Jay Cutler – August 21, 2017
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Monday, August 21, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(What can you tell us about Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery? I think the assistant coaches here said that he might be a little bit behind in the scheme. Do you guys, in preseason and training camp, try to … What you get in the regular season is what matters the most with him?) – “He’ll be fine. I obviously don’t know what’s going on here. I don’t know where he is in the system, what his production’s been like; but as long as he’s healthy, he’s going to produce. He’s going to go out there. He’s a pro. He knows football. He’s got a great feel, great instincts. If he’s healthy, that wouldn’t be a guy I’d worry about.”
(How beneficial is this kind of practice for you?) – “I think it’s good. It’s good for everybody on the team. It’s just a change of pace. You see different faces, a little bit different defenses, different tendencies. I think it’s good for me just to get more game simulations out there and just play more football.”
(What were the last three days like for you. Obviously you guys didn’t have a practice. The last three days, getting up to speed with … catching up on lost time?) – “Yes. We had an off day Saturday, so I was able to see my family, and then we took off (for Philadelphia) yesterday. I think for me, the whole last two weeks have been kind of a whirlwind. It’s been a lot of football but it’s been fun.”
(Did you have a chance to catch with Eagles WR Alshon Jeffery at all?) – “I just talked to him a second ago.”
(You guys, WR Alshon Jeffrey, obviously had a connection. You played together for a long time in Chicago. Do you remember back when you first got together how long it took to…?) – You guys are worried about Alshon. (laughter) He’s going to be fine. What’s going on? Is something going on that I don’t know about? (laughter).”
(WR Alshon Jeffrey has missed a little bit of practice.) – “For what?”
(WR Alshon Jeffrey had a shoulder injury.) – “Well, he had a shoulder injury. What do you want him to do?
(In the offseason, you were thinking about going into television.) – “Yes.”
(How much did it take for you to re-generate your enthusiasm to play the game?) – “I don’t think I really ever lost it. I just kind of channeled it in a different direction. I still wanted to be in football and still wanted to be around it, and I was going to have that opportunity through FOX. Then once this new opportunity arose, it seemed like a natural fit for me.”
(Where’s your comfort level now? You’ve played one game, you’ve done two weeks of practice. Where are you right now?) – “I feel really comfortable with these guys. Like I was saying earlier, I think the situations like this are really good for me. The receivers, the o-line, just knowing how we’re going to kind of react in game-type situations.”
(From your perspective, how is Head Coach Adam Gase different now versus when he was just a coordinator?) – “Not much. He’s just got more responsibilities. I don’t think he’s changed in any regard. He’s kind of refined some things that he likes and doesn’t like, which I think every play-caller does. He’s leading the team and I think he’s doing a heck of a job doing it.”
(Now that you’re playing, have you found what you missed the game when you decided you were …?) – “I always missed it. I think I’ve always said there were going to be days I missed it and days that I was content with my decision. There’s never a week that went by that I didn’t think about playing football. Did I make the right decision? Did I not make the right decision? I think that’s kind of in life. There’s always situations that come up that you’re not for sure which direction to go. You’ve just got to pick one and roll with it. I was just lucky enough that something like this happened for me.”
(Were there other opportunities for you, before the Dolphins, in the offseason at all?) – “I mean that’s neither here nor there.”
(How much of a difference is practice when you’re going against another team?) – “Yes, the intensity is a little bit higher. I think guys get a little comfortable at home, comfortable going into the same defense. When you go against a different guys, different defenses, that level raises a little bit and I think competitive juices start flowing, which is good.”
(What can a trip like this do for team building? Especially for you, who started late?) – “Yes, I mean I think it’s great because you get to go to dinner with these guys, you get to eat with guys, you’re around them 24/7. There’s no going home. There’s no leaving the building. You’re kind of stuck in a foreign city. You kind of have to figure it out together, so it’s good.”
(With WR Jarvis Landry, one of the big knocks on him is production in the red zone. What does it take to get a slot receiver more involved when you’re talking in the short area?) – “Just coverage. It’s all coverage based. Typically, you’re going to get more doubles on the Y and the F in red zones. That’s kind of where it’s at, and they’re going to make you force the ball on the outside. It’s a little bit tougher throw; percentages are lower. So scheme-wise, just kind of moving him around, he’s going to get some big plays. We’ll score from a little bit farther out. I haven’t been with him enough to answer that properly.”
(You played five years with WR Alshon Jeffery. How would you describe him as a receiver?) – “(He’s) super smart. He knows football. (He has a) great feel. I think he’s one of those natural guys that knows where the ball should be thrown. (He has) body control, hands. He’s not afraid to block. He’ll go in there and dig out a safety. Obviously he’s had a shoulder injury. He had some injuries with us that kind of a … Some speed bumps for him; but when he’s healthy and he’s rolling, he’s one of the best out there.”
(We’ve heard a lot about WR Alshon Jeffery’s catch radius. As a quarterback, how nice is that?) – “Yes, you just throw it. Just throw it out there and he’ll make it right. If you get a guy like that one-on-one and you can back-shoulder him, you can put him over the top. It’s hard to cover a guy like that and I’m sure Carson (Wentz) and some of these quarterbacks have witnessed his ability to catch some back-shoulder balls and be able to get on top of guys as well.”
(Do you know much about QB Carson Wentz?) – “No. Do you want to tell me? (laughter).”
(When you were studying to become a broadcaster, maybe you studied him a bit?) – “No. I did not.”
(When you go into Thursday, trying to figure out how much you need to play or want to play, how collaborative is that between you and Head Coach Adam Gase?) – “He’s the head guy, so he’ll make the final call; but I mean we’ll talk about it. Whether we go all the way to halftime, or come out in the third quarter. I believe a lot – I’m trying – a lot of that will depend on kind of how we play offensively.”
(It’s not a typical start of the season for you obviously; but do you have kind of rhythm that you prefer at this point in the preseason?) – “How much to play?”
(Yes.) – “Yes, I’ve always kind of played the same. I’ve played one, two, three, sat on four. Sometimes I come out in the third quarter, sometimes not. So I think we’re kind of … Right now we’re kind of sticking to that game plan unless something drastic happens.”
(What have you seen from WR DeVante Parker and WR Jarvis Landry that reminds you of WR Alshon Jeffery and WR Brandon Marshall?) – “I think if you look at Jarvis, just his physicality. The way he attacks the ball, getting in and out of things. They both have really high IQs like ‘Al’ (Alshon Jeffery) and ‘B’ (Brandon Marshall) do. They know where the ball is supposed to go. They know coverages. They know weaknesses in defenses. DeVante has a lot of ‘Al’s’ catch radius – back-shoulder balls, over the top. So they’re kind of younger versions of those two guys.”
(Because you didn’t have a normal offseason, you didn’t throw probably as much in the spring as you would. Do you feel as though you’re still building your arm up or has two weeks kind of got you back where your arm was?) – “It’s still fresh. I think whenever you go through a whole spring, you’re throwing, throwing, throwing and your body gets a little torqued. So right now I feel really balanced and fresh, which it’s probably a good thing.”
(Would you have entertained the idea of coming back if it was anyone other than Head Coach Adam Gase?) – “I don’t know. Like where? That’s a hypothetical, so it’s a tough one.”
(How instrumental was Head Coach Adam Gase in your decision?) – “Oh, it’s huge. I mean to come back with Adam, the roster is really talented, I know the system. It’s kind of just plug and play. So that was kind of everything for me.”
(Was the game not fun for you when you decided to retire? It looks like you’re enjoying what you’re doing now.) – “I think you can talk about anybody in the league, no one likes losing. No one likes going through those situations, so that was tough. They wear you down. But that wasn’t the sole reason. They released me. So it was kind of the end of the road at that point. (laughter)”
