Only a day after Chicago Bears general manager Phil Emery referred to quarterback Jay Cutler as elite, according to Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune, former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher chimed in to say that he agrees with Emery - but only in a financial sense.
In an interview on 87.7 FM The Game via Patrick Finley of The Chicago Sun-Times, Urlacher said that the only thing elite about Cutler is his contract and that production-wise, he pales in comparison to players like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and the Manning's.
"Financially, he is one of the elite guys in the NFL ... he just hasn't produced like an elite quarterback," the former linebacker said. "You look at the Bradys, the Mannings, the Rodgers, the Brees, those guys win every year, even with no one around them.
"Rodgers has no offensive line. He wins. Brady has no receivers. He wins.
"And you look at Jay. He's got Brandon (Marshall), Alshon (Jeffery), Matt (Forte), this great offensive line, Martellus Bennett,and they can't seem to put it together, for some reason. I'm not sure if that's his fault, but for some reason they just can't figure it out."
The comments from Emery and Urlacher come on the heels of the Bears dropping to 3-4 after Sunday's painful loss to the Miami Dolphins - a loss that saw Cutler commit two turnovers and led to wide receiver Brandon Marshall calling out his teammates after the game, according to ESPN via HNGN's Jordan Webb.
"When I was there, we had different leaders, so that would never happen," Urlacher said of Marshall's comments. "That situation would have never happened. Lovie would have never let it happen, first of all."
The former linebacker went on to say that the rant could have - and probably should have - happened, but that it would have been better to do so behind closed doors - and it would have been better if it had come from a player who was performing at a high level.
"If you're playing great and doing your job and everything, you'd probably say stuff like that," he said. "But you better make damn sure you're doing your job to the best of your ability if you're gonna start talking to people like that."
