NFL PLAYER NEWS

Cutler: No issues with Marshall

The Sports Xchange

October 23, 2014 at 6:28 pm.

Jay Cutler insists there is nothing in wrong his he and Brandon Marshall. (Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports)

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler apparently was not offended by wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s postgame rant Sunday after a 27-14 home loss to the Miami Dolphins.

“He didn’t come near me,” Cutler said. “He didn’t say my name. I don’t think he attacked anybody personally with what he was saying.

“He’s an emotional guy. Whenever he gets frustrated, he’s going to get emotional most of the time. He’s going to speak from the heart and make sure everyone around him hears him. It wasn’t anything that caught us off guard, or was off-putting. … It was frustration coming out and him letting us know it was important to him.”

Cutler said he has since talked with Marshall, the Bears’ Pro Bowl wide receiver, about what happened. Some of Marshall’s remarks in the locker room supposedly were aimed at Cutler.

“I talked to him on Monday,” Cutler said. “He was good Monday. Brandon wants to win. He wants to see this team do as well as possible. I understand his frustration. We all go about it different ways when we’re frustrated, and that’s how Brandon handled it that moment. We moved past it.

“I think some people are indifferent. I think some people are responding well to it. Like I said, I don’t think anybody is taking it negatively. It was a frustrating loss for all of us. I think once guys left the locker room, that’s where it died. We moved on Monday and Tuesday, and practiced on Wednesday. It’s just one of those things.”

Bears management continues to defend Cutler and call him an elite quarterback despite his 10 turnovers in seven games this season and 82 interceptions and 20 lost fumbles since 2009.

“Everything that I do is critiqued,” Cutler said. “Every step that I take, every read that I make … ball location. I think that’s the farthest (thing) from the truth when we are in the meeting room.”

Coach Marc Trestman is fine with players expressing their feelings as long it’s respectful and appropriate.

“To me, this is commonplace and over a weekend of games, believe me, our locker room is not the only one where players express themselves when things haven’t gone well,” he said.

Former Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said on 87.7 FM in Chicago that Cutler has not performed like an elite quarterback.

The Bears (3-4) face the New England Patriots on Sunday.