Statements like this highlight the weird disconnect from reality on this board.
During the Martz years Cutler got beat up, yes. But it hasnt been that bad for a long time, and aside from that, cutler is notoriously bad at pocket awareness.Many sacks are a result of holding the ball too long.
So people around here that are still on the cutty excuse train use Martz's poor proctection years as a career long struggle and assume that every other QB around the league has perfect protection.
Case in point- Everyone goes on about how Romo had such a fantastic line last year and that is why he did so well- and they did have a good run blocking line- but pass protection blew ass... he suffered a higher sack percentage than Cutler.
As of this season, there are 6 100+ rating guys that suffer higher sack percentages than cutler, Roethlisberger, Rivers, McCown, Taylor, Brady, and Rodgers... And when you take in to account the fact that all of the above guys are far more savvy in the pocket than Cutler (except possibly taylor, I havent watched much of him) , You realize that not only is their protection worse, it is light years worse than Cutler's protection.
In reality, Cutler takes about an average degree of punishment. I would go so far as to say that if Cutler were to play behind the lines that Romo, Rivers, and Roethlisberger had to play behind, Cutty would be out of the league or in intensive care.
Cutler has had average to good protection for several years, so the protection narrative really needs to stop. And when you consider that he has missed time in 2 of the last 3 seasons for non-contact,lack of conditioning injuries to his lower body, it is really hard to buy the whole "tough guy" narrative.