Reading Jay Cutler

Some former NFL coaches have gone from reading defenses to reading facial expressions.

Jay Cutler’s smirks, frowns, grins, and pouts are the subject of great debate from coast-to-coast.  In addition, some ex-coaches turned analysts are offering scouting reports that question Cutler’s leadership and maturity.

All this scrutiny comes because of one reason.

The trade.

Apparently it still really bothers a lot of NFL types.

Cutler scoffed at a question from a reporter after Sundays’ game about the throw Green Bay’s Johnny Jolly intercepted. This apparently defines petulant behavior—from a competitive quarterback?

Are you kidding?

“I didn’t see the post-game press conference,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “I didn’t see the other comments that were made. I heard about them.”

“If it had anything to do with leadership or anything like that it’s totally, totally off base. He’s as good a leader as I’ve ever been around. It’s not right for people to base it on something if they’re not right there seeing what’s going on. “

“But I could not be happier, and every guy in that locker room and everybody upstairs could not be happier with him and his demeanor and his leadership and the intangibles that he brings to the table.”

We’ve seen worse. Cutler’s perceived aloofness, his self-confidence, is under attack by some of the most successful ex-coaches in the game, who are sitting in stu dios, not standing on sidelines.

They don’t know Cutler, and they should not pretend to know how he is handling himself inside Halas Hall.

Here are the rest of Turner’s comments.

“I have talked with the coaches in Denver; I talked to players in Denver. I know what coaches and players here feel. People who have been=2 0in that locker room with him, have been in the huddle with him, have been in meetings with him, know what kind of leader he is, know what he brings to the table. For someone to say something negative in that regard is totally, totally off base. I don’t care who said it and how much football they know and everything else, it’s totally, totally off base.”

”He is a tremendous leader. He’s great. I’ve heard the receivers say he’s as good a leader that we’ve had and I’ve never heard guys say stuff like that to tell you the truth. It’s upsetting to hear that stuff to be honest with you. If you want to talk about interceptions, talk about his play, that’s one thing. But to talk about that when you don’t know is totally, totally off base.”

Bears Practice Report: Pittsburgh Steelers

* Frank Omiyale (ankle), Tommie Harris (knee), Al Afalava (shoulder) all limited.
* Trumaine McBride (knee), Desmond Clark (rib), Mark Anderson (toe), Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee), Danieal Manning (back) all missed practice.
* Bears signed rookie free agent 5-11, 212-pound running back Kahlil Bell to the practice squad. The undrafted free agent signed with the Vikings out of UCLA. He averaged 4.4 yards-per carry and scored 17 touchdowns. To make room on the squad, the Bears released offensive lineman Johan Asiata.