Brett Favre forever has been called the “Gunslinger”. What exactly that means, I guess it’s open for interpretation. The Webster Handy College Dictionary says, “GUNSLINER” – A gunman. What the heck does that mean? How does that relate to Favre or any other quarterback for that matter?

As is every up and coming NBA phenom compared to Michael Jordan, every brash quarterback with an arm is compared to Favre. Jay Cutler is coming off of a pro-bowl season and a tumultuous off-season. He demanded out of Denver and landed on his glorified feet in Chicago. Bears fans hopes were lifted beyond the clouds. Finally, they have a real leader that’s going to put them into the promise land.

“Cutler is a younger, more brash version of the almighty Brett Favre and I think he’ll be better”, a Chicago radio talk show host proclaimed. When I heard that, I had to write it down. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the ignorance and found it amusing but I still couldn’t believe the stupidity or hopeful blindness, whatever you want to call it.

Drama queen, waffling, retiring, un-retiring, me me me, self absorbed soap opera aside, Brett Favre has been the ultimate competitor. Cutler is nothing like that. To borrow a phrase from the movie Bull Durham, “He’s got a million dollar arm and a fifty cent head”.

If you’ve watched Jay Cutler over the last few weeks you’re getting the real Jay Cutler. A whining, blameless quarterback who doesn’t do the little things to be the leader he’s supposed to be. Brett wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a rah rah guy but he did the little things to make himself better on the field. He worked with his coaches on the sidelines and looked at what went right or wrong on each possession. Favre strategized with his receivers, lived the example of toughness, lived with an inner “never say die” attitude. Cutler, shys away from his teammates on the field, doesn’t work with his coaches, deflects blame as if he’s coated with Teflon. When things go right, Cutler’s right there to smile for the cameras, when things go wrong he’s the first to point the subtle finger in any other direction but towards himself. 

Don’t compare Cutler to Favre in any way shape or form. Cutler will never be Favre and he’ll never be the leader on the field that he’s expected to be because if you look deep deep down inside Cutler you’ll find one thing missing, heart.