According to Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander, Jay Cutler usually talks to the media on Wednesdays, but yesterday he was nowhere to be seen:
Cutler was somewhere at Halas Hall. And he did, apparently, come onto the field during the ensuing closed practice. ‘’He was able to do some things, of course,’’ said coach Lovie Smith, not saying what those things were.
With the new concussion awareness in the NFL on down to the Pee-Wee leagues, Cutler’s brain injury — however slight — can’t be taken lightly. Not by the Bears, the league, the ’’independent’’ neurologist who must OK Cutler’s return, nor by the quarterback himself.
And since Cutler didn’t say anything, we will have to wait until at least today to see how he feels, if his diabetes had anything to do with him incurring his final seven sacks in just 13 minutes of game time, if he thinks he is being overly protected and that way too big a deal is being made of this.
If Cutler can’t play, it will be Todd Collins starting, not Caleb Hanie, even though Hanie outplayed Collins on Sunday night:
Collins was ineffective after replacing Cutler at halftime Sunday night. He completed 4 of 11 passes for 42 yards with an interception and a passer rating of 8.1. But Collins, signed during the preseason when Caleb Hanie was sidelined with a shoulder injury, still is the No. 2.
’’That’s our judgment,‘’ Martz said. ’’Todd’s a guy who has played a great deal and won and played exceptionally well at this level. We know what he is. He demonstrated that in the preseason. It’s just a question of getting him a little bit more familiar.’’
Collins last started a game for the 2007 Redskins, for whom he was 3-0 as a starter…. but before that, he had not started in the NFL since he was the regular starting QB for the 1997 Bills.
We’ll update this StoryStream with more information when it’s available.