Jay Cutler- interesting guy

[Matt39]

For a man from Santa Claus, Ind., Jay Cutler is one of the least jolly people you've ever met.

If he's not The Most Hated Man in the NFL, he's in the running. His expression is usually that of a man wearing sandpaper underwear. He looks everywhere but into your eyes. It's a tie as to which he enjoys more -- smirking or shrugging.

It's hard to say what interests Cutler, but it's definitely not you.

Once, in his rookie year in Denver, 45 minutes before a game, surefire Hall of Fame safety John Lynch was trying to explain something to Cutler about NFL pass coverage. Except Cutler wasn't looking at Lynch. He was texting.

"Man, I'm trying to talk to you!" Lynch protested.

Didn't help. Cutler was all thumbs, head down. Finally, Lynch slapped the phone out of Cutler's hands, smashing it to the floor.

He listened after that.

Cutler's teammates will defend him, when asked. "It's funny to me how people form an opinion of a guy who've never even met him," says Bears tight end Greg Olsen, a close friend.

One time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan thought it would be helpful for Cutler and Broncos legend John Elway to have lunch. Let Cutler drink in some of Elway's experience.

The three of them sat down at a Denver steak joint. Elway, polite as ever, tried to impart some wisdom. Except Cutler wasn't looking at Elway. He wasn't looking at Shanahan, either. He was looking at the TV. The whole time. With his baseball cap on backward. All the way through dessert. Elway did not leave impressed.

So when Josh McDaniels, before he had even set his Samsonite down, started railroading Cutler out of town, almost nobody stood up for him.

Cutler was boxed up and shipped to Chicago, where, this Sunday, he will play his first playoff game of any kind since high school, this one at home against the Seattle Seahawks.

It's a huge moment for Cutler, if only because his disdain for making nice means everything rides on his wins and losses.

"In New York, they want to poke you in the eye," says former Bear and sports radio host Tom Waddle. "In L.A., they don't care about you. But in Chicago, they want to love you. They want to make a connection with you. Any kind of connection. But Jay doesn't really care."

Cutler could own Chicago if he wanted. In a city that has had as many good quarterbacks as Omaha has had good surfers, Cutler could have his name on half the billboards and all the jerseys. My God, the kid grew up a Bears fan! But he doesn't even try. He has zero endorsements and doesn't want any. If there is such a thing as a Jay Cutler Fan Club, Cutler is having a membership drive -- to drive them out.

If you're a reporter looking for a helpful answer out of Jay Cutler, good luck.

Example from Wednesday's 15-minute news conference, the only time he speaks publicly the entire workweek:

Reporter #1: So, did you enjoy the week off?

Cutler: Yeah, it's nice to kick back and watch the games.

Reporter #2: Wait. Last week, you said you never watch the games.

Cutler (disgusted): I said you could watch the games. I didn't say I watched the games. You've got to listen.

Cutler is the kind of guy you just want to pick up and throw into a swimming pool, which is exactly what Peyton Manning and two linemen did one year at the Pro Bowl.

"He's an arrogant little punk," former Broncos radio color man, Scott Hastings, once said on a national show. "He's a little *****."

Harsh? Yes. Heard before? Yes.

"I used to hear this kind of stuff a lot," says Marty Garafalo, a freelance publicist who handled Cutler in Denver. "Elway was always trying to give you the time of day, and Jay was always seeing which door he could get out of quicker. It was a maturity thing."

Cutler's teammates will defend him, when asked. "It's funny to me how people form an opinion of a guy who've never even met him," says Bears tight end Greg Olsen, a close friend.

So what's the truth?

"He is what he is," Olsen says.

Not exactly something for your tombstone.

What he is is an RPG-armed, 27-year-old Vanderbilt product who dates a reality TV star named Kristin Cavallari, battles Type 1 diabetes every day, and doesn't care who understands him and who doesn't. He's a giving person who does things behind the scenes and hates it when he gets found out. A few days before Christmas, he and Cavallari brought presents for an entire ward of sick hospital kids. A reporter for the Sun-Times got wind of it and asked him about it. Cutler refused to discuss it.

He's a battler who's done amazingly well considering the swinging saloon-door offensive line he has to play behind. The man has been sacked more times this season (52) than in his three seasons in Denver combined (51). Yet he never complains.

"He's as sharp an individual as I've ever been around," says Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

So why is Cutler as popular as gout?

Is it because he never makes eye contact?

Is it his seeming inability to answer a question without using "y'know"? (He once used it 57 times in a five-minute interview with the NFL Network.)

Is it his penchant for making things difficult?

Reporter (after a game): What happened on that first interception, Jay?

Cutler: I threw the ball.

Reporter: Right, but what did you see developing there? Take us through it.

Cutler (archly): It seemed like a good place to throw the ball.

Then there was this:

Reporter: When you were a kid, which quarterback did you look up to?

Cutler: Nobody.

Reporter: Nobody? You didn't look up to anybody?

Cutler: No.

If he's lying, it makes him a miscreant. If he's telling the truth, it makes him a miscreant.

"Deep, deep down, I think he's a really good guy," Waddle says.

Maybe. But why do we have to look that deep?

[SenorGato]

I can see why he's unlikable, and he's holding himself back by being such a douche, but I think the act is pretty hilarious. The guy is not an idiot by any means...Vanderbilt is an actual school, and holds their athletes to these things people call standards. He stayed all 4 years there, got his degree, and anyone who saw Cutler in college knows this guy is as tough as they come at the QB position and is capable of imposing a very strong will on opponents when he gets going. Seems like a bad rap to me...

I think he does it to troll people who he's supposed to kneel down, worship, and always say the right things to no matter if it's bullsh*t or not. It's not a very humble act, but talented people can say f*ck being humble. Cutler's a talented guy.

[JiFtheOracle]

Dude is weird. Have you ever seen him Mic'd up sh*t on NFLN?

He's out there...way out there.

I remember one instance where he was talking to like a kicker or something like that. Asks him..."how long you been in the league"...kicker say..."13 years". Jay paused for like a minute...."Wow, thats a long time". Thats all and walked away.

Another one is right after a pick. He's on the sideline, staring off to space. And just randomly, "what just happened out there"....some WR says..."you threw a pick". Cutler says...."oh yeah" pause "why"?

Weird dude.

[greeniemeanie]

Dude is weird. Have you ever seen him Mic'd up sh*t on NFLN?

He's out there...way out there.

I remember one instance where he was talking to like a kicker or something like that. Asks him..."how long you been in the league"...kicker say..."13 years". Jay paused for like a minute...."Wow, thats a long time". Thats all and walked away.

Another one is right after a pick. He's on the sideline, staring off to space. And just randomly, "what just happened out there"....some WR says..."you threw a pick". Cutler says...."oh yeah" pause "why"?

Weird dude.

Boy has some issues, but it is kinda amusing.

[JetsFan220]

interesting, he always looked/acted like a douche on the field, but i didnt realize he was like that behind the scenes as well

ignoring John Lynch and Elway is ballsy

[SenorGato]

Dude is weird. Have you ever seen him Mic'd up sh*t on NFLN?

He's out there...way out there.

I remember one instance where he was talking to like a kicker or something like that. Asks him..."how long you been in the league"...kicker say..."13 years". Jay paused for like a minute...."Wow, thats a long time". Thats all and walked away.

Another one is right after a pick. He's on the sideline, staring off to space. And just randomly, "what just happened out there"....some WR says..."you threw a pick". Cutler says...."oh yeah" pause "why"?

Weird dude.

Now I'm pondering what exactly normal is...dammit.

[Irish Jet]

Sign this beast?

[serphnx]

It's hard to take anything the media writes seriously. You'd think as Jets fans everyone here would realize the article has about a 90% chance of being full of crap, like most articles about the Jets have been traditionally.

[Blackout]

It's hard to take anything the media writes seriously. You'd think as Jets fans everyone here would realize the article has about a 90% chance of being full of crap, like most articles about the Jets have been traditionally.

yep

the same media who insists we must know about Brittney Spears and Kim Kardashian's daily events

[Aten]

Reporter (after a game): What happened on that first interception, Jay?

Cutler: I threw the ball.

Reporter: Right, but what did you see developing there? Take us through it.

Cutler (archly): It seemed like a good place to throw the ball.

Greatest quarterback ever.

[dbatesman]

The reaction to this in Chicago has been really funny. Everyone on the radio is imploring people to remember that Reilly is a self-pilfering hack, but the meatballs here have spent so much time psychoanalyzing Cutler's douchey body language that confirmation bias has just taken over at this point.

[Aten]

The reaction to this in Chicago has been really funny. Everyone on the radio is imploring people to remember that Reilly is a self-pilfering hack, but the meatballs here have spent so much time psychoanalyzing Cutler's douchey body language that confirmation bias has just taken over at this point.

And what's with this 'Elway, polite as ever' horsesh*t? He had the exact same rep when he was Cutler's age.

[dbatesman]

And what's with this 'Elway, polite as ever' horsesh*t? He had the exact same rep when he was Cutler's age.

IIRC, Reilly's been in the bag for Elway since his days at the Post, but even with that said that's a laugher of a line.

[stoicsentry]

I like the part about his interviews. Sports interviews are the worst. The questions asked are stupid. The one thing that I can appreciate about Jay is that he doesn't give a damn about those stupid questions.

[RutgersJetFan]

The reaction to this in Chicago has been really funny.

Jordan and Ditka reminiscing sandwiched in between sausage commercials?

[dbatesman]

Jordan and Ditka reminiscing sandwiched in between sausage commercials?

Magary nailed it in his divisional round hit for Maxim: "The amount of sausage consumed in [Chicago and Pittsburgh] next weekend will be staggering. Not a single snout will be left in America."

[Sharrow]

What he is is an RPG-armed, 27-year-old Vanderbilt product who dates a reality TV star named Kristin Cavallari, battles Type 1 diabetes every day, and doesn't care who understands him and who doesn't. He's a giving person who does things behind the scenes and hates it when he gets found out. A few days before Christmas, he and Cavallari brought presents for an entire ward of sick hospital kids. A reporter for the Sun-Times got wind of it and asked him about it. Cutler refused to discuss it.

lol, that's the same girl that was going out with Leinart, and was trying to get with Sanchez, right?

[HessStation]

So...he's like a classier, er, better version of Ryan Leaf.

[SMC]

And what's with this 'Elway, polite as ever' horsesh*t? He had the exact same rep when he was Cutler's age.

At the same age, Elway had already gone to back-to-back SBs.

Elway may have been a douche, but he never came off as such to the media.

[HessStation]

But Cutler has better teeth. Does this count for anything?

[bitonti]

my perspective from scouting him at the Senior Bowl, he was always very confident, almost cocky in his responses... people thought that was a good thing... like you'd better be confident when you get to the big time. And it's one thing to be rude to reporters. Who cares right...

but after he was in the league for a while it was clear he had that same aloofness toward his teammates and that's kind of a problem. the thing that irked me was how he was an only child and his parents literally move around wherever he goes. They moved to Denver. They moved to Chicago. Grow up?

all this being said he still was the best of the "big 3" Qbs that year, and it wasn't even that close after Young's rookie year.

[T0mShane]

He seems like Jeff George. Just keep him locked in a closet until Sunday, then hope his freakish arm scores you enough points to win before he alientes everyone within a ten mile radius.

[JetsFanInDenver]

Just to be an devil's advocate for a second i do not see what all this noise is all about.

Some individuals are different. They are unlike the Kardashian's and Ochocincho's of the world. They do not like the attention or do not seek it. They show up and do their jobs instead of the look at me all the time and I will do and say anything to grab your attention.

That does not make you arrogant. It might not make good fodder for the media. And that probably explains the bitterness of this author and his article.

[The Troll]

What a dick.

He does charity work, and doesn't want attention for it.

He could take a few pages from the book of St. Vincent Young and it would make him a better person.

Don't do good deeds for people out of the goodness of your heart. Do it so people can blow you for it.