Chicago Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler was the subject of discussion on CBS Sports Network’s “Monday Morning Quarterback” yesterday. Here’s where I would say that annoying and stupid acronym ICYMI (In Case You Missed It), but I don’t have to. Look at this chart with primetime viewership of sports networks.
The ranking in order is: ESPN, ESPN2, NFL Network, MLB Network, Fox Sports 1, Golf Channel, NBC SN, ESPNU and NBA TV. CBS Sports Network didn’t even make the cut. So I’m guessing you missed the Jay Cutler segment. To be fair, CBS SN is in much fewer households.
You can see what Phil Simms and Rich Gannon had to say about Jay Cutler in the preseason. (Click Simms, Gannon’s name where highlighted to read that)
Pretty much what a lot of other people were saying: “it’s a career defining year,” “make or break,” etc. etc.
Of course, their CBS colleague Boomer Esiason took a more critical stance saying Jay Cutler “was a top 15 NFL QB maybe. possibly.” And then Boomer doubled down on that comment a few days later, saying he took a poll of his colleagues, and that there were 20 QBs they’d rather have over Cutty.
And the two pundits on Jay Cutler last night (now with two games in):
Phil Simms: “Mark Trestman has put $70-80 million right in his pocket because he’s cleaned him up. When I watched the game yesterday, for two games in a row, I was just so impressed. He’s on balance. He’s following through on his throws. No flicks. He’s not taking chances… He’s moving at the right time. You look at the supporting cast he has. I know it’s two games, but I am sold already.”
Rich Gannon: “I think you’re seeing a different Jay Cutler this year. I like his confidence. I like the fact that his team seems to have confidence in him. And you get that type of confidence when you win in dramatic fashion, which is what they’ve done the last two weeks – on the last play of the game against Cincinnati and on the last play of the game against Minnesota, two playoff teams from a year ago.”
Catch me every Friday at 7:30 AM CDT talking Chicago Bears on WAOR 95.7 The Fan, Michiana’s home for Bears football
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan and 1620 The Zone, he also writes for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Facebook