Commentary: Cutler a diva? Doesn't matter if he wins

“Say what you want about Rex and Orton, but they wouldn’t have done that.”

That sentence — or some variance of it — has been heard several times during training camp in regard to something negative new quarterback Jay Cutler has — or has not — done.

Cutler has avoided talking to the main Bears’ media during camp except on Wednesdays and Saturdays, hopping on a cart immediately after practice without answering questions.

“Say what you want about Rex Grossman …”

Cutler has routinely avoided signing autographs after practice, despite being the most sought-after player on the team.

“Say what you want about Kyle Orton …”

After Saturday’s less-than-inspiring debut performance in a Bears’ uniform at Buffalo, Cutler suggested that Devin Hester didn’t do enough to prevent one of his poorly thrown and ill-advised passes from being intercepted, while taking virtually none of the blame himself.

“Say what you want about Rex and Orton …”

Hester said Cutler didn’t mean anything derogatory by the phrase, but the quarterback was unavailable after practice to clarify himself because, you know, it wasn’t Wednesday.

When news of the trade that brought Cutler to their favorite team, Bears fans were too busy high-fiving each other and dancing in the streets to hear the grumbling coming from Denver about Cutler’s prima donna tendencies.

Sour grapes, Bears fans retorted.

Well, apparently fans in Denver weren’t just bitter about losing the Pro Bowl QB. They were on to something.

Make no mistake; there’s no doubt that Cutler is an upgrade at the quarterback position, and that, in turn, gives the Chicago Bears a much better chance to succeed this season than they would have had with Grossman or Orton under center.

And when it comes down to it, Cutler owes the media nothing. The Wednesday-Saturday treatment of the media mirrors a Bears regular-season policy in which quarterbacks are available on Wednesdays and game days. If reporters don’t like Cutler’s training camp silence, tough for them.

Cutler also owes autograph hounds nothing. Elite players in particular can be victims of sleazy memorabilia salespeople who hire young kids and even people of special needs to get various items signed, before selling those items for large profits. Those players often don’t partake in many mass autograph sessions in an effort to avoid being taken advantage of.

As for his criticism of Hester, if Cutler wants to be a leader on his new team, taking teammates to task for poor effort is a dirty, but necessary, part of the job.

The only thing Cutler needs to worry about is not who he offends or how he comes across, but winning games. If he wins, nobody will care if he’s a diva.

But what if he doesn’t win?

In that case, he becomes a smug, distant jerk who doesn’t seem to appreciate fans and apparently forgot from where he came.

Say what you want about previous Bears’ quarterbacks, but you could never say that.

Rob Laird can be reached by phone at 815-937-3390 or by e-mail at rlaird@daily-journal.com.