Shannon Sharpe has been with CBS since 2004. He’s one of the main analysts for the NFL Today on CBS. Sharpe was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton in 2011.
I had an exclusive with him at CBS NFL Media Day, where we discussed the Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler, Marc Trestman, among many other topics:
“I know they have a lot at stake with Cutler going into the last year of his contract, and normally when guys go into the last year of their contract it works out really well. We saw how it worked out with Joe Flacco and some of these other guys,” Shannon Sharpe said.
“When you play the quarterback position, there’s a lot of onus on that position, because of the way the rules are set up, there’s a lot of onus on that guy. And he’s going to have to deliver and do what everyone thinks he can do,” Sharpe continued.
Of course, I asked about the media’s favorite storyline this year: “Trestman is a Quarterback Whisperer”
“Ha ha ha, I guess we’re going to find out. Obviously he couldn’t be a quarterback whisperer unless he’s been in the National Football League a very long time, with all the great players and great coaches in the NFL if he stays there for an extended period of time, he gets his opportunity. He has a very good quarterback, but I don’t think he’s in that upper echelon yet.”
“He has all the tangibles, and ability, the big arm but there just seems to be something missing,” Shannon Sharpe elaborated.
“I’m anxious to see what Jay Cutler can bring to the table. I look at it like this, I hear about all these guys and all the coaches they’ve had, how many offensive coordinators they’ve had. There’s a reason. Look at Peyton Manning, he had one offensive coordinator when he was in Indy. Normally when he quarterback position is good the guy gets promoted. Coordinators and Head Coaches don’t normally get fired when that guy plays well,” Shannon Sharpe said.
“There have been some guys who have gotten fired because he hadn’t played well, and everybody keeps saying, he had a different offense. There’s a reason he has a different offense, because he wasn’t playing well in the previous offense, but at some point in time, you need to see to say it’s not the coach, it’s you,” Shannon said.
“And that’s the way it should be. I think coaches get too much credit and too much blame. I can coach Aaron Rodgers, I can coach Peyton Manning that would be easy,” Sharpe concluded.
Other CBS NFL analysts on the Bears outlook this season
Bart Scott
Rich Gannon
Greg Gumbel
Dan Marino