Bears QB Jay Cutler Shows What He's Made of with Predictable Implosion

It's going to be two years, maybe three—tops—before Jay Cutler is gone from Chicago. It's only a matter of time now.

His implosion against the Patriots was predictable. Cutler versus Bill Belichick is checkers versus chess. It was destined to be no contest. You may say it was Chicago's defense—and it certainly was no match—but if Cutler is truly elite (as his general manager says) or even good, he would have responded when the Patriots started to Patriot.   

Instead, we saw typical Cutler-type plays, especially a horrid fumble. This would have been a perfect time for Cutler to demonstrate that he was someone who could be relied upon, counted on, seen as a threat. This isn't asking Cutler to be Tom Brady. No one is. But can someone recently handed a contract that guarantees him $38 million for this year and next at least be a winner, like Russell Wilson?

Brady was 30-of-35 for 354 yards, five touchdowns and zero picks. He wasn't sacked once. Again, Cutler can never be Brady, but what exactly is Cutler?

I can tell you what the Patriots thought this week preparing for Cutler. Entering the game, a Patriots player said Cutler was "the most error-prone thrower they would face all season."

Wait...more error-prone than Geno Smith?

"Geno is a young guy on a bad offense," the player explained. "Look at what Cutler is playing with."

Imagine if Brady had Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery? Sure, Brady has Rob Gronkowski, but imagine what he'd do with Cutler's weapons.

The Patriots have leaders, guys whose desire is infectious. It's the biggest reason they win (that, and, you know, because they have Brady). Vince Wilfork was asked after the game if he was surprised the Patriots keep winning with mostly no-name players.

"

It doesn't surprise me because, like I said, this is a great team that we have. I mean, guys coming from everywhere, free agents, guys we just picked up a couple days ago, beginning of the season—they came in and fit right in. They understand what we need and what we want from them, and they work hard. We all work hard individually. We work hard. That's what we have to do to be successful at this level, and it showed.

"

Does Cutler have that type of dedication? No. No, he doesn't.

What has been clear for some time, and what will always be clear, is the Bears won't win a Super Bowl with Cutler at quarterback. Some people are just now realizing this, but it has been apparent for some time.

It's difficult to define what makes one guy a winner and another, well, Cutler. Watching Cutler and Brady on the same field gives the definition some shape. Before Brady became Brady, he was consumed with being great.

Andrew Luck…consumed with being great. Ben Roethlisberger, the same. Colin Kaepernick, the same. Wilson's win on Sunday was his 10th game-winning drive since 2010, according to Hawkblogger. He's consumed. He's elite.

It's not just the Cutler face we see—that occasional blank stare, where Cutler looks like he's trying to remember where he left his car keys instead of how he's going to carve up a defense.

Year	W-L	Cmp%	Yards	TD-INT	Sacks	Rating
2006	2-3	59.1%	1001	9-5	13	88.5
2007	7-9	63.6%	3497	20-14	27	88.1
2008	8-8	62.3%	4526	25-18	11	86.0
2009	7-9	60.5%	3666	27-26	35	76.8
2010	10-5	60.4%	3274	23-16	52	86.3
2011	7-3	58.0%	2319	13-7	23	85.7
2012	10-5	58.8%	3033	19-14	38	81.3
2013	5-6	63.1%	2621	19-12	19	89.2
2014	3-5	67.2%	2093	17-8	20	95.8

Brady would give away every material possession (except his hair) for a win. A regular-season win. If you asked Cutler that question, his response would be, "Huh?"

The best quarterbacks in this league treat the game like it's a gift. Like they have a limited amount of time to play it, and the best thing to do is treat every moment like it's your last. I don't know if Cutler studies the way the elite throwers do and watches film the way they do.

Cutler often looks unprepared, and that's something you rarely say about the best in football.

Again, Chicago's defense didn't help matters. I get that, but there are too many instances when Cutler doesn't do enough to win games but will do plenty to lose them.

Bears defensive players were at one point exasperated by a Cutler turnover in the Patriots game (despite the fact Brady was annihilating them). Chicago punted on its first three series, and when Cutler fumbled just before the half—leading to a Patriots score—sideline reporter Pam Oliver reported Bears defensive players were "literally mouths agape" (as ProFootballTalk.com reported).

Bleacher Report

Their mouths were open because they've seen that Cutler movie before.

"I saw one teammate even throw his helmet in disgust," Oliver said.

Cutler told reporters those final moments before halftime were "agonizing."

Imagine watching them.

Cutler will be out of Chicago. It's only a matter of time.

And I don't think he will even care.

Mike Freeman covers the NFL for Bleacher Report.