LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler wasn’t apologizing or expressing any regret for shouting a profanity directed at offensive co-ordinator Mike Martz.
Instead, he brushed it off as nothing major.
“Things happen. You guys were fighting in the hallways last week,” Cutler said Wednesday, referring to an argument between two reporters. “I’m not going to make a big deal of this. It’s not a big deal. We’re all in the same team in this building. We’re going to try and win football games.”
A TV camera caught Cutler shaking his head late in the first half after taking a play call through his headset during Sunday’s 39-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Moments later, a microphone caught him apparently telling quarterbacks coach Shane Day to relay a message to Martz in the booth that was not exactly rated PG.
Asked if he regretted it, Cutler responded, “No.”
Martz said he knew nothing about the outburst or the clip, saying, “Run that by me again?”
Told what happened, Martz laughed and said, “He’s directing it at who?”
“Well, if it was at me, that’s probably the nicest thing that a player’s said to me during the game,” he said. “No, you’ve got to understand during the course of a game a lot of things get said. It’s a very strong, very competitive environment. That stuff, that’s not an issue, really. That’s part of the deal. But during games, a lot of things get said — trust me — by everybody. So that’s not an issue.”
The Bears (3-3) are preparing for this weekend’s game in London against Tampa Bay (4-2). It’s been a long year already for Chicago, with a stagnant offence and porous defence at times. And now this.
The Bears were leading 23-3 in the closing minute of the first half when Cutler went off, apparently upset about a third-and-7 call at the Vikings 32. Matt Forte took a handoff and got hit for a 1-yard loss, leading to a field goal by Robbie Gould.
That Cutler vented in such a lopsided game seemed unusual and raised suspicions that there might be some deeper issues. Earlier in the week, he had called for changes while reiterating that it’s not easy to maintain faith in Martz’s offence when he’s constantly being pounded by the defence.
No quarterback has taken a bigger beating the past two years than he has under Martz. The 71 sacks he’s absorbed during that span by far are tops in the NFL, although he no longer leads the league this season. That honour goes to the Rams’ Sam Bradford with 21, two more than Cutler.
He was sacked just once in two of the past three games against Carolina and Minnesota, although he was constantly on the run while being taken down three times in a loss at Detroit in between. He got the ball out of his hands quicker against the Vikings, and the blockers held their ground against Jared Allen.
As for the idea that there are lingering issues with Martz, Cutler shook his head no.
“I’m a competitor,” Cutler said. “So is he. So is everyone on this offence. Whether we’re up three touchdowns or three points, a second- and third-down call is as important as anyone in the game. So, it is what it is. We’re good. We’re moving on. Excited about his week’s game plan and excited to go play in London.”
Cutler realizes all eyes and ears are on him, that he’s under a microscope and the cameras are a constant companion.
“They have cameras everywhere now,” he said. “That’s the media and that’s how it is these days. They’re going try to create stories and try to find anything to make something out of nothing.”