Jay Cutler will enter Hall of Fame

CHICAGO, IL — Jay Cutler will soon become a Hall of Fame quarterback.

Vanderbilt Hall of Fame, to be specific. The 4-year college starter will be inducted into the Commodore Hall of Fame this year, as Cutler tries to build on a personally promising 2015-2016 NFL season. For the Chicago Bears, this past season showed flashes of potential but was ultimately unfulfilling, as once again the playoffs are in full swing, and the Bears are watching from home.

An up-and-down season saw them finish 6-10, dead last in the NFC North division that boasted two playoff teams. In the midst of the ruckus, one of the few bright spots this year was the play of quarterback Jay Cutler. It was a surprising development for a player surrounded by turmoil carried over from a toxic ending to last season and an off-season filled rumblings about first year GM Ryan Pace shopping him. Cutler responded with a career year despite missing key offensive threats for much of the season. Is he the Bears answer to the quarter back question going forward, or was it a fluke?

Cutler flourished in Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase’s system, which leaned on a productive run game featuring running backs Matt Forte and rookie Jeremy Langford, with a late-season showing from Ka’deem Carey. This was despite playing all season without rookie first round draft pick WR Kevin White, who was supposed to provide complimentary speed to WR Alshon Jeffrey’s size on the outside, but instead was sidelined with a broken bone in his leg for the entire year. Jeffrey himself missed seven games with a variety of ailments, and starting slot receiver Eddie Royal was a non-factor for much of the year with injuries himself. Stars RB Matt Forte and  TE Martelleus Bennett missed significant time, and the Bears played virtually the entire season without their opening day center Will Montgomery, who broke is fibula and was placed on IR. The bottom line is Cutler did more with less, keeping the Bears in games with quick passes to unheralded targets,  good decision making, and his underrated mobility.

Gase, however, is gone now, taking his talents to Miami to be the Dolphins head coach. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains has been elevated to the Offensive Coordinator position, a move already endorsed by Cutler. Loggains will be Cutler’s 6th offensive coordinator since joining the Bears, but there should be less system change with this promotion from within than previous coordinator changes. The Bears are expected to at least use the franchise tag on Jeffrey, Kevin White should be finally ready to make his debut, and if Martellus Bennett’s trulucent ways can be placated, he and emerging threat TE Zach Miller can form a formidable tandem at the tight end position. All this means Cutler will have weapons galore at his disposal.

Any Chance at the NFL Hall of Fame?

…not at the moment. Cutler has the raw skills to make a late career bloom ala a Kurt Warner or Carson Palmer, who just recently won his first playoff game. No one has ever questioned his arm or athleticism. It was his decision making skills that needed to be refined, a step Cutler appeared to take last year under Adam Gase and John Fox’s careful watch. The Bears are likely to begin the search for Cutler’s heir apparent, so perhaps with the added galvanization of competition (combined with a beneficial system and talented receiving corps) will spur Cutler to deliver the deep playoff run(s) that Bears fans so desperately desire. It would take a ring (or two) at the very least for Cutler to even be considered for Canton.