Former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer continued his highly critical assessment of the Bears' Jay Cutler on Thursday.
"The issue with mechanics and why I think Steve Young and I have been two of the most critical of Jay's laziness with his mechanics ... and I speak on the subject with intimate knowledge of it because it really hurt my career ... the limiting factor in reaching your athletic potential is flawed mechanics," Dilfer responded to a Tribune question during an ESPN conference call.
"It doesn't mean you can't be good. But you'll never reach your potential with flawed mechanics. It truly is a limiting factor. So you look at a guy like Jay Cutler and your jaw drops with all of the potential he has. But then you are frustrated because you wonder, 'Does he not understand how good he could be, if he just fixed and dedicated himself to fixing some very basic principles of his mechanics?'
"So I think that is one of the reasons we are very critical. Not that he is not a good player. He has immense talent, you can't argue with that. But that's the frustration behind it"
Dilfer was a 14-year NFL veteran and played for five teams during his career, including the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, whom he helped lead to a 34-7 victory over the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
Dilfer's criticism of Cutler does not extend to the frequent media observations about his leadership skills and overall demeanor.
"Others who talk about the body language and demeanor ... now I am a believer that he is different privately than he is publicly," Dilfer said. "I have spoken to enough people that know the situation and who have played with him and had no problem with that and say he is a good leader, that he does handle the team aspect very well, privately. He just doesn't come off that way publicly. So I try to avoid those comments because I know privately his players like him. And he has handled those situations well. My criticism of Jay Cutler is simply this: He could be an elite player in this league. But he won't be until he dedicates himself to dealing with the basic things that will bring out and maximize his potential."
Cutler will be making his first playoff appearance Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Dilfer has not been impressed with Cutler's big-game performances in the past.
"And they tend to show up -- the laziness in his mechanics, the flaws in his mechanics tend to show up late in games," Dilfer said. "Red zone, critical downs, tight games. You go to the interception he threw against the Packers ... it was a high ball on a crossing route. You, know, the guy's open. I think it's (Devin) Hester, running the deep end route at the end of the game as they're trying to come back. (He) loses control of the ball on an intermediate throw across the middle, because of that excess motion in his delivery and his feet are unbalanced.
"So he could say, well, he missed one. And people can make excuses for him. But at the end of the day, you don't see Tom Brady miss that throw, you don't see Aaron Rodgers miss that throw, you don't see Drew Brees miss that throw, you don't see Phillip Rivers miss that throw. Why? Because mechanically they are so sound, and in crunch situations, their body responds the way it should and they are able to deliver the ball on target. Jay, too often doesn't. You can make a lot of excuses for him why he does it. But ultimately it's because his mechanics fall apart in those situations."
Glad you brought something to the discussion though.
