Chicago Bears: Will Jay Cutler's Immaturity Hamper the Bears' Season?

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

To put things bluntly, the Cubs have a better chance of winning the World Series than the Bears do of having a successful season with Cutler under center.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines immaturity as lacking complete growth, differentiation or development. No NFL quarterback fits that description better than Cutler.

Before every season, NFL 'experts' conjure up reasons why Cutler is on the precipice of greatness, but they always mention one obstacle in his way; hint, it's not his arm strength.

Let's take a closer look at why his pettiness is sure to hinder another season for the Bears.

A Child in an Adult's Body

Jay Cutler can be Jeklle and Hyde in the press conference room.
David Banks-US PRESSWIRE

Jay Cutler is that guy in your pick-up football game at the park who arguably has the best talent of everybody, but nobody wants to pick him because of his whiny, self-destructive behavior.

If you can't relate then you might be that guy.

Cutler's juvenile behavior off the field often seems to grab headlines. Most recently, Cutler got into a petty back-and-forth with Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune. 

Via CBSSports.com:

Asked by Pompei if it was possible to target WR Brandon Marshall too much, Cutler said, "No."

Asked if Marshall is getting a lot of defensive attention, Cutler responded, "What kind of attention."

Told "extra coverage," Cutler said, "what coverage?"

Pompei changed tactics and asked if it was better to throw to someone else if Marshall is getting extra coverage.

"I need to know the specifics," Cutler said. "Like, what are you getting (in coverage)? I don't know. It depends what coverage it is. It depends on a lot of things. There's a lot of variables. You can't just make a vague statement...It depends what route it is, what coverage it is, what's the down and distance? There's a lot of things that go into it."

Asked if it was simply worthwhile to risk forcing the ball into coverage sometimes, Cutler said, "Like I said, it depends on the situation."

Pompei then said, "Thanks for your enlightenment."

And Cutler?

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for your vague question. I'm sure you'll be able to get a lot out of that."

Poor Emotion

J'Marcus Webb missing a block and allowing Cutler to be sacked.
Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

In the Bears' Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Cutler managed to throw four interceptions and get into a verbal confrontation with his offensive tackle J'Marcus Webb.

Cutler has been a quarterback in this league for seven years, but he doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of how to stay composed.

If you're not developing and improving every year, you're just moving backwards. Cutler's little temper-tantrums can't continue if Chicago wants to be in contention by the end of the season.

Body Language

Jay Cutler not engaged.
Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE

In fairness, Jay Cutler has been under an intense microscope since coming over to the Bears in 2009, but that's no excuse for a lack of positive body language.

You always see Cutler with his arms crossed on the sidelines, sulking like an 11-year-old who didn't get his way.

Bad body language usually leads people to question your leadership, and those questions always manifest into outside distractions.

Cutler still hasn't seemed to realize that perception often trumps reality, and something like body language is something that he can control.

Cutler should probably avoid moments like this one that transpired with his offensive lineman, J'Marcus Webb, in Week 2.

Poor Leadership

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

You don't have to go back too far to rationalize why Cutler's immaturity will cost the Bears their season this year.

Remember the 2011 NFC Championship game?

Cutler left that game with an apparent knee injury, allowing the Packers to stroll into the Super Bowl.

It wasn't so much that he left the game, but after his departure—he just stood on the sidelines completely silent.

Cutler made no effort to work with the training staff to get back out there, and he didn't even try to inspire the other guys to play hard.

Images like that stick in players' and coaches' minds. Teams around the league know that if they can frustrate Cutler, they've won half the battle.

A couple of weeks ago, ex-Bear Adewale Ogunleye bashed Cutler's bad attitude and compared him to his peers.

Via NFL.com:

There is no good to Jay, there is no smiling. All we see is when he is pissed off, when he is angry and that reflects in the way people might view him in the locker room. But a guy like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, genuinely they are nice people and they overextend themselves. Tom Brady can be the biggest diva in the world -- he has that right, he has won Super Bowls -- but he is not that guy. I think that is why he is even more likeable.

Immaturity has always hampered Cutler in the past, and he's shown no signs in 2012 to convince us that anything has changed.