Cutler Shows What The Hype Is About

[Clockwork Orange]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5221373,00.html

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The kid is all right.

In fact, after his poised performance Sunday in just his third NFL game, rookie Jay Cutler might be turn out to be even more than that.

Cutler earned his first win in his third pro start Sunday as Broncos quarterback, emerging with a sparkling 101.7 quarterback rating and two touchdowns, including a flick- of-the-wrist, didn't-plant-his-feet touchdown to wide receiver Javon Walker on the first series that traveled about 64 yards in the air.

Just a week earlier, Cutler was pressured often but led Denver (8- 6) to its highest-scoring quarter of the season in an overall average performance.

This time, he carried it through after his 54-yard strike to Walker for the Broncos' highest-scoring game of the season, a 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

"I'm going to say this man: There's no more questions to ask about Jay Cutler. He's the real deal," said wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who caught five passes for 58 yards. "He's the real deal. He's the best quarterback coming out of the draft this year, and he's going to make history around here."

That viewpoint will have to be proved over time. But in a snapshot image of one NFL weekend, he outshined fellow first-round pick Matt Leinart behind center in their first head-to-head meeting.

The quarterback matchup prompted weeklong hype, but the Broncos dominated first-half time of possession and Leinart ended up without a touchdown and was intercepted twice by Denver cornerback Champ Bailey in a 20-for-35, 214-yard effort.

"I wasn't worried about the Matt vs. Jay contest," Leinart said. "It wasn't about that."

Cutler certainly showed little signs of concern, after his first start against the Seattle Seahawks to begin the month featured spotty play, only to get better, but not great, against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 10.

His performance was solid against the Cardinals but would have been better had Denver converted three first-half possessions in the red zone.

But Cutler, getting better protection than he has previously, moved around the pocket, scrambled, took hits and delivered both from stationary and moving angles as coach Mike Shanahan opened up the playbook.

"He's got a lot of confidence in me," Cutler said. "And I've had to earn that, because of the first two starts. Coming into this one, I told him I was a lot more comfortable playing football and being out there. And kind of as the game goes on, he kind of sees how I'm doing and if I'm doing well, he'll let me do more. If I'm not, then he's going to scale it down.

"It's give and take. The more I do, the more we'll be able to do offensively."

The Broncos held a 14-3 edge in first downs, a 12-minute edge in time of possessions and 240-60 yardage edge in the first half. But because of a Tatum Bell fumble that was run back 4 yards for a touchdown by Arizona defensive end Antonio Smith, and three bogged-down, red-zone trips, the Broncos held only a 16-10 halftime edge courtesy of Walker's long touchdown and Jason Elam field goals of 30, 22 and 30 yards.

But after Cutler's lone interception on a deep pass attempted for Marshall over the middle, on which the angle of the route wasn't properly executed and the communication between thrower and receiver was knocked off-kilter, Cutler led touchdown drives of 60, 29 and 62 yards to turn the game into a runaway.

It demonstrated his bounce-back ability, which his coaches have raved about.

"Like every quarterback, he's going to go through some ups and downs. But you saw what he could do," Shanahan said. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out this guy is very composed, can make all the throws and plays with a lot of confidence."

On the series after his lone pick, he fired a 29-yard completion to Tony Scheffler, a 15-yard strike to Marshall and executed his second touchdown pass of the game, which came on a perfectly sold out-and-up move by Rod Smith from 10 yards out.

"Jay did a great job of protecting the ball," Smith said. "He made one bad throw the whole day. He's growing up real quickly in this system, and he's a real talent. And I think the guys around him supported him really well."

Cutler's best play after his hookup with Smith came on a 7-yard scramble to the Cardinals 1-yard line, setting up Mike Bell to do the rest.

"In college, I was an option QB for my first two years, so I've still got a few runs in me," Cutler said.

The Broncos now hope a playoff run tops the list.

[Popps]

Love it.

Love it even more that he did it against Leinart, because the media is running wild with that one.

[Pendejo]

I said it in the game thread, and I'll say it here.

Shanahan is going to reflect on what he saw from Cutler, and giggle himself to sleep.

Cutler has the smarts, and the athletic ability to help make the rat..."The Mastermind" again.

[Jetmeck]

Hell yeah, we saw just a peek today. He will steadily improve.

[Play2win]

Snake EYEZ kicks ass...

[freak6]

3rd game and the kid looks phenominal, as predicted. To bad we didn't start him in week 2.

Here is one of him jumping on that QB draw, then one from the preseason, and then running almost the same play with an opposite route, corner post today, post corner then.

[Kaylore]

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5221373,00.html

Cutler shows what hype is about
Rookie shows off arm, composure in outplaying Leinart
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
December 17, 2006
http://mas.scripps.com/DRMN/2006/12/18/434338251-_o.jpg
Rookies Jay Cutler and Matt Leinart, background, who were taken with consecutive choices in the first round of the draft, prepare for their first regular-season head-to-head matchup Sunday. Cutler, who was taken after Leinart on draft day, dominated the encounter by throwing two touchdown passes and producing a quarterback rating of 101.7. Said one onlooker "Jay even has a better ass"

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The kid is all right.

In fact, after his poised performance Sunday in just his third NFL game, rookie Jay Cutler might be turn out to be even more than that.

Cutler earned his first win in his third pro start Sunday as Broncos quarterback, emerging with a sparkling 101.7 quarterback rating and two touchdowns, including a flick- of-the-wrist, didn't-plant-his-feet touchdown to wide receiver Javon Walker on the first series that traveled about 64 yards in the air.

Just a week earlier, Cutler was pressured often but led Denver (8- 6) to its highest-scoring quarter of the season in an overall average performance.

This time, he carried it through after his 54-yard strike to Walker for the Broncos' highest-scoring game of the season, a 37-20 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

"I'm going to say this man: There's no more questions to ask about Jay Cutler. He's the real deal," said wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who caught five passes for 58 yards. "He's the real deal. He's the best quarterback coming out of the draft this year, and he's going to make history around here."

That viewpoint will have to be proved over time. But in a snapshot image of one NFL weekend, he outshined fellow first-round pick Matt Leinart behind center in their first head-to-head meeting.

The quarterback matchup prompted weeklong hype, but the Broncos dominated first-half time of possession and Leinart ended up without a touchdown and was intercepted twice by Denver cornerback Champ Bailey in a 20-for-35, 214-yard effort.

"I wasn't worried about the Matt vs. Jay contest," Leinart said. "It wasn't about that."

Cutler certainly showed little signs of concern, after his first start against the Seattle Seahawks to begin the month featured spotty play, only to get better, but not great, against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 10.

His performance was solid against the Cardinals but would have been better had Denver converted three first-half possessions in the red zone.

But Cutler, getting better protection than he has previously, moved around the pocket, scrambled, took hits and delivered both from stationary and moving angles as coach Mike Shanahan opened up the playbook.

"He's got a lot of confidence in me," Cutler said. "And I've had to earn that, because of the first two starts. Coming into this one, I told him I was a lot more comfortable playing football and being out there. And kind of as the game goes on, he kind of sees how I'm doing and if I'm doing well, he'll let me do more. If I'm not, then he's going to scale it down.

"It's give and take. The more I do, the more we'll be able to do offensively."

The Broncos held a 14-3 edge in first downs, a 12-minute edge in time of possessions and 240-60 yardage edge in the first half. But because of a Tatum Bell fumble that was run back 4 yards for a touchdown by Arizona defensive end Antonio Smith, and three bogged-down, red-zone trips, the Broncos held only a 16-10 halftime edge courtesy of Walker's long touchdown and Jason Elam field goals of 30, 22 and 30 yards.

But after Cutler's lone interception on a deep pass attempted for Marshall over the middle, on which the angle of the route wasn't properly executed and the communication between thrower and receiver was knocked off-kilter, Cutler led touchdown drives of 60, 29 and 62 yards to turn the game into a runaway.

It demonstrated his bounce-back ability, which his coaches have raved about.

"Like every quarterback, he's going to go through some ups and downs. But you saw what he could do," Shanahan said. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out this guy is very composed, can make all the throws and plays with a lot of confidence."

On the series after his lone pick, he fired a 29-yard completion to Tony Scheffler, a 15-yard strike to Marshall and executed his second touchdown pass of the game, which came on a perfectly sold out-and-up move by Rod Smith from 10 yards out.

"Jay did a great job of protecting the ball," Smith said. "He made one bad throw the whole day. He's growing up real quickly in this system, and he's a real talent. And I think the guys around him supported him really well."

Cutler's best play after his hookup with Smith came on a 7-yard scramble to the Cardinals 1-yard line, setting up Mike Bell to do the rest.

"In college, I was an option QB for my first two years, so I've still got a few runs in me," Cutler said.

The Broncos now hope a playoff run tops the list.

Cutler's numbers

A look at quarterback Jay Cutler's statistics in his first three regular-season games and the numbers produced by Arizona's Matt Leinart against Denver:

Category Seattle San Diego Arizona Leinart

Completions 10 17 21 20

Attempts 21 30 31 35

Passing percentage 47.6 56.7 67.7 57.1

Passing yards 143 188 261 214

Yards per attempt 6.81 6.27 8.41 6.11

Touchdowns 2 2 2 0

Interceptions 2 0 1 2

Sacks-yards lost 3-22 4-22 1-5 3-19

Long gain 71 28 54 24

Quarterback rating 62.3 97.6 101.9 51.4

Carries 4 1 3 3

Rushing yards 10 0 10 23

Rushing average 2.5 0.0 3.3 7.7

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1 1-0 2-0

NFL playoff scenarios

AFC NORTH DIVISION

• Baltimore has clinched playoff berth.

• Baltimore can clinch division title with a Cincinnati loss or tie.

AFC SOUTH DIVISION

• Indianapolis has clinched division title.

AFC WEST DIVISION

• San Diego has clinched division title.

• San Diego can clinch first-round bye with a win plus an Indianapolis loss.

NFC EAST DIVISION

• Dallas has clinched playoff berth.

NFC NORTH DIVISION

• Chicago has clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

NFC SOUTH DIVISION

• New Orleans has clinched division.

ELIMINATED FROM PLAYOFFS

Arizona, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Oakland, Tampa Bay and Washington

[Kaylore]

Oops. Freak already posted it. I'd ask for a deletion, but I like mine better. ;D

[Northman]

I like those 60 yd drives. Beautiful. :)

[dragondawg]

cutler said he can throw for 70-75 yards, maybe 80 with the wind

[Dr. Broncenstein]

cutler said he can throw for 70-75 yards, maybe 80 with the wind

That first long ball was right at 70 yards on the fly....

[Kaylore]

The best part is he is showing when to bring the heat and when not to. Some strong armed QB's just gun it everywhere like Kyle Boller and and can't throw with touch. That little loft to Rod was just an awesome compliment to his fast ball bomb into the end zone.

[Dr. Broncenstein]

I'd also like to point out that he didn't really set his feet because he was getting hit... and he rolled to his left. That is just rediculous...

[Northman]

I'd also like to point out that he didn't really set his feet because he was getting hit... and he rolled to his left. That is just rediculous...



I remember a guy who could do that at one time also. :thumbsup:

[Kaylore]

I'd also like to point out that he didn't really set his feet because he was getting hit... and he rolled to his left. That is just rediculous...

Actually he sets his feet. You watch it and he rolls out, unlocks his hips, plants his feet and leans into the throw -then gets hit. It's proper form. It doesn't mean it wasn't the best long ball we've seen all season since the preseason.

[OrangeShadow]

awesome article. i dont remember a time when i was so excited to watch the game

[broncogary]

I'd also like to point out that he didn't really set his feet because he was getting hit... and he rolled to his left. That is just rediculous...

Absolutely rediculous! Ha!

[HitEmCold]

I feel good about what will happen when Cutler looks deep. He is definitely going to be a playmaker.

[-Slap-]

I predicted Jay would be a top three quarterback in the NFL.

I was wrong.

[Chupacabra]

Said one onlooker "Jay even has a better ass"

i'm guessing that onlooker was you, kaylore?

[baja]

The best part is he is showing when to bring the heat and when not to. Some strong armed QB's just gun it everywhere like Kyle Boller and and can't throw with touch.<B> That little loft to Rod was just an awesome compliment to his fast ball bomb into the end zone.</b>

That was amazing it took Elway years to master that touch pass.

[Spider]

Man , I will tell you this , Cutler is QB that can carry a team , 2 passes last night sent the NFL D cords a notice , new sherriff in the league and he doesnt screw around , the Balls on accurate deep pass to the endzone 60+ yards , and as Kaylore pointed out the touch pass to Rod ............Cutler will make Defenses defend the entire field short , long , side to side ........

[55CrushEm]

Man , I will tell you this , Cutler is QB that can carry a team , 2 passes last night sent the NFL D cords a notice , new sherriff in the league and he doesnt screw around , the Balls on accurate deep pass to the endzone 60+ yards , and as Kaylore pointed out the touch pass to Rod ............Cutler will make Defenses defend the entire field short , long , side to side ........

But wait......I thought Alec said that Plummer was better?

I guess Plummer IS better.......
......
......
......
......
at holding for Elam.......:slapsilly

[Turf Shaman]

Too bad local talk radio is too preoccupied with the brawl to spend any time talking about Cutler's breakout performance...

[Spider]

But wait......I thought Alec said that Plummer was better?

I guess Plummer IS better.......
......
......
......
......
at holding for Elam.......:slapsilly

;D I like Alec , I think most of us Cutler supporters are shocked and awed by how fast Cutler is learning ;D
no way I thought the kid throws a touch pass like that

[bloodsunday]

That first long ball was right at 70 yards on the fly....

falling back as he was hit.

[bloodsunday]

Man , I will tell you this , Cutler is QB that can carry a team , 2 passes last night sent the NFL D cords a notice , new sherriff in the league and he doesnt screw around , the Balls on accurate deep pass to the endzone 60+ yards , and as Kaylore pointed out the touch pass to Rod ............Cutler will make Defenses defend the entire field short , long , side to side ........

There seemed to be a lot more variety in the play calling as well. For example they ran a quick 5 yard out on multiple occasions. Rod had a beautful one and Javon dropped one.

Of course the execution makes the play calling look better. Cutler hit at least 7 different receivers yesterday. That is something that Jake rarely did.

[elsid13]

50% efficiency on third down was the real treat, and at one point Denver 7 for 10 on the third down.

[Spider]

There seemed to be a lot more variety in the play calling as well. For example they ran a quick 5 yard out on multiple occasions. Rod had a beautful one and Javon dropped one.

Of course the execution makes the play calling look better. Cutler hit at least 7 different receivers yesterday. That is something that Jake rarely did.

;D i realy expect our Running game to open back up ......... Defense , gets rest ........I realy didnt expect Cutler to outplay Lienart , I know alot of it had to do with Denvers Defense , but alot of it was Lienart trying to out think our D , where as Cutler just let it rip with dead on accuracy ........

[Spider]

50% efficiency on third down was the real treat, and at one point Denver 7 for 10 on the third down.

sustaining Drives = Huge ........... Defense loved the hell out of it

[elsid13]

sustaining Drives = Huge ........... Defense loved the hell out of it

That was the best part of last night game, the two drives that were like 9 minutes a piece. They only scored FG, but those drives tired out the AZ defense. And if we can get those type of drives happening at Mile high watch out.

[Spider]

That was the best part of last night game, the two drives that were like 9 minutes a piece. They only scored FG, but those drives tired out the AZ defense. And if we can get those type of drives happening at Mile high watch out.

we will , Cutler is a natural ...........;D

[watermock]

OK, I've orgasmed and have come down.

I'm much more happy in Grumpy Old Man Mode.

"Pulls out the apologist card" It's only three games!?

We get a QB that can put up 100 or close QB rating we will be fine.

We face a tough bengals D this week.

[Circle Orange]

Like parched people in the desert we find an oasis in the hot, murky air...

Shall it be Jay? Let a sign show us, not a false prophecy...

Neither Jake, nor Brian, nor Gus of night shall stay the path. http://scosoft.com/s/Music/9b5bde.gif

[Rock Chalk]

But wait......I thought Alec said that Plummer was better?

I guess Plummer IS better.......
......
......
......
......
at holding for Elam.......:slapsilly

What? Find me that quote you lying ****.

I said that Plummer was better at the time. Cutler had a great game yesterday and he looked fantastic but also keep in mind that Arizona is not Baltimore or San Diego or even Oakland defensively and he wasnt anything spectacular in his games against better competition.

If Cutler can do that against a top level team instead of a perennial bottom feeder I will be MORE pleased than I already am. All I care about si the W. Cutler got us one when we needed it and, well, why the hell WOULDNT i be happy?

1 quarter of good football prior to the Arizona game didnt impress me.

[Tredici]

All I care about si the W. Cutler got us one when we needed it and, well, why the hell WOULDNT i be happy?



I dunno. Same reason knuckleheads posted that others must've been mad when Plummer notched a win. It was a stupid comment then and it's a stupid comment now.

Cutler is doing fine. Every minute of experience this year is geared towards next season anyway. Anyone who still thinks he was sent in to be the saving grace of this season is delusional.

Learn Jay, learn. That's your job now. And if they do squeak into the playoffs and Cutler gets some experience in that arena too? Perfect.

[bronco militia]

http://blogs.rockymountainnews.com/denver/drew/archives/drew1218toon.gif

[Popps]

I dunno. Same reason knuckleheads posted that others must've been mad when Plummer notched a win. It was a stupid comment then and it's a stupid comment now.

Cutler is doing fine. Every minute of experience this year is geared towards next season anyway. Anyone who still thinks he was sent in to be the saving grace of this season is delusional.

Learn Jay, learn. That's your job now. And if they do squeak into the playoffs and Cutler gets some experience in that arena too? Perfect.



Someone forward this post to Taco.

It's one of the best I've seen on the subject. Not surprising, considering the source.

[Popps]

I'd also like to point out that he didn't really set his feet because he was getting hit... and he rolled to his left. That is just rediculous...

One of the many things I like about this kid is how robotic he seems out there. I've said a few times that he sounds like a 10 year vet in his interviews. Have you heard him? If not, have a listen. Seriously, he sounds dull, but in that way a guy who's doing it too long sounds because he doesn't want to give out any real info.

Well, to some extent, that translates onto the field. He just looks so freakishly calm, even when he's playing poorly... like someone else said. He'll make a bad throw and have pretty much the same demeanor as a good throw. He looks absolutely un-phased by it all... a STARK contrast to his first start where he looked pretty overwhelmed.

He's settled in, and it's only going to get better from here. It's hard not to press him too hard, but I hope fans can keep in mind that he's still young. the kid may need a year or so to really reach potential, despite how good he looks now. We've got to remain patient with the guy.

But, in the interim, we're still tinkering with a playoff spot, and that would be HUGE for his experience arsenal.

[elsid13]

the best throw of the game was when he looked off the safety then threw to Marshall for the first on backside cut. It was the 3rd down before Smith's TD. It one of those things rookie QB struggling with.

[-Slap-]

:~ohyah!:

Too funny.

[Kaylore]

I predicted Jay would be a top three quarterback in the NFL.

I was wrong.

What did I tell you? Unitas, baby!:pimp:

[Turf Shaman]

1 quarter of good football prior to the Arizona game didnt impress me.

Should we be impressed? It was his first two games. What we should be impressed by is the way he has progressed from his first game to his second to his third.

[Circle Orange]

What did I tell you? Unitas, baby!:pimp:

Unitas? Never heard of him. Did he pack apple crates in Jersey? :mullet1:

[Dedhed]

There seemed to be a lot more variety in the play calling as well. For example they ran a quick 5 yard out on multiple occasions. Rod had a beautful one and Javon dropped one.

Of course the execution makes the play calling look better. Cutler hit at least 7 different receivers yesterday. That is something that Jake rarely did.

That's a direct link to the fact that Jay has the ability to make every throw. I think we'll see the running game start to open up soon with what Jay showed on Sunday. Imagine 7 guys in the box again in Denver?

[55CrushEm]

What? Find me that quote you lying ****.

I said that Plummer was better at the time. Cutler had a great game yesterday and he looked fantastic but also keep in mind that Arizona is not Baltimore or San Diego or even Oakland defensively and he wasnt anything spectacular in his games against better competition.

If Cutler can do that against a top level team instead of a perennial bottom feeder I will be MORE pleased than I already am. All I care about si the W. Cutler got us one when we needed it and, well, why the hell WOULDNT i be happy?

1 quarter of good football prior to the Arizona game didnt impress me.

Find the quote ?!? You titled a thread "Plummer > Cutler", for Christ's sake.

Which reads, "Plummer IS GREATER THAN Cutler"......

And maybe one day you'll realize that Plummer didn't deserve the credit for all 39 wins with him as a starter....just as Jay doesn't deserve the blame for the SD loss....not much he could've done about the 48 points our defense gave up. Even in the Seattle loss, we still had the lead after the pick-six.

Sure, you can give Jake credit for a lot of the wins.....he's made some great plays. But many of the wins, were DESPITE his performance......haven't we gone over this before?

Forget it......you just don't understand.

[HitEmCold]

Cutler > Plummer

[baja]

I dunno. Same reason knuckleheads posted that others must've been mad when Plummer notched a win. It was a stupid comment then and it's a stupid comment now.

Cutler is doing fine. <B> Every minute of experience this year is geared towards next season anyway. Anyone who still thinks he was sent in to be the saving grace of this season is delusional. </b>

Learn Jay, learn. That's your job now. And if they do squeak into the playoffs and Cutler gets some experience in that arena too? Perfect.

Well maybe I am a hopeless homer or delusional but I believe Shanahan who watched Cutler in practice every day all season long and also studied game film of Plummer for every game he started saw that Jay really did give the team the best chance to win for the rest of the season and being Shanahan the guy who always puts the best 22 players on the field made the switch.

Shanahan believes Jay gives us the best chance to win this season ans so do I. It's the only reason he is playing.

Jay will play better in the playoffs than Jake ever did. Who knows we might just win one or three