You knew it would only be matter of time before the NFL pundits started suggesting that Jimmy Clausen replace Jay Cutler. It is surprising that the “start Clausen” hot takes have ALREADY begun. I figured the Bears would be about 3-9 or 3-10 before any of the NFL talking heads started proposing this idea. If you think things are bad now, just wait until you see Jimmy Clausen.
Trust me, you don’t want that. No one wants that. Except I guess for CBS Sports’ Rich Gannon and Steve Beuerlein:
NFL Monday QB on CBS Sports Network featured discussion of the play of Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler during Sunday night’s Packers-Bears “game.”
Gannon: “It was embarrassing. This is a team that wasn’t ready to play. They lost the last four-out-of-five, and they’re coming off of a bye. They came out last night and they were flat. Jay Cutler was awful. He turned it over three times – two interceptions and a fumble in the pocket. It bothered me that they weren’t ready to play… If I were Marc Trestman I’d sit Jay Cutler.”
Beuerlein: “You have to consider (benching Jay Cutler). I don’t think it will happen at this point, but the performance speaks. You look at the last two weeks. They’ve been down 45-0 last night, 45-7 to the New England Patriots two weeks ago. This is embarrassing. They are a talented football team that should be able to produce and score points. It starts at the top with the quarterback. He has to step up, make some plays and get this team in the right direction.”
We know Josh McCown is bad; really bad. He had those fluky transcendent performances in Cutler’s absence last season. There is no doubt that Cutler is not even close to performing on par with his $22.3 million annual salary. When you’re the highest paid player in the NFL, not playing anywhere near that level of expectation, and an extremely unlikable guy to boot, the NFL talk show pundits will obviously call for your ouster. When the Head Coach is in way over his head that invites this kind of rhetoric as well.
Be careful what you wish for. Jimmy Clausen?
“Winter is coming.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2