Bears' Jay Cutler: 'I care about this. This isn't just a hobby'

Jay Cutler talked to Aaron Rodgers following the Bears' 23-10 loss to the Packers on Thursday night. (AP Images)

Just when Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler takes two steps forward, he takes one backward.

Cutler took a giant backward step Thursday night in Lambeau Field in the 23-10 beating the Green Bay Packers put on the Bears.

It wasn't just his 11-of-27, 126-yard effort with a passer rating of 28.2, or even the seven sacks -- many of which were his own fault for holding the ball too or staggering around into the hands of a pass rusher -- or even his four interceptions.

Well, the four interceptions were pretty bad.

Instead, it was his attitude about the whole thing. Cutler played down to his reputation by yelling at his linemen during the game, then selling out the whole team afterward in a postgame press conference.

"I care about this,'' Cutler said. "This isn't just a hobby. I'm not doing this for my health. I'm trying to win football games. When we're not doing the little things or things the right way consistently, I'm going to say something. If they want a quarterback that doesn't care, they can get someone else."

That's all well and good, but no one ever said he doesn't care. Whatever happened to the quarterback/leader who steps in front of the camera, takes the blame and then lets his teammates have it behind closed doors?

Falling on grenades is a quarterback's job.

Cutler already had let his mouth go where it shouldn't earlier in the week when he said "Good luck," to the Packers if they thought they were going to cover his new bigger targets, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, with their usual man-press tactics.

Marshall and Jeffery torched Indianapolis' secondary in Week 1.

"I don't know if we took it personal, but we thought it was kind of funny that all of a sudden they're the team to beat because they've got a couple new guys," cornerback Charles Woodson said about Cutler's pregame comment.

The Packers outwitted the Bears, who also lost the brains battle in other ways in this one, including allowing a fake field goal for a TD and stowing away their running game against a team that allowed 186 rushing yards against the 49ers in Week 1.

Green Bay's defense handled Jeffery and Marshall by ditching their man-press and putting their safeties back in a Bears-style zone coverage.

The result? Cutler completed three passes total to Marshall and Jeffery, a seven-yarder to the latter and two for 24 yards to his BFF from Denver. Cutler also completed three passes to the Packer cornerbacks, one to Woodson and two to Tramon Williams. He threw one to safety Jerron McWilliams for good measure.

So Cutler was almost right: His two big receivers caught nearly as many passes as the Packer secondary.

"Jay is a guy who will give you a chance," Woodson said. "You just have to be in position."

Defiant as ever, Cutler bristled when asked if the Packer corners said anything to him about saying they couldn't cover his two big wideouts.

Cutler shot back: "They didn't play man (coverage), so why would they say anything?"

As pathetic as this was, it was a much better comeback than any other the Bears mounted on this night.

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.