin White is expected to make an impact, as is veteran Eddie Royal. Royal and Cutler played with each in Denver several years ago. They enjoyed some good success together. Can they rekindle some of that magic this season? If so, the Chicago Bears may creep into the playoff conversation. In the end, all of the hopes rest on the arm of Jay Cutler.

Can Jay Cutler finally make good?

[Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images Sport]