Five young NFL quarterback with everything to prove in 2011.

Five young NFL quarterback with everything to prove in 2011.

Jay Cutler-Chicago Bears
Matthew Stafford-Detroit Lions
Matt Rayn-Atlanta Falcons
Josh Freeman-Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Joe Flacco-Baltimore Ravens

With the 2011 NFL season a week away I have five NFL quarterbacks who need to take their games and team's to the next level. All theses QB's but one has in some way shown they have what it take to get their team to the ultimate goal of winning a super bowl. Often injured Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford With all the ability in the World in get the job done, has yet to show he can physically stand up to a 16 game season. If Stafford can find a way to stay on the football field for a whole season, he just might be the guy that can take his team to that next level.

Tampa Bay's Josh Freeman has taken the NFL by storm with his ability to make plays, and his strong leadership skills has Buccaneer's fans believing there could be a super bowl in their future. Going into his third season as a starter Freeman must now prove he's ready to take that next step toward greatness. The Bear's Jay Cutler has the most to prove in this group of five. Regardless of what Bear's management, coaches and players, or Bear fans say, what happen in the NFC championship will be hard to overcome. That one game could be the defining moment in Cutler's career. The 2011 NFL season is a make or break season for Cutler, he's needs to prove that he is not only a physically tough quarterback but is also mentally tough enough to lead his team to the next level. In my opinion the the Bears won the NFC central despite Cutler not because of Cutler.

Matt Ryan of the Falcons is number two on this list of young QB's with the most to prove this coming season. Given the nickname matty- ice by the football media and leading his team to home field advantage in the NFC playoffs with a13&3 regular season record; Ryan looked very uncomfortable being in the spotlight in the biggest game's of his young career. The time is now for Ryan to take his game up to the level of his hype up nickname.

Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens has the best resume of all theses young QB's,three years as a starter, three playoff appearance, 4 playoff win. But he also has the biggest mountain to climb. He has to over-take not one, not two, but three hall of fame quarterbacks ( Tom Brady, Payton Manning, and Big Ben Roethlisberger ) playing at a very high level at the same time. And if you add Philip River of the Chargers and Mark Sanchez of the Jets to the list, you might see how Flacco could be the right guy playing at the wrong time for the Ravens. Flacco has proven he's a winner, however taking that step to the next level Flacco will need to go inside himself and find a way to climb that mountain.

With the NFL being a quarterback driven league, the time is now for one if not all of theses young QB's to take their turn at the wheel and lead their team to the next level.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Does Lovie Smith and Bears management have burr vision when it comes to Jay Cutler?

Does Lovie Smith and Bears management have burr vision when it comes to Jay Cutler?

With the NFL lockout going on 60 days now there might be one team in the NFL taking a big sigh of relief knowing the spotlight has taken off of them and their franchise quarterback. To say the Chicago Bears season ended with a lot of controversy would be highly understated. The NFC championship ended with ton of questions and as of today very few answers for how the Jay Cutler injury situation was handle by not only the Bears but also Jay Cutler his-self.

The burning question that only Lovie Smith and Bear's linebacker Brian Urlacher seem willing to answer over and over again was Cutler's lack of toughness. I applause their willingness to take the heat for their young quarterback, however I question their inability to see the NFC championship game with a clear vision. They gave not only Bear's fans ( who were there in person or watching on their TV's ) but thousands of other football fans tuning in the game the impression that what they saw was not exactly what was happening on the field or the Bear's sideline.

The question of Cutler toughness in my opinion was the wrong question to be ask. The guy was sacked over 50 time last season and got up to play another down. The real question here is what did they see in Jay Cutler that made them think trading two first round draft picks, a third rounder, and their starting QB Kyle Orton to the Denver Broncos for Cutler and a fifth round draft pick was needed to acquire a QB with no real history of winning in the NFL.

We are talking about a quarterback who hasn't won since his senior year in high school. And as we know winning breed's winning, so when you are 11&35 as a collage starting quarterback ( Vanderbilt ) and 3 games under 500 as a starting NFL quarterback at the time this trade was made; Bear's GM Jerry Angelo must have a keen since of foresight to look past those numbers and pay a price that should land you a top five quarterback. To think Angelo went into the trade blindly would be....well....wrong. At his press conference Angelo admitted the quarterback he traded for had a few red flags attacked to him, but call them bumps in the road. He refer to Cutler as a good guy and a good leader, I think he paid a lot to get good.

With hind sight being 20/20 it's easy for me to now say what were you thinking. But the question I'm asking is what did Jerry Angelo, Lovie Smith, and the Chicago Bears see in Jay Cutler that would make them think that anyone who saw the NFC championship game would not ask the same question. Jay Cutler came at a very high price, with that being said for Lovie Smith and Bear's management to in any way take such a hard defensive stand on the Cutler situation is just blind faith on their part. There are a lot of questions that came out of the NFC championship game and the one person who needs to man up and take his own heat seem unwilling to do so. One word answers and saying he only cared what his teammates think is asking a lot of Bears fans to forget what they witness on championship Sunday .

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

Who's going to be # 2 in the NFC north next season?

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Who's going to be # 2 in the NFC north next season?

I know there's going to be a lot of Bear's fans upset with me, but what the heck. With the Green Bay Packers clearly looking as if they are going to be favor to win another Super Bowl, the real question in the NFC north is who will be the second best team in the division? After having just won the NFC north last season one might think the Bears will be the team to challenge Green Bay for the division crown. But after last season's NFC championship game leadership meltdown and Jay Cutler not only having to prove to Bear fans but also to his own teammates that what we saw in his last game was just one of Jerry Angelo's so called bumps in the road and he is the right guy to lead them to a Super Bowl. Let's not forget Chicago won a lot of ugly games last season without a consistent offense. It could be a long year for the Bears if they can find a way to keep Jay Cutler on his feet and get better production out of their receiving core.

- The Detroit Lions took huge strides last season without their franchise quarterback. A 6&10 record doesn't sound like much, however they are only a few seasons removed from not having won a single game. The holes Lions needed to fill on their roster at the end of last season were not in my opinion address in this year's draft. So without as of now the ability to try and sure up their holes thought free agency or knowing how Matthew Stafford will be able to hold up after two injury shorten season, Detroit could be looking at another 6&10 season.

The Minnesota Vikings where do I start, no quarterback, no offensive line, bad secondary, aging D-line, and an average draft class at best. This has the look of a very ugly 2011 season for the Vikings, it's hard to believe this is the same team who only two season's ago were one bad pass away from maybe going to the Super Bowl. The Vikings are a prime example of why winning now at all cost can and will in most cases come back to bite you in the butt. The Brett Favre experience may have set the Vikings back 4 or 5 years. While they were trying to chase a Super Bowl with an aging Favre, their three counterparts in the NFC north let nature take it's course with young QB's.

The NFC north has the look of a division in transition from bottom to the top. The Detroit Lions have a ton of momentum going into next season and if, and that a big if Matthew Stafford can give them a full season than they in my opinion are the second best team in the NFC north. The Chicago Bears have some very important questions that need to be answer and the main one can only be answer by Jay Cutler. No matter how much of a united front they put on for their fans, there has to be a lingering affect going into next season. The Vikings may still make a move on one of the free agent quarterbacks out there after the lockout ends, but there is no Hall Of Famers out there this time around. I firmly believe the time has come for the Viking to stand pact and take their lumps for a season or two with the veteran QB's they have, and let their
Young first round draft pick ( Christian Ponder ) grow into the quarterback they hope he can be. Last suck's, but if there's a plan in place, even the most die hard of fans will get behind it.

Brought to by: AJ Jones from Cambridge
"Let's Talk Football" Visit- www.ajstakeontheNFL.blogspot.com

How will Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears recover from their

How will Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears recover from their
mental breakdown?

For anyone who tuned in and watched the NFC championship game between the Green Bay Packers & Chicago Bears, it had to have you wondering, who would take the bigger hit, Jay Cutler who seemed as if he was never into the game at all, or the Chicago Bears ( Coach Lovie Smith, the team Doctor, or the team's Trainer who made it look as if they had no clue how to handle an injury to their franchise Quarterback.

Right from the start you could see Jay was not mentally on his game,( missed on a few open passes, had bad body language, seem to be calling out receivers for running the wrong routes ) Did not look as if he was very comfortable on the big stage. Now being nervous and shaky is understandable, knowing this is his first time in a game of this magnitude. But looking disinterested and almost totally unemotionally invested in the game is something to be concern about.

Anyone who watched the Bears play last season, can't question Jay Cutler's physical toughness as a quarterback ( over 50 sacks ) but the mental toughness can and should be called into play here. It's not the fact that Jay got hurt in the second quarter of the championship game, and had to be pulled. It was how easy he let him self be taken off the field in this!! Game.You are playing for a chance to go to the Super Bowl, yes I think you need to show your fans, you will have to be carry off the field, and that you are physically unable to finish the game!

You could see Jay had a limp, and was having a hard time throwing the football, but there was never any indication given it was that bad. The only information fans were given was Jay hurt his knee and was provable for the second half. So when he plays one set of down and is taken out of the game, what is a fan suppose to think? That's where Bear's management comes in, they did nothing to tell or show fans how hurt their quarterback really was ( no ice, no brace, no crouches, and no trainers around him to show us he may be hurt bad ).

The tweet's came fast&furious, lot's of Players taking their shots at Jay, the guys calling the game not knowing what to think or say. Fans burning his jersey, what were people suppose to think without the proper lines of communication in place. Now with that being said, Jay has to responsibility for his lack of mental toughness and team leadership skills. He needs to take ownership of his team, you saw none of that in the game. You could not tell one way or another that he cared he was not in a game that could put his team in the Super Bowl.

I'm not a Doctor and will never claim to be one, but you don't need a PHD to see that Jay Cutler mentally gave up on his team. His coaches and teammate all stood up for him, and all said the right things, but there is no way he can easily recover mentally from what took place in that game. While I don't think Jay Cutler deserve the criterium of not being a physically tough quarterback, I do think his mental make up is weak. The Bears management on the other hand had a total mental breakdown in that game, and to a man should be held accountable for hanging Jay Cutler out to dry.

Ajjones

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