11:54PM EDT October 31. 2012 - Lake Forest, Ill. — Maybe "The Closer." Maybe "Ace."
Brandon Marshall is still trying to pinpoint a nickname for his quarterback, Jay Cutler.
"So if you guys could help me, I'd appreciate it," the wide receiver said Wednesday. "Jay's one of those guys where he has that clutch gene. You hear guys talking about it. Some believe in it, some don't, but Jay has it."
Ah, yes, the "clutch gene." The term is used far too loosely these days, vilifying LeBron James, christening Tim Tebow and always open to wild manipulation. Sorry, there are no results for "clutch gene" on WebMD. But, yes, Cutler has … something. For all the criticism, all the body language gone wrong, Cutler is bringing it in the fourth quarter.
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Through seven games, he has the best fourth-quarter passer rating in the NFL (132.0) — a notch above the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning (119.6) and the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers (110.6). The first three quarters, however, have been a hodgepodge of overthrows, sacks, more sacks, and overall often shoddy play by Cutler.
And then, with the game in doubt in the fourth quarter, Cutler has been delivering for the 6-1 Bears. In the fourth quarter this season, he's completing 74% of his passes for 517 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions.
It's part thick skin, part breaking down the defense, part good fortune.
"I'm getting lucky, I guess," Cutler said Wednesday. "I think we're just figuring it out in the fourth quarter. (Our) defense is putting us in positions where we're leading games and defenses are trying to get the ball back — a lot of single-high, which makes it a lot easier on the outside throwing the ball."
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A lot of single-high safety and a lot of soft zone, as well. That was the case in Sunday's great escape, Cutler's 13th fourth-quarter comeback. One week after bruising his ribs against the Detroit Lions, Cutler was whacked around for six first-half sacks. And on the final drive, he easily tore up the Carolina Panthers' Cover 4 defense.
Afterward, one Panthers cornerback said that the coverage is "something I just hate with a passion. It ate at me." Yet Cutler still needed to recognize and pulverize. Checking to the slant, in hypnotizing succession, his six completions set up Robbie Gould's game-winning field goal.
Offensive coordinator Mike Tice has seen Cutler at his worst this season — at Green Bay, where he threw four interceptions and shoved teammate J'Marcus Webb, and at Dallas, where he walked away from Tice on the sideline.
At the midway point, Tice says Cutler is "mentally in a good spot."
"He has embraced the things we've asked him to do at the line of scrimmage," Tice told USA TODAY Sports after Wednesday's practice. "He has embraced his teammates. He's trying to get better every day and every week like we all are. He likes winning. And he's not only physically tough — he's mentally tough. So he's very focused right now.
"You put all those things together and you have a quarterback who can lead your team to victory, no matter what the situation. And he's been showing that in the fourth quarter."
Of course, the Bears need to start playing better early in games. On Wednesday, Marshall stepped to the podium, placed his cellphone on the podium and said he wanted to have a "moment of silence" for last week's game. Through the first three quarters of games this season, the offense is struggling. In those quarters, Cutler has a paltry 63.4 passer rating. Chicago's offensive line is too often caught sleepwalking and Cutler is taking sacks himself.
At this rate, Cutler will be sacked a career-high 57 times. He hasn't helped himself with turnovers, either. Cutler fumbled twice and threw an interception into triple coverage against Carolina in the first half.
Cutler admits it is taking the offense time to make adjustments during the game, comparing it to the team's woeful production on first down.
"We're not going to make a living coming back in the fourth quarter," Cutler said, "and trying to convert third-and-longs."
A blunt D.J. Moore has no nickname for Cutler yet. He says, "You have to have more than one game I guess, and then you can get a nickname." But the Bears cornerback also makes a living victimizing quarterbacks with second-half interceptions. With 10 picks in 36 games, he has a good sense for panic.
In the fourth quarter, Cutler isn't making those mistakes.
"The difference between quarterbacks is confidence," Moore said. "He's got the confidence that he's going to get it done, no matter what was going on. I think. You can tell he has a short memory. When it's time to make it happen, he makes it happen."
The schedule gets tougher. Cutler is on a collision course with the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans after the Tennessee Titans this weekend — two prime-time games against suffocating defenses. Pressure will heighten. Cutler's fourth-quarter mastery will be tested against Super Bowl contenders.
So far, Cutler's football amnesia has steered the Bears through a kind schedule. Teammates say this redeeming quality will pay off come January.
For now, it's hard to argue.
"Some guys just turn it on when it counts. I think he's got that in him," wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said. "That's why he's an elite quarterback in this league."
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