Cutler vs. Hoyer: It's Not Actually A Competition

          Due to Jay Cutler injuring his thumb in week two’s game against the Eagles, Brian Hoyer got the start last Sunday night against the Cowboys. I am a huge Cutler supporter so any time I don’t see him play I get pretty upset. But my support doesn’t blind me from his inopportune mistakes. If I had it my way, the Bears would be winning on a regular basis with Jay at the helm. But right now with his injury, it looks like it’s about who gives us the best chance to win (although a healthy Cutler stills trumps all). Maybe even looking toward the future and giving Barkley a shot makes sense right now but since Barkley hasn’t gotten a chance with the Bears yet, we will focus on Hoyer vs. Cutler.

Jay Cutler

2016: 60.9% completion, 373 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 FML, 75.7 RAT

Career: 62% completion, 31,781 yards, 205 TD, 143 INT, 85.9 RAT (68W-70L)

Brian Hoyer

2016: 63.9% completion, 395 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT, 93.3 RAT

Career: 58.4% completion, 7558 yards, 40 TD, 26 INT, 82.8 RAT (15W-13L)

          When you look at the numbers, Hoyer and Cutler are statistically similar. But let’s remember that a lot of those stats came from Hoyer’s 2015 season where he had a defense that actually gave him a chance to win. The defense doing its part makes a whole world a difference. If you look at Hoyer’s stats from Sundays game, you see good numbers. You also have a defense that didn’t give him a chance to win. And although that bodes well for Hoyer in his fight to keep the starting job, we have to remember that the Bears were playing from behind the entire game. The Bears also got more than 70 percent of their yardage in the second half, where at one point they were behind by 21 points. In games like Sunday, the defense will normally back off and not allow big plays. That is exactly how the second half played out, besides one very good throw from Hoyer to Miller in the middle of the field.

          I’m not saying that Hoyer didn’t play well but you have to take into account every aspect of the game. Especially the fact that the Cowboys don’t have much of a pass rush. Hoyer wasn’t sacked one time and from watching the entire game, he wasn’t under much duress at all. The Cowboys rarely sent more than 5 guys at the quarterback, a lot different from the many blitzes we saw from the Texans and Eagles. Those differences are a big deal when you consider Cutler was sacked 8 times in less than two games with 20 QB hits (if all of those weren’t on Cutler at least 80 percent were).

          Hoyer is a veteran QB that can definitely manage a game. Cutler, although not too successful with the Bears, is still very athletic, tough and has a great arm. Give Cutler time and we have seen what he can do. Time to throw the ball plus a defense that can hold its own makes all the difference. It also helps if you have a running game that can lend a hand. The only years Cutler has had a better than middle of the pack defense was 2013 and 2014. In 2013 Cutler was sacked just 19 times in the 11 games that he played. In 2014, Cutler was sacked 38 times through 15 games. I mention the sac totals because like I said, getting time doesn't matter much if your defense can't step up. In 2013, the Bears came one game away from getting into the playoffs, let’s not pretend that the defense didn’t let us down in that game (*cough* Chris Conte *cough*).

          Cutler will never be a Rodgers or a Brady. And I don’t think that he needs to be. That isn’t the QB that he is. Give him time, give him a defense, and you will see results. There is no winning when a defense allows anyone and everything to score. Cutler also had Forte, who is now gone….. Need I say more?

          My point, through all of this, is the fact that Cutler isn’t actually as bad as people make him out to be. Hoyer is an okay replacement while he is injured but Jay stills gives us the best chance to win. Just go back to 2011, when the Bears were 7-3 before Jay hurt his thumb against the Chargers. They would go on to lose every single remaining game that season. Ponder that.

You may hate him. You may love him. You may just not care. But don’t single out Cutler as the problem because if you truly pay attention, he only continues to drop down that list.