Jay Cutler – November 9, 2017
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Wednesday, November 9, 2017
QB Jay Cutler
(We’re at the midpoint of the season now. How do you feel you’ve played in your first eight games?) – “I think we talked about it today. I don’t think it can be a concern for us. We’ve just got to try to get better each and every week, and this week we’re just worried about Carolina.”
(With your rib situation, when do you actually feel it – which motions or movements on the field does it restrict you?) – “I mean if I get hit. That’s about it. Other than that, I feel pretty good.”
(You’re throwing has looked – in practice and in the game – looked the same as it always had.) – “Thank you.”
(Has it affected you at all?) – “No, not really. It felt good. It felt good Sunday night.”
(You’re the FedEx Air Player of the Week. I guess you’ll get a FedEx truck or something?) – “What am I going to do with my FedEx truck? (laughter) I don’t know. I’ve never had a FedEx truck before. (laughter) Do you have to pay taxes on it do you think? (laughter)”
(I don’t know.) – “Damn. (laughter)”
(Nice honor, not nice honor? You don’t care?) – “I mean we’ve got to win games. You can have all the FedEx trucks in the world; but we’re about one thing and that’s winning football games. If you’re not doing that, you’re not doing enough.”
(What do you see from the Carolina defense?) – “Incredible. Incredible defense. I’ve played against those guys before. The core group of guys are still there. ‘59’ (Luke Kuechly) and ‘58’ (Thomas Davis), they control everything. They’re incredibly smart players. They get everyone else in position. They get out of checks if they don’t like them, get out of calls that they don’t like, and get into something that’s better. The front seven is still getting after the passer. They mix up coverages and do enough on the back end to keep you guessing a little bit and bring some edge pressures. It’s a really solid group.”
(With RB Kenyan Drake and RB Damien Williams in the backfield, how does that change your approach as far as throwing more passes to running backs?) – “I think it’s a strength of theirs. I think it’s something they do extremely well. They’ve got a really good feel for getting out of the backfield, finding soft spots. Obviously, the run after the catch is something that they’re really, really good at. I think (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a good job calling plays Sunday and trying to feature that a little bit for us.”
(Can you talk about patience as a quarterback? A lot of times a quarterback by their own nature will want to throw the ball downfield. In this instance, even Sunday night, there were a lot of break offs, a lot of short stuff. Does it take a little bit more patience-wise from a quarterback to have to be patient and take the little stuff?) – “I think one ball we kind of chucked it down to DeVante (Parker) on the left sideline. That was kind of the only ball that I felt like I forced into something that I probably shouldn’t have. I probably should’ve checked that one down, too. The defense, that’s kind of what they gave us. I think (Head Coach) Adam (Gase) did a really good job of tempering his play calls and then putting us in situations where we’re going to be successful.”
(What did you think of RB Damien Williams’ touchdown?) – “Nothing really surprising. I think the kid is an unbelievable football player.”
(So, that approach worked, obviously. Can you continue that approach or is it based on only what the defense will allow?) – “I think it’s a little bit of both. I think every team wants to get the ball out pretty quickly and get it to their playmakers. There are certain defenses that you want to take advantage of and try to take some shots a little bit deeper. Going into this week, we’ll see how they want to play us. Adam is going to do a good job of trying to call plays that give us the best opportunity to win football games.”
(Now entering November, how exciting is it to still have everything as far as playoff possibilities and all this stuff still available in front of you?) – “Everything is in front of us. We kind of control what our future is. I think this group does a good job of staying focused on one week at a time. This week is Carolina. We’ve got a Monday game and got a little bit (of an) extra day, so we should be prepared.”
(Have you found there to be a difference in November, December football versus early season?) – “Yes, I think so. The good teams, they figure it out. They start getting better. They start executing really well and they find ways to win games, no matter what it takes. I think that’s the difference (in) November, December. If you want to be in it at the end, this is when you have to figure out how to play your best football.”
(The last three games that you’ve been in, do you feel like something has been better in the passing game than it was early?) – “I think it’s a case of us just executing, us just getting better as a football team. Offensively, you look at all the penalties we had Sunday night. If you take those away, we’re going to feel pretty good about ourselves. I think we’ve gotten better and better and better. We’ve had a few hiccups here and there, but we’ve kind of been trending in the positive direction.”
(Have they told you when you’ll start to feel normal with the ribs, how many more weeks?) – “I feel pretty normal now.”
(It doesn’t affect you at all?) – “No.”
(Sleeping or laying down?) – “No, I slept well last night.”
