Jay Cutler – December 14, 2017
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(I wanted to ask you about one play in particular on Monday.) – “Okay.”
(It was the one where you it looked, to us, like you were going down in the backfield for a sack and it was a third-down conversion. What happened there? What did you see and how did you keep that play alive?) – “When I spun out of it?”
(Yes.) – “We had a little miscommunication up front. I just kind of caught – I was working right – and I just kind of caught it out of my peripheral, hit the spin button quick and was lucky enough to get out of there. (laughter)”
(I think that play was really crucial, you went and scored a touchdown there.) – “Yes. I think we were up six at that point? We had two field goals already and we talked about how we needed to be two out of three down there getting touchdowns rather than field goals. It was a big play for us. I think (Kenyan) Drake was coming across there and we work on the scramble drill quite a bit, so he was in the right place at the right time.”
(What explains how efficient you guys have been in the red zone? Is there anything you’re doing, in particular, that you haven’t done in past seasons?) – “I think we’ve got some really smart football players down there. I think they put together, upstairs, a really good plan. We watch the TD reel throughout the league every week and 50 percent, 60 percent of them are broken plays or guys making plays, moving around. So with ‘Juice’ (Jarvis Landry) and everyone down there, when things go wrong or they zone us out and we’re expecting them to be in man, we’ve got guys that have some football IQ and can get in the right spots.”
(With WR Jarvis Landry and WR Kenny Stills, they’re both on pace – I think they’ve got 16 touchdowns right now – to get in the stratosphere of WR Mark Clayton and WR Mark Duper in terms of touchdowns scored. What is it about them that makes them savvy in the red zone?) – “It doesn’t hurt that (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) likes to throw the ball in the red zone, so we’ve got that going for us. I think it’s just their football awareness, their football IQ and their savviness – things you can’t really coach. Guys either have it or they don’t have it. Those guys and their awareness – knowing where defenders are and where soft spots are in zone – I think it’s really high.”
(How would you compare the rate of difficulty on your spin vs. RB Kenyan Drake’s?) – “I think Drake probably made it look a little bit easier than I did. His spin factor was probably a lot faster than mine. (laughter)”
(Well he only has to carry the ball, you have to throw it.) – “That’s true. That’s a valid point.”
(How rewarding was beating the Patriots, for you? It was the first time in your career that you get that win.) – “It was a big one for us. I think this whole team, we’re in a situation where we’re one game at a time, and really it was one game we’ve got to have. This week is no different playing the Bills. They’re kind of in the same boat we are, so we know we’re going to get a heck of an effort from them.”
(We talked to Offensive Coordinator Clyde Christensen earlier today and he said it seems to him that you’re as comfortable as you’ve ever been with this offense and this team. Is that fair? Do you feel like you’re playing your best football right now?) – “I mean we’ve played well, but we’ve got to do it again. There’s three games left and we’ve got a big one coming up. This league is about consistency. I think we talked about it in here. You’ve got to be consistent. We’ve got to have another effort like we had last week.”
(Why do you feel like you guys are playing better right now?) – “Guys are just doing what they’re supposed to do. I don’t think there’s any magic bullet or magic secret that we’re doing. I think we’re limiting turnovers, we’re limiting our penalties, guys are executing and making some big plays here and there, which is definitely helping us. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”
(You said after the game that Head Coach Adam Gase was dialing it up well. Can you take me a little inside the game in terms of when a play caller has a really good play design, play call, play setup, play sequence, what goes right?) – “Number one is he’s open. That’s your progression. The first guy in your progression is usually open and I think Adam, he was getting it in quick. There was no indecision. He had a good feel of what they were going to do. We were mixing it up. I think we kept them off balance with some of the different formations and personnel groups we had. You can just tell in a play caller’s voice whenever they’re on a roll, and he was on one.”
(So when your number one isn’t open, then you go to, tell me what your thought process is…) – “Number 2. (laughter)”
(Your thought process…) – “Three is after that. (laughter)”
(Is four the check down?) – “Depends, sometimes five. (laughter)”
(Your thought process when number one isn’t open is, ‘Okay, they’ve got our number there’?) – “No, no, no. I wouldn’t say that. Sometimes there’s two guys that you’re looking at that are 1a and 1b; but when a play caller is hot, one is normally going to be open.”
(You’ve played in bad weather games, cold weather games. From the QB position, what does it take to play well in those circumstances?) – “I think wind is probably the biggest factor in some of these cold weather games. Snow, rain, 30 degrees, that’s all fine. We’ve got heated benches, heated hand muffs, heated helmet things, so once you get out there, you’re running on adrenaline; but if it’s windy, I think that probably affects QBs more than anything else.”
(Each of the last two ESPN broadcasts, they talked about you talking about playing beyond this season. I don’t know if those conversations were really portrayed accurately.) – “Probably not.”
(What is your thought process beyond this year?) – “I think I told them, I’m enjoying playing right now and that’s really it. It’s one game at a time. I think I told them last week, I’m just worried about the New England Patriots, and this week I’m worried about the Buffalo Bills. After the season, those conversations can be had; but right now, I don’t think it’s fair to anybody.”
(Is that a beard that you’re growing full time?) – “I don’t know. My wife hates it. Hell, I don’t really like it; but you can’t mess with a winning streak, so we’ll see how long it goes.”
(So this is two weeks?) – “Yes, two weeks, maybe two and a half.”
(Any tips from Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke?) – “I did talk to him about it. He’s like three years in, though. He’s a seasoned vet.”
(It looked kind of greyish previously and now it’s kind of colored in.) – “No, there’s grey in there. (laughter) You guys can zoom in. There’s grey back here. I’m getting old quickly.”
(How much do you still watch Vanderbilt football and all of that?) – “I do. I watch them. I talk to (Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek) Mason, I talk to some of the guys over there. We beat Tennessee. They didn’t quite make a bowl; but the recruiting class is looking good, so I’m excited for them.”
(You mentioned your wife, how has it been being away from your family this year?) – “It’s been good. They’ve come for pretty much all the home games. They came for Thanksgiving for an extended period of time. They’ll come for Christmas for an extended period of time. There’s ups and downs, there’s pluses and minuses, but Kristin has been extremely supportive and she’s doing a great job with the kids. There’s plenty of time after football to catch up on everything.”
(I think you said when you first got here you just had a car and a bag of clothes. Has that changed at all?) – “I might have two bags of clothes, but still just a car, so not much.”
