Steelers expect sharper Cutler

[mesaSteeler]

Steelers expect sharper Cutler

By: Mike Bires -
Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sp...er-cutler.html

PITTSBURGH — William Gay couldn’t believe his eyes as he watched Jay Cutler self-destruct in his debut with the Chicago Bears.

Gay, a Steelers’ cornerback, watched in amazement as Cutler served up four interceptions Sunday in the Bears’ opening-night loss in Green Bay.

“Man, that was crazy,” Gay said. “I don’t want to say it’s unheard of, but four picks in one game? That’s unlikely. It was his first game with the Bears, and it was obviously a bad game for him.”

This Sunday, Cutler plays his second game with the Bears, and there might not be a quarterback in the league with more pressure on his shoulders.

He’ll be playing at Soldier Field before diehard fans that are fed up with quarterback problems in recent years. And he’ll be playing against the defensive-minded Steelers.

When the Bears traded for Cutler in April, they assumed their QB woes were over. To get Cutler, who was disgruntled with the new coaching regime in Denver, the Bears paid a stiff price by shipping away quarterback Kyle Orton as well as two first-round draft picks and a third-round pick.

But the Bears believed the deal was worth it. After all, Cutler earned a spot on the Pro Bowl roster last year. The Bears haven’t had a Pro Bowl QB since Jim McMahon in 1985.

But in the Bears’ 21-15 loss to the Packers, Cutler put on one of the most embarrassing Week 1 performances in the league. He completed less than half his passes (17 of 36), threw four interceptions and compiled a lowly 43.2 passer rating.
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The only QBs that fared worse were Detroit Lions rookie Matthew Stafford, who posted a three-pick, 27.4 rating performance, and Carolina Panthers veteran Jake Delhomme, who threw four interceptions en route to his miserable 14.7 rating.

“If you’re expecting that this week, you’re kidding yourself,” Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said of Cutler.

“He’s a quality, top-flight quarterback. We’ve played Cutler in the past, and we know what a great quarterback he is. Any quarterback will have a day in which he has some passes picked off. But that has no bearing on what he does this week.”

Cutler, a former Vanderbilt star taken with the 11th overall pick of the 2006 draft, has played once before against the Steelers. That was in Week 7 of the ’07 season when he led the Broncos to a 31-28 win at Invesco Field. He completed 22 of 29 passes that night for 248 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and an exceptional 106.7 a passer rating.

“We were talking about it the other day,” Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. “The Jay Cutler we saw Sunday in Green Bay, that’s not the same guy we saw two years ago in Denver.

“I know that we’re expecting Cutler to play better this week. He’ll be at home. He’ll have the home crowd behind him. He is now their franchise quarterback. I expect to see the Pro Bowl Jay Cutler.”

Friday September 18, 2009 12:19 AM

[SteelC7]

we got him, he can be fooled, and with our zone blitzes, look for him to have a bad day

[stb_steeler]

Or it could be worse, he throws 5 picks to us.....LoL

[NEPAsteeler]

I expect Cutler to be about as sharp as a butter knife

[BehindSteelCurtain]

Steelers can't take him lightly, he still is extremely talented.

[Steel_Bus_24]

Originally Posted by BehindSteelCurtain

Steelers can't take him lightly, he still is extremely talented.

seriously, the more the media kept piling on, the more I got nervous this week

[Galax Steeler]

Originally Posted by stb_steeler

Or it could be worse, he throws 5 picks to us.....LoL

That would be so sweet if we could make him self destruct in front of his own fans in Chicago.

[GBMelBlount]

Originally Posted by Steel_Bus_24

seriously, the more the media kept piling on, the more I got nervous this week

Yep.

Cutler is a Pro Bowl quarterback. Don't take him lightly, friends.....

[stillers4me]

Originally Posted by SteelC7

we got him, he can be fooled, and with our zone blitzes, look for him to have a bad day

It would be worse for him if Troy were going to play. The FlyingFreak would have been good for at least 2 picks ........but I don't think Harrison and Woodley will take him lightly. The will take him as hard as they can.

[stillers4me]

Originally Posted by GBMelBlount

Yep.

Cutler is a Pro Bowl quarterback. Don't take him lightly, friends.....

So is Derrick Anderson.