Roughing a quarterback
THE BEAT GOES ON | Cutler bloodied, battered, bruised as Turner's blood pressure rises
The Bears beat up a feeble Cleveland Browns team almost as much as the Browns beat up Jay Cutler on Sunday at Soldier Field. A 24-point victory didn't tell the whole story as Cutler looked more like a mugging victim than a guy who directed a winning effort.
''We have work to do,'' Cutler said. ''It's good to get a win at home, but offensively, we've got to get to work.''
Cutler was sacked four times and took countless other hits, including one that was called roughing the quarterback and kept the Bears' first touchdown drive alive. They had to settle for field goals on their first three forays into Browns territory. Cutler bit his tongue on that play and said he was swallowing blood until the fourth quarter. Offensive coordinator Ron Turner didn't seem much happier than Cutler.
Turner's beating will come throughout the week after another terrible performance by the offense. He was red-faced in the locker room, presumably crimson with rage, over the offense's multiple mistakes. Or maybe it was just embarrassment. Regardless, the milk of human kindness had clearly run sour for Turner, who burned with shame, agitation or emotional upset.
''We have to play better,'' Turner said. ''We did not execute enough. If [Cutler] gets hit once. that is too much. But it wasn't just that. All the way around we have to take a good look at what we're doing and make sure we're not doing too much because we are making too many mistakes.''
A few questions before he broke off an interview with a curt ''I'm out of here,'' Turner was asked if the offense made progress in any area.
''Um ... ,'' he said before a five-count of silence. ''I guess that answers it.''
The Bears should be grateful for a victory since they haven't had one in a month. Any victory is a good one in the NFL, even one against a team challenged in its coaching as much as anything else. Bad as the Bears have been, they've just met one of the truly awful franchises in the league. Cautioned as you may have been about how bad the Browns are, who could have prepared for the clownish franchise that showed up at Soldier Field?
How bad must Brady Quinn be to play second fiddle to woeful Derek Anderson? Anderson remained under center to start the second half despite throwing up a Blutarsky for the first half. That's right, Anderson produced the dreaded 0.0 passer rating, but didn't give way to Quinn until late in the fourth quarter. Speculation is that Quinn's not getting a chance because he has an $11million escalator in his contract tied to taking 70 percent of the snaps this season.
Quinn started the first three games against Minnesota, Denver and Baltimore, but was pulled at halftime of the third game. Nobody outside of Cleveland cares about what the Browns are doing with their quarterback. Heck, nobody in Cleveland probably cares, either. But what kind of indictment is it when they prefer to have Josh Cribbs run out of the Wildcat on a third-and-21 instead of try to drop back and throw a pass? The point is the Browns are terrible. Absolutely wretched. If they had any offense at all they could have won this game because they dominated on defense.
Where was the Bears' blitz pickup? How could they repeatedly leave the quarterback standing in the pocket waiting to get hit? Cutler is a mobile player who can run and move and buy time. Where were the bootlegs? Where were the moving pockets? Why was he left as a stationary target against a team that was aggressively blitzing most of the day?
Remember last year when Kyle Orton was the quarterback and the Bears relied solely on three-step and five-step drops? Orton couldn't move, so teams could blitz a spot, knowing where the launch point was going to be. Why is Cutler having the same kinds of problems when he's capable of doing a lot of things to frustrate blitzers?
The Bears were playing at home against one of the worst teams in the NFL, and Cutler completed 17 of 30 passes for 225 yards and one interception while taking four sacks for minus-26 yards and producing a 66.7 passer rating.
The team has said the offense needs time and it's improving, but it took a step back Sunday. Frank Omiyale was replaced by Josh Beekman at left guard, meaning the offensive line went from three new starters this year to just two. But despite the continuity in the middle of the line, that's where all the pressure was coming from. Shaun Rogers, the Browns' 350-pound defensive tackle, steamrolled Beekman on one play -- knocked him flat on his rear -- and landed full on Cutler, who nonetheless threw a completion to Johnny Knox.
''Shaun Rogers is a big guy, and every time he hits you it counts for two,'' Cutler said.
Bears coach Lovie Smith didn't seem too concerned.
''Jay is not going to complain,'' Smith said. ''Of course, he took a few more licks than we would like, but some days are like that. It does say a lot about him that he can sit in there.''
How long can it last? Can Cutler keep getting up if he's abused the way he was Sunday?
''I hope we don't find out,'' Cutler said.
He's not alone.
Mike Mulligan and Sun-Times colleague Brian Hanley host ''The Mully and Hanley Show'' from 5 to 9 a.m. weekdays on WSCR-AM (670).