Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said there was a point Sunday when the offense was struggling against the Tennessee Titans that center Roberto Garza offered some unique advice.
"Last week, I think I was too nice to (the offensive linemen)," Cutler said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL." "About halfway through the game, I was like, 'Guys, I can't be nice to you if we're going to play like this. I'm going to have to go back to being mean to you.'
"And Garza was like, 'Just yell at us, we play better that way.' They're trying hard."
Whatever Cutler did, it worked as the Bears rolled to a 51-20 win.
"Jay is a great leader and we respect him offensive line wise," Garza said after practice Thursday. "And if we're not doing our job he's going to tell us. He got honest a little bit and we started to do a little better. After the game we had a good laugh about it."
"He knew what was going on. He got on us really quick."
Cutler doesn't just yell at his linemen. He also rewards them with various gifts.
"I got them everything from suits to watches, first-class airline tickets, I take care of them," he said. "The group I have right now, they're working hard, it's a good group. Each and every day they're trying to get better."
The offense didn't need to do much Sunday as the Bears scored on special teams and defense. Cutler did get rolling in the second half with two of his three touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall.
"We're struggling a little bit in the first half and first down, but whenever we get later in games and get a good feel for what they're doing, just finding a way to get the ball to B," Cutler said. "He's such a special player. He makes my life easy and any time I can go at him, I try."
Cutler said the Bears aren't doing anything special this week to game plan against Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who wreaks havoc with his ability to bat down passes. The Bears host the Texans on Sunday night.
"If he bats them down, he bats them down," Cutler said. "I think a lot of our passes are kind of on the sidelines, so we're not as worried about it. We don't have a lot of crossing patterns and basic crosses, and things of that nature. I'm sure he'll get a couple, but if we can limit to one or two, I think we'll be ok."