The Jay Cutler controversy is dying down, and it’s been a few hours since we’ve had a story about an NFL player questioning a quarterback’s toughness, so we’d like to present some of the words that Lions linebacker Zack Follett spoke in an interview on ESPN Radio in Fresno.
Follett chimed in on the Cutler story, but first he had some choice comments about his own teammate, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
“Stafford, good guy,” Follett said, per the Detroit Free Press. “He’s a china doll right now. Anytime he gets hit, he goes down. But the kid is -- hopefully, it’s just patiently waiting for him, because the kid is an awesome talent. He has a tremendous arm. The throws that he makes during practice when no one can touch him, he looks like an All-American quarterback, but put him in a game, and you hit his shoulder. So hopefully, say a couple prayers, keep him healthy next year, and the Lions can do some damage in the NFC.”
While Follett’s comments about Stafford may stir up a controversy in Detroit, he was measured in his response when asked about Cutler, noting that Cutler was legitimately hurt but also pointing out that Cutler didn’t exactly exude leadership while standing on the sideline after suffering his MCL sprain against the Packers.
“I kind of understand both sides,” Follett said. “I think, looking at Jay Cutler, if he wasn’t the man who he is, he wouldn’t be criticized so heavily. If you look at it, it is an actual injury, Grade 2 sprain. But you want to see your quarterback in the NFC championship game show the guts, show the heart and go out there and say, ‘I’m going to do this for the team and try and get a win.’ But he kind of just knew that they were going to lose, hung his hat up and said, ‘All right, maybe next season.’ That’s his character, that’s him. I’m not going to attack him, but I would handle it different.”