Is Jay Cutler the next Jeff George?

Brian Billick made an interesting comparison today, wondering if Jay Cutler is the next Jeff George. Naturally, bears fans should be terrified by the prospect, though many of them were dumbfounded when the Bears gave him a monster contract extension.

The comparison may be appropriate in that both men have great arms along with a gunslinger mentality when playing the position. But that often leads to disaster of course unless you’re Dan Marino or Jim Kelly, and even those guys didn’t win Super Bowls.

With Cutler, we’re seeing way too many mistakes, and you have to wonder what’s going on in Chicago.

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Sour grapes from Bill Belichick

Gregg Doyel makes some excellent points in his recent column, and his point about Bill Belichick’s comments about Wes Welker are echoed in part by Brian Billick in the video above.

Belichick tried to call out Welker as a dirty player, but the tape and the circumstances make his claim ridiculous. The bottom line here is that Belichick outsmarted himself by letting Welker go and trying to replace him with Danny Amendola. The experiment failed miserably, and he had to watch Welker help Peyton Manning to a record-setting season, capped off by an easy win over the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. Belichick comes across as very bitter here. Even pathetic.

More concerns about Cam Newton’s attitude

Auburn Tigers quarterback Cam Newton is interviewed at Media Day for the BCS Championship game at the media center in Phoenix, AZ January 7,2011. The BCS Championship between the Tigers and the Oregon Ducks will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10. UPI Photo/Art Foxall

Count former Ravens head coach Brian Billick as one who has concerns about Cam Newton’s diva-like attitude and even referred to him as “LeBron James-ish.”

From NFL.com:

“A player having confidence never concerned me,” Billick said. “It takes conviction and passion to play this game. However, coming from a Cam Newton, with all of the issues that have surrounded him at Florida and Auburn, and the questions coming into this league. I find the comments very disturbing and they put a big red flag up to this young man’s ability to perform in the NFL. I have major, major questions about Cam Newton.”

“There is no question that as a staff and a coach you have to have some sense of any athlete drafted high in the NFL will handle all that goes along with being a high pick,” Billick said. “The pressures to play and produce. The emotional transition from college to pro. Finding yourself in a major metropolitan area. And dealing with all of the outside pressures with being in the NFL. All of it. …

“When you look at some of the actions of Cam Newton at the end of the season — the workout for the media, the comment about being an icon and entertainer — it shows me a lack of understanding on his part what that transition to the NFL is going to be about. And these actions show me that he has surrounded himself with people with questionable judgment.”

The biggest concern surrounding prospects, especially those taken in the top 5, is how they’re going to act when they’re handed millions of dollars. Some understand the responsibility that they inherit when they’re drafted, while many, many others fall victim to their fortune.

Newton is a tremendous athlete and I know he dazzled the college football world with his play last year, but let’s be frank here. When a prospect says that he’s an “entertainer and an icon” before ever attempting his first pass in the NFL, that’s a concern. In fact, one NFL coach told SI.com that Newton’s comments “really turned me off.”

“That really turned me off when I heard that. That’s exactly the wrong message to send. You want your quarterback to be the exact opposite of a guy who’s interested in something like that. I can’t believe he’d actually say something like that, but that’s a guy I want no part of.”

You worry about whether or not Newton is someone who gets it. JaMarcus Russell never got it and he was out of the league in three years despite his immense athletic talent. Even the staunchest of Newton supporters have to admit that the concerns about his attitude are warranted.

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