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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler still considers former offensive coordinator Mike Martz "one of the brightest minds in the game," but admitted his system may have been behind the times, while adding the coach's inflexibility played a role in the unit's struggles.

Cutler said the players bought into Martz's system Wednesday on ESPN 1000's "Waddle & Silvy Show," but "there comes a point where you have to give a little bit, and you've got to take a look at the whole offense, what we're good at, and what we're bad at.

"You have to be able to change a little bit, and I think that's kind of where we messed up a little bit. There wasn't flexibility as I think we needed."

Martz's system has been criticized-- despite the success it achieved during the coach's tenure with the St. Louis Rams from 1999 to 2005 -- for not evolving with the NFL's defenses in recent years. In addition, Martz wasn't working with the same talent he deployed during the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" years.

"They had Orlando Pace (at left tackle). They had some dudes up front where you were able to take seven-step drops," Cutler said. "I don't think defenses were as evolved as they are now. Safeties were different. Not every team had a defensive end that was going to be able to sack you if you keep taking seven-step drops. It was a different time, different game. Defenses I think since have kind of caught up to that."

heir_jordan22 wrote:I don't have any problem with Cutler calling out the O-line all the time. They have a lot to prove. As the leader of the team you have to make sure that everyone around you raises their game. Then there's also the little detail that these guys are supposed to keep him from getting decapitated, and they haven't been successful with that AT ALL.

Cliff Levingston wrote:It's fluff season folks. Everything you're going to see is making this year's incarnation looking better than last years. Via the talent added, the "extra year of experience" and the changes in coaching/philosophy. When Martz first came on board, he was an upgrade as well.

The Bears went to great lengths during the offseason to upgrade the offense with the addition of Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, who both had previous relationships with Cutler dating back to their time together in Denver. Tice also made it priority to tailor the system to Cutler's strengths as opposed to the more rigid, scheme-driven offense run by previous coordinator Mike Martz.

"It's stuff that I do well," Cutler said. "It's stuff that I know. As a quarterback you want to be in the same offense over and over and over and over again so you can get a good feel for it and so you know all the nuances. This offense, I was in it three years in Denver, so this is my fourth year in it. I'm very comfortable with it.'

"A lot of carryover (from my time in Denver), a lot of stuff we did last couple years. It's kind of a mixture of some stuff Mike had done in his past, stuff Jeremy has, and he learned even more in Seattle, so it's a mixture of a lot of different things."

Tice stressed the importance of taking input from Cutler as the team continues to grow in the new offense.

"Well, right now he's throwing every ball well, so it's hard to figure out what he's comfortable at," Tice said. "It looks like he's comfortable with everything that we've installed.

Five Chicago Bears made the NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2012 list, but Jay Cutler wasn't one of them. Among the 13 quarterbacks who made the list ahead of Cutler: New York Jets backup Tim Tebow.

The complete list -- voted on by NFL players -- was revealed Wednesday. Quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints were voted 1-2, and New England's Tom Brady was voted the league's fourth-best player.

The other quarterbacks to make the top 100 (and their ranking): Ben Roethlisberger (30), Eli Manning (31), Cam Newton (40), Matthew Stafford (41), Peyton Manning (50), Philip Rivers (61), Michael Vick (70), Joe Flacco (74), Tony Romo (91) and Tebow (95).