IT’S NO COINCIDENCE
With better protection in front of him, Cutler has displayed better mechanics
Jay Cutler’s hands are whacked in every practice. He drops back — whack. A few more times — whack, whack, whack.
On and on it goes until quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh puts down his padded bat and moves on to the next drill.
‘‘The most important thing is to take care of the football,’’ coach Marc Trestman said. ‘‘That’s No. 1. Where the ball is carried and how it’s carried is critically important.’’
So there’s a focus on the fundamentals and mechanics; hence, the whacking drills.
Since Cutler arrived in Chicago, that’s an area in which he has struggled. There have been too many back-foot throws to say otherwise.
But Trestman didn’t set out to ‘‘fix’’ Cutler’s mechanics; Cutler’s days with the Broncos showed a ‘‘fix’’ wasn’t necessary. The fixes were needed in front of him.
‘‘I never thought about fixing or using the word ‘fix,’ ’’ Trestman said. ‘‘This is a highly evolved quarterback that we walked into this locker room with, both football intelligence and skill set.
‘‘The first thing we wanted to do was clean up the pocket for him and give him a chance to be more comfortable in there, so he could have the mechanics that he needed to have and not be concerned with what’s going on around him.
‘‘The reason that he’s better [with his mechanics] is because [general manager] Phil [Emery] brought in better players. [Jermon] Bushrod, [Matt] Slauson and the two young guys [Kyle Long and Jordan Mills] are playing well, and the way they’re being coached is the primary reason that we’re seeing a more effective Jay Cutler.’’
But there are noticeable differences in Cutler, too. He is holding the ball higher now than in the past. Why?
‘‘It improves the quickness because he doesn’t have as far to get it up and out,’’ Trestman said.
A quick-strike, quick-decision offense is exactly what the Bears have been working to establish in Trestman’s version of the West Coast. It’s something the Bears think Cutler can do because of his previous success with the Broncos.
‘‘We had seen him do it,’’ Trestman said. ‘‘We had watched him do it over the years. It wasn’t that we had him change things; we just had to try to get him to do it on a consistent basis.’’
And that goes back to Cutler’s lack of protection. In his first four seasons with the Bears, Cutler was sacked 148 times. When he was a Pro Bowler with the Broncos in 2008, he was sacked only 11 times. So far this season, Cutler has been sacked three times — the second-fewest in the NFL — on 101 attempts.
No wonder Cutler talks about being more comfortable this season. As a result, his footwork has been to Trestman’s liking.
“I don’t think you can have good mechanics unless you are taking less hits and you’re feeling comfortable in the pocket and able to step up,’’ Cutler said. ‘‘You ask any quarterback: It’s hard to get hit early in a game — and hit often — and still be able to sit in there and have good mechanics.’’