Jay Cutler, the Chicago Bears quarterback may have severely injured his knee in the first half of Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Packers, but he got no sympathy from current and former NFL players who were flooding the Twitter waves with disrespect.

It's a new age in social media. The criticism doesn't come after the game, it comes during it. And it was amazing to see it all unfold while sitting on my couch, following Twitter on my Blackberry and watching the game on television.

Used to be you would depend on TV announcers to give you the storylines. Thanks to Twitter, which offers immediate impact, it is all different now.

The critical tweets came from guys like Deion Sanders, Desmond Howard, Derrick Brooks and others.

Here are a few examples of tweets sent during the game:

From Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars): "Hey I think the Urban Meyer rule is in effect right now ... When the going gets tough ... QUIT." (Nice double-swipe of Cutler and Meyer in 140 characters or less.)

From Darnell Dockett (Arizona Cardinals): "If I'm on Chicago team Jay Cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dresseda and leave before he can come in the locker room! #FACT"

From Deion Sanders: “Im telling u in the playoffs u must drag me off the field. All the medicine in pro lockerooms this dude comes out! I apologize bear fans! . . . Folks i never question a players injury but i do question a players heart.''

Media tweeters -- national and Detroit-area writers including me -- were joining in the discussion.

In fact, in his post-game press conference Cutler was asked what he thought about so much criticism from his contemporaries on Twitter. He made reference to the fact they were jealous because he was still playing. Fans were tweeting too and even sent a Twit pic of Cutler jerseys being set on fire in the Soldier Field parking lot.

If Cutler's knee is a serious injury, some folks are going to be looking pretty silly. But it's understandable because of what they garnered from past experience in the NFL and also from looking at Cutler's body language. He didn't look exactly upset being on the bench.

In the Steelers-Jets game, it carried over. When it appeared Mark Sanchez was injured, someone tweeted it would be a good time for an injury. He was right back in the game.

But Sanchez did get burned by Twitter. Early in the game while on the sidelines, he picked his nose and wiped the booger on Mark Brunell's shirt. Don't believe me? There are Twitter videos.

If you've thought about getting on Twitter, what have you been waiting for? It's free and a blast. It makes the action just a little more fun, no matter the sport. You'll get info you never get from TV and you can express your opinions too. It will be my first Super Bowl with Twitter. Can't wait.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)