Playing Hurt (1 Viewer)

[Da Guru]

IMO Cutler is getting a raw deal here. And I really do not like Cutler.

The guy has been battered the last two seasons and got up and played. How many games has Cutler missed in his career? I was watching the game with my wife last night and said "We are starting to view NFL players like Madden 2010 robots..they feel no real pain" I would like to see any NBA point guard, MLB pitcher or catcher play with a torn MCL. It would not happen.

 

[Grid71]

Good discussion. You guys are hitting on exactly the area I wanted to get into - the selfish part. There are certainly some players who would stay in purely for themselves. It takes a maturity level to understand one's limits. If we're to believe what Cutler says about the game, Sunday, he realized, and more aptly, admitted, that he didn't give his team the best chance to win. That decision is being ripped by many. When in reality, it seems like a pretty mature decision on paper.I see both sides. I'm just trying to explore where people are on it.J

Did it strike anyone else as odd that Cutler wasn't helping the backups review the photos and try to give pointers to help the team win? They kept showing Cutler on the side lines just standing there. The least he could do is help out his team mates with strategy even if his knee turned to jelly.

 

[Grid71]

IMO Cutler is getting a raw deal here. And I really do not like Cutler.The guy has been battered the last two seasons and got up and played. How many games has Cutler missed in his career? I was watching the game with my wife last night and said "We are starting to view NFL players like Madden 2010 robots..they feel no real pain" I would like to see any NBA point guard, MLB pitcher or catcher play with a torn MCL. It would not happen.

Suppose Cutler was too injured to play (which is likely the case since he left the game). Why didn't he help out his backup QBs on the side lines?

 

[Grid71]

Absolutely stay in. The odds, unless you're say the Patriots or Steelers of the past 10 years, is incredibly low that you'll play in more than 2 AFC/NFC Title Games.

So right there you have maybe 2 chances at making it to a Super Bowl. The dream of every single kid and professional playing football.

The backup is the backup for a reason, otherwise they would have won the starting job from my hands.

If I can't lead the team and have them put their faith in my abilities, even when I'm hindered or hurt, then they have zero reason to ever trust me for anything in the future. If I doubt my abilities and think the backup can do a better job than me, even injured, I shouldn't be starting in the NFL.

If as a QB I have a bum ankle or knee, then the Coordinator and Coaches should be smart enough to work around the injury while trusting me to lead the team anyway. Call screens, run the ball more, and maybe use gimmick plays to minimize my having to move around heavily in the pocket.

 

[Chest Rockwell]

Remember when Troy Polamalu sprained his MCL in back in week one of the '09 season? In an incredible display of toughness and grit, Polamalu distracted the medical staff and forced his way back on to the field. As a result of this brave and selfless act Polamalu was able to make another one of his patented game-changing plays to secure the victory down the stretch. Troy Polamalu is a shining example of perseverance and determination. He's what the National Football League is all about.

Oh, I'm sorry. The paragraph above is complete horse####.

Not only did Mr. Polalamalu fail to mount a valiant effort to sway the coaching staff to allow his return, the guy didn't show back up till week 6.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Stay in if you think you give the team the best chance to win. But, if you got a guy like Frank Reich on the sidelines, let him come in and work his magic.

 

[del mar]

Everyone has an opinion, but for those who want a guy to gut it out I offer the 1963 NFL Championship game. The Bears beat the Giants 14-10 and just beat the crap out of Y.A. Tittle. Tittle was the league's MVP that year, but Tittle was hurting (as I remember his knee was bent out of shape and he was bleeding from his nose). At one point as the Giants defense left the field Sam Huff passed Tittle and supposedly said "Just hold them for a while". Anyway, Tittle threw five picks in that game and the Bears finally scored their second TD and won. After the game Huff let it be known what he thought of the decision to let Tittle continue to play and that was his last game as a Giant. He was traded to the Redskins in the off season. Tittle was clearly a great player, but his presence in that game undoubtedly cost the Giants the Championship that year. No one knows what would have happened if Tittle had sat it out, but Sam Huff sure thought that would have been best.

 

[Sonny Lubick Blowup Doll]

Reluctant is the key word here. Despite what all the haters seem to think, what I saw in the eyes of Cutler on the sidelines yesterday was a shattered man who knew he couldn't do any more for his team. He tried to go and knew that he simply couldn't - watch it again, that knee was like linguini when he tries to plant it.

IMHO he wasn't moping, he was totally gutted that he'd let his teammates down by the look of it.

His knee really looked like linguini to you? Were you hungry?

 

[Truman]

Simple: Be completely selfish and play for personal glory or be a team player and concede for the other 52 guys on the team, the entire management and fanbase. If you've suffered a head injury however the decision making process may be different.

 

[Football Critic]

The Cutler talk really is a fascinating discussion.

Let me throw this out.

You're an NFL QB in the NFC Championship game.

You suffer some sort of issue that dramatically impairs your ability to perform.

Let's say it's a migraine headache. You have blurred vision but you can still see. But in your opinion, you are absolutely positively certain that the backup QB would give your team a better chance to win.

What do you do?

J

If you are positively certain that your backup gives your team the better chance, you go to the locker room asap and give the reigns to your backup. Anything else would be completely foolish. And selfish.

Halftime is the time to receive treatment, I have to give it a go on the first drive of the second half to see how it responds. If it does not respond well, I tell coach, and let him make the decision. I'll make myself available, but leave the decision to the coach after explaining my knee pain and stability. If he thinks keeping me in is the best, I'll play on it, if he thinks going to either one of my backups, well...thats his job to make those decisions.

 

[DoubleG]

Reluctant is the key word here. Despite what all the haters seem to think, what I saw in the eyes of Cutler on the sidelines yesterday was a shattered man who knew he couldn't do any more for his team. He tried to go and knew that he simply couldn't - watch it again, that knee was like linguini when he tries to plant it.IMHO he wasn't moping, he was totally gutted that he'd let his teammates down by the look of it.

This might be the best thought I've seen on these boards as to what he was probably thinking. Especially when compared to the story of his reaction to the "toughness question" by the media later. The reaction of tears fits much more with the above thoughts than that of someone who was "faking it" or "quitting".