Harris: Lovie's Press Conference Hurts Cutler More Than It Helps
By Adam Harris --
Yesterday's press conferences with Bears' Head Coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo did quarterback Jay Cutler no favors.
Not only did Lovie Smith call Cutler's injury a "MCL sprain" instead of a tear, but he did not mention specifics on what Cutler did to try to get back on the field.
Let's break down what Smith said took place on the sideline and in the locker room when deciding whether Cutler was able to play the second half on Sunday.
"It's pretty simple what happened yesterday," Smith said. "Before the half, Jay hurt his knee and showed a lot of toughness to continue to play with it. Right before the half when we threw the pick, the medical staff and we all made the decision then that he couldn't go."
So far, this statement is not very revealing. The public needs to know what exactly was said between Cutler, the medical staff, and the coaches and, what exactly went into the decision saying that Cutler "couldn't go."
Smith went on.
"We took him in at the half and tried to work on him, which we did," Smith said. "We got the treatment there at halftime. We didn't know for sure if he'd be able to go."
Again, specifics are needed in this statement to enlighten the public and fans as to what exact treatments were administered to get Cutler on the field for the second half. Simply saying treatments were made gives the public room to facilitate and speculate their own ideas.
If Smith would say that Cutler took a pain killer, or that he tried running with a brace on, or at least show that Cutler tried everything possible to get on the field, then Bears fans, the media, and the public would not have to speculate as to why Cutler was not on the field for most the second half.
"He wanted to go and tried to go the second half as he went back in that first series." Smith continued on.
I credit Smith here, because this was his best statement backing up Cutler in this press conference.
"We never want a player to be out on the football field if he cannot protect himself and he just can't perform his duties. That's what happened during the game."
Smith avoided all specifics in this statement, just like he always does when discussing a next opponent, an injury during the season, or a game plan for the next game; however, the difference here is that the season is over and there is no reason to keep things vague. In fact, Smith needs to do the exact opposite and be very specific to cut the problem at the root and take control of what speculations might come from an injury or situation like this.
Smith's vagueness allows a fan's mind to run free and continue to question Cutler's toughness. He needed to take control of this situation, and that was not accomplished. Now Cutler is still left out to dry as no Bear fan will ever forget what happened this past Sunday.
Bear fans already dislike Cutler's "attitude" during press conferences and on the sideline at the games, and now the fan base can speculate to prove their theory right that Cutler is not tough and doesn't care.
Instead of mentioning specifics, Smith turned the attention to the players across the NFL that questioned Cutler's toughness via twitter.
"For guys to take a shot that weren't there," Smith said. "Or to try to look at his [Cutler's] body language trying to figure out if he was hurt because of shots of the sideline or 'what I would do in that situation', you don't know what you would do in that situation. The guys that know what he was going through there were guys on the sideline or the players that knew what was going on."
Well then Lovie, tell us what was going on. No we do not know what exactly Cutler was going through, and that is why the speculators and angry people showed their faces and voiced their opinions. If you would tell us what exactly happened with Cutler then there would be no room left for speculation and questioning of toughness.
Today Smith should have made Cutler sound like a true gladiator for even attempting to go out there in the second half. If Smith needed to embellish what happened at the half, saying Cutler was in immense pain, or that his knee was not stable then Smith should have done that to protect his already highly critiqued quarterback from further hatred.
