Three-time Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi said Friday that Jay Cutler owes J'Marcus Webb and the Chicago Bears' offensive line a public apology after Cutler publicly screamed at and bumped into Webb during a loss Thursday in Green Bay.
"I don't even think it's a big thing that he bumped him or he pushed him," Bruschi said on "The Scott Van Pelt Show" on ESPN Radio. "The big thing was about when he chose to get on J'Marcus Webb, and the difference between when Aaron Rodgers chose to get on (James) Jones, the wide receiver.
"Now J'Marcus Webb, all he did was get beat physically. He was in the right place, he did his best to block Clay Matthews, and he got beat. Clay Matthews got the sack on Jay Cutler. Clay Matthews has beaten many offensive tackles who are a lot better than J'Marcus Webb. So when you get on somebody and embarrass somebody on national TV for getting beat physically, it's almost like you're kicking a man when he's down. Ok, yes, you lost. He's just not better than Clay Matthews. Clay Matthews was better than him on that play. There's nothing you can do. There's no scheme or anything. It was one man against another, and you lose. You kick him when he's down, it's not the right thing to do.
"James Jones made a mental error. ... That's when you can get on players. That's when you can get in their grill because they made a poor decision. That justifies any type of criticism you can give them on national TV or not."
Bruschi said Cutler needs to make amends.
"To tell you the truth, this has to be made right, somehow someway," Bruschi said. "Jay Cutler -- I think publicly -- has to acknowledge the error of his ways and apologize to the entire offensive line. Because you just didn't pick on one member of the offensive line ... offensive linemen will tell you, they are five guys playing at one time, but they are all linked. That's the most solid positional group on the football field. They eat together, meet together and spend so much time together, and when you pick on one of their own, they take it personally."
Cutler threw four interceptions and was sacked seven times in the loss. ESPN Stats & Info revealed he was under duress 43 percent of the time when dropped back to pass. And that's been a pattern for Cutler, who's been one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league since joining the Bears in 2009.
"(Cutler's frustration was) understandable, but you just don't take it out on your teammates, because what I see and what I saw was the offensive line still doing everything they could," Bruschi said. "They're not that good. Let's just say that, they're not that good, but they're doing everything they can.
"If the players in front of Cutler aren't that good, whose fault is that? Now we go to management, now we go to the scouting department, now we go to the head coach. That's the lineup they choose to put out there and you have to go with what they give you as a leader and you have to make that group as good as they possibly can be. And the way you do that is sometimes when someone doesn't have the greatest of skill, get them on your side, give them motivation to play for you because you know you'll put it all on the line with them too."