Jay Cutler normally isn’t publicly introspective. Josh McCown, though, can bring that out in people.
Cutler stood before dozens of guests at Halas Hall on May 6 to accept the Bears’ Brian Piccolo Award on his friend’s behalf. McCown had left the Bears eight weeks earlier, having signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Buccaneers. He was with his new team, but his impact on the Bears endured.
“My only regret is that I wish I would have met him earlier in life,” Cutler said that day. “It’s very rare to find a teammate who not only makes you a better player but also a better person.”
With McCown and the Bucs set to visit Soldier Field on Sunday, Cutler’s tribute is as poignant now as it was then because neither quarterback has yet to hit his stride in a new situation.
Who knows what would have happened if their partnership had continued with the Bears, but it’s a tantalizing question to consider as the Bears face missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season.
Under coach Marc Trestman and quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh in 2013, Cutler and McCown helped the offense set a single-season franchise record for total yards.
Cutler played well enough to convince general manager Phil Emery to sign him to a seven-year, $126 million contract that includes $54 million guaranteed. McCown was an integral part of that on and off the field.
His enthusiasm, professionalism and team-first attitude helped guide Cutler. When something went wrong during a game, McCown could keep Cutler steady — a task at which many assistant coaches and players have failed since Cutler joined the Bears in 2009.
“I think the place I was in my life and where he is, I think it worked,” McCown, 35, said Wednesday on a teleconference with Chicago media. “I was excited about helping him kind of take that next step, help him continue to play good football. I was ready to do that. He was ready for that to happen in his career and excited about that. I just think it was a perfect mix of guys who had opportunity to do things that they were passionate about.”
McCown didn’t just play a supporting, role, though. He went 3-2 as the Bears’ starter. He mitigated any drop off the offense might have suffered when Cutler strained his groin in Week 7 and sprained his ankle in Week 10.
His detailed preparation as a backup showed as a starter. He threw for 13 touchdowns compared to one interception.
“When the switch came up, Jay really took on the role of what Josh had done, just little things in the meeting rooms, working together, helping each other with the game plans,” Trestman said.
No wonder the Bucs guaranteed him $4.75 million.
“I felt like as a new team, young team, we needed his leadership,” said Bucs coach Lovie Smith, who coached McCown with the Bears in 2012. “And not just leadership — his play. I believed in him as a starting quarterback in the league.”
McCown’s new beginning hasn’t been smooth, though. Neither has Cutler’s progress with McCown gone.
Cutler leads the NFL with 17 turnovers, and the Bears’ offense has wobbled under the weight of high expectations.
How has McCown’s absence affected that? It’s a difficult question for the Bears to entertain, and it’s a moot point, anyway. But Trestman steered his answer toward what he perceives to be a budding bond between Cutler and backup Jimmy Clausen.
“Their exchange, the communication — I see a lot of that going on with the growth of their relationship, as well,” Trestman said. “I think that’s impactful here for us.”
Meanwhile, McCown and the Bucs are 2-8. He missed five games after spraining his right thumb on Sep. 18. He also had to adjust to losing offensive coordinator and play-caller Jeff Tedford, who’s on an indefinite leave of absence after undergoing a heart procedure in August.
“I … felt like I had to make everything perfect in light of the circumstances with the coordinator and all of that,” McCown said. “I just pressed a little bit, tried to make everybody right and didn’t just operate within it. It led to the mistakes that I shouldn’t make and didn’t make last year, and so it was frustrating for me.”
McCown said he and new play-caller Marcus Arroyo have nurtured trust in the play-calling process, and he feels more at ease now. He threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns with a passer rating of 137.5 in a victory Sunday over the Redskins.
Just in time to face his old friend.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “When you’re growing up and you get to go compete in the neighborhood against guys you know, or growing up playing against your brothers, it just makes it more fun because you know how they’re going to prepare. You know they’re going to give you their best.”
Twitter @Rich_Campbell
