Cutler's tendencies starting to emerge

[Kaylore]

So I've had a chance to look at what Cutler is starting to look at. Today confirmed some of his tendencies. I could wait until he has a full 16 games but I'll post it now in the interest of getting something to talk about.

What he does well:

Cutler converts third downs. The Chiefs game wasn't his best, but overall he's got one of the highest QB ratings in the NFL on third down. He often converts and even we he misses, he misses going for the conversion. That might seem obvious to some, but a lot of QB's in the league will take the easy completion even if it won't convert to preserve their QB rating. Bottom line is he's money on third down.
Cutler has 4 fourth quarter game winning/tying comebacks. Playing well when the pressure is what separates the great ones from the pretty good ones. Less than a full season in Cutler is displaying this "intangible" element of his game.
He attacks defenses. I like that he looks for the deep pass and wants to come after teams. This is not as common as you think and it really helps other areas of the game more than you'd think.
Cutler is accurate at all ranges. There are some throws he struggles with (I'll get into them in the next section) but his accuracy and ability to fit passes into tight places is impressive. Few can do what he does.
Cutler is incredibly tough. His game today and grit under pressure in other circumstances has impressed me all year. Toughness is one of the most underrated attributes of a player, and Cutler has it.
He throws from the pocket and steps into his throws. This is a nice change of pace. While he can throw on the run, he's not as good as he is from the pocket and he's stepping up into the rush to make plays. This something he struggled with early on, but more and more he's stepping up and making the play.
He's not Jake Plummer.
What he needs to work on:

He struggles with linebackers dropping into coverage. He just doesn't see them for whatever reason. All of his interceptions this year have been to linebackers. This is good because generally most linebackers don't have "ball-hawking" ability. However it could spell doom against teams that run a 3-4 and some of the more impressive linebacking corps in the game. It's something that will need to be corrected.
Cutler still struggles with throws across his body to his far left. The square out and short comeback patterns aren't very accurate. This has plagued him since I saw him day one and he'll need to work on it.
He throws to the middle of the field too much. Some say it's his "style" but I say take the easy completion on the perimeter. He needs to learn to look at the late, easy patterns that are available underneath and on the outside of the coverage. Getting the ball into the hands of these guys allows for easy conversions and better YAC. He's getting better at this, but not much better.
Cutler needs to check down a little more. This and the two above are all inter-twined, but the point is that he sometimes waits too long for a route to open up. Going through his progressions will help this.
He lets a lot of his passes get batted down at that line. This is also something that has plagued him. He needs to either pump-fake to make them jump early or (again) check down. The first step is seeing the linemen that are there, though.
He really needs to start working on his snap count and get a good hard count developed. Defensive linemen in these past games have been teeing off on him. A good hard count will take some of the pressure off of the offensive line. Maybe he can spend a weekend with Kelly Holcomb this summer.
I'd like to see him audible more. There are some times when they are facing seven and eight man fronts and I think a call to a pass play or quick throw would really help things for our offense.
Overall he's doing very well and getting better and better. The things he needs to work on are little things that can be corrected with coaching, but it's nice to start to get a feel for a guy and say "Ok, you're shaping up to be 'this' kind of player."

[minibronco]

Wow... this is awesome. Agreed and I think working on your "bad" points would really solve a few problems of this offense. Rep.

[listopencil]

I think Cutler actually plays better with more stress. He seems to wake up and get into a zone when the **** hits the fan. He'll blow an easy throw (today's 4th down conversion attempt late in the game) but will pull some serious ninja-level QB skills out of his ass (that dump off right at the beginning of the game) when it gets hairy.

[BowlenBall]

So I've had a chance to look at what Cutler is starting to look at. Today confirmed some of his tendencies. I could wait until he has a full 16 games but I'll post it now in the interest of getting something to talk about.

What he does well:


Cutler converts third downs. The Chiefs game wasn't his best, but overall he's got one of the highest QB ratings in the NFL on third down. He often converts and even we he misses, he misses going for the conversion. That might seem obvious to some, but a lot of QB's in the league will take the easy completion even if it won't convert to preserve their QB rating. Bottom line is he's money on third down.
Cutler has 4 fourth quarter game winning/tying comebacks. Playing well when the pressure is what separates the great ones from the pretty good ones. Less than a full season in Cutler is displaying this "intangible" element of his game.
He attacks defenses. I like that he looks for the deep pass and wants to come after teams. This is not as common as you think and it really helps other areas of the game more than you'd think.
Cutler is accurate at all ranges. There are some throws he struggles with (I'll get into them in the next section) but his accuracy and ability to fit passes into tight places is impressive. Few can do what he does.
Cutler is incredibly tough. His game today and grit under pressure in other circumstances has impressed me all year. Toughness is one of the most underrated attributes of a player, and Cutler has it.
He throws from the pocket and steps into his throws. This is a nice change of pace. While he can throw on the run, he's not as good as he is from the pocket and he's stepping up into the rush to make plays. This something he struggled with early on, but more and more he's stepping up and making the play.
He's not Jake Plummer.


What he needs to work on:


He struggles with linebackers dropping into coverage. He just doesn't see them for whatever reason. All of his interceptions this year have been to linebackers. This is good because generally most linebackers don't have "ball-hawking" ability. However it could spell doom against teams that run a 3-4 and some of the more impressive linebacking corps in the game. It's something that will need to be corrected.
Cutler still struggles with throws across his body to his far left. The square out and short comeback patterns aren't very accurate. This has plagued him since I saw him day one and he'll need to work on it.
He throws to the middle of the field too much. Some say it's his "style" but I say take the easy completion on the perimeter. He needs to learn to look at the late, easy patterns that are available underneath and on the outside of the coverage. Getting the ball into the hands of these guys allows for easy conversions and better YAC. He's getting better at this, but not much better.
Cutler needs to check down a little more. This and the two above are all inter-twined, but the point is that he sometimes waits too long for a route to open up. Going through his progressions will help this.
He really needs to start working on his snap count and get a good hard count developed. Defensive linemen in these past games have been teeing off on him. A good hard count will take some of the pressure off of the offensive line. Maybe he can spend a weekend with Kelly Holcomb this summer.
I'd like to see him audible more. There are some times when they are facing seven and eight man fronts and I think a call to a pass play or quick throw would really help things for our offense.


Overall he's doing very well and getting better and better. The things he needs to work on are little things that can be corrected with coaching, but it's nice to start to get a feel for a guy and say "Ok, you're shaping up to be 'this' kind of player."

Or he can just go across town and get some pointers from Elway.
BEST... HARD COUNT...EVER!!!!!

Nice analysis, K. Wish we could have more of this type of stuff on the board, and less of the "we suck" without analysis variety.

[Jetmeck]

It would seem the hard count and the audible would be
quick fixes as the other problems will be longer term to fix.

However all good points.

[wabbit]

...
Cutler needs to check down a little more. This and the two above are all inter-twined, but the point is that he sometimes waits too long for a route to open up. Going through his progressions will help this.
...


The Shanahan playbook is designed around match-ups...trying to force the opponent into a coverage or defensive line scheme that favors the play-call.

It works and works really, really well. Problem is; since Elway, the Broncos have yet to field a QB who can exploit this to the max.

It's one of the reasons Mike held onto the hope Griese could come around...he had the smarts to understand it, but didn't have the mobility to buy the time needed for the plays to develop.

The hope is that Cutler will be capable of fully utilizing the strategy that Shanahan has designed into the playbook once the game slows down for him a bit more.

Long story short...you're right...proper, quick checkdowns would make this offense explode...we might even see it this year, but the injuries have robbed it of some key playmakers...regardless, Cutler is a smart kid...it will happen eventually.

[Kaylore]

Or he can just go across town and get some pointers from Elway.
BEST... HARD COUNT...EVER!!!!!

Nice analysis, K. Wish we could have more of this type of stuff on the board, and less of the "we suck" without analysis variety.

Thanks. Most people get too high after wins and too low after loses. The "fire this persons" threads are the funniest.

[bpc]

Very good take.

To get Cutler to reach his potentail we will need:

1. Some OT's that will play consistently.
2. WR's who work the field and stay healthy.

Right now we have neither so tendencies will be highlighted.

[Taco John]

Fantastic analysis Kaylore... I was in the air during the game (at a conference this week), so I can't wait to get home and pull this one off the Tivo.

[Popps]

Very good take.

To get Cutler to reach his potentail we will need:

1. Some OT's that will play consistently.
2. WR's who work the field and stay healthy.
.

He also just needs coaching. Some of his problems will disappear with experience. Some will need to be addressed specifically. His drop-back still looks wobbly at times, and there's no excuse for a guy his height to throw balls into defenders helmets that often. There's also no excuse for the dead-duck passes with the arm he has. (I fully attribute that to mechanical problems.)

That said, this is all stuff that can be sorted out. Like Kaylore pointed out, he's got a real knack for big throws at big times. He's obviously got a cannon when he gets himself set up to throw properly. He's mobile, tough and guys seem to respect him.

The sky is truly the limit for him, as long as he doesn't get comfortable in some of the bad habits he's established. The flashes of brilliance are there, and the talent is without question.

[Popps]

I also wish we'd run some of the play-action boot stuff with him that we ran with Plummer. (Remember the rocket he launched in the pre-season game against Arizona last year?)

Seems like we've sort of abandoned the boot as of late, and it could be a good weapon to implement from time to time. Just because he can throw from the pocket doesn't mean he shouldn't get out and use his ability to throw on the move from time to time.

[Meck77]

Good post Kaylore. I believe he really struggles with crowd noise also. You can see him trying to quiet the home crowd even when it's not even loud. When he threw that pick Arrowhead was rocking and it was effecting his game. He'll learn.

[bpc]

I thought he handled KC's crowd noise well for it being the first time he was there.

Coaching definitely needs to be applied.

I hate the fact that we haven't really challenged defenses deep yet. I think that is a part of this offense which needs to be opened up. I hope it has more to do with Javon being out and our passing game being somewhat limited to Marshall and a bunch of TE's. Stokely has had some catches but I don't think he has the long ability anymore.

[Kaylore]

Good post Kaylore. I believe he really struggles with crowd noise also. You can see him trying to quiet the home crowd even when it's not even loud. When he threw that pick Arrowhead was rocking and it was effecting his game. He'll learn.

I don't think noise is a problem. The guy played in the SEC and places like Tiger Stadium, Tennessee and the Swamp are much, much louder than anything he'll see as a pro.

[Meck77]

I don't think noise is a problem. The guy played in the SEC and places like Tiger Stadium, Tennessee and the Swamp are much, much louder than anything he'll see as a pro.

He's still learning our system Kaylore. I'm sure the noise didn't bother him as much in his 2nd/3rd year in college ball but the dude flaps his arms like a bird at Mile High when the crowd has a little buzz going. As far as I know you haven't been to the gamesthis year but it's hard to judge how loud the crowd noise is on tape Kaylore but it seemed Arrowhead was exploding right about the time he lobbed the pick. He was obviously confused at the time. Besides how many TOs did we burn during the game trying to execute a play? You watched it again. I'd say at least 2?

[DTBLAS]

So I've had a chance to look at what Cutler is starting to look at. Today confirmed some of his tendencies. I could wait until he has a full 16 games but I'll post it now in the interest of getting something to talk about.

What he does well:

Cutler converts third downs. The Chiefs game wasn't his best, but overall he's got one of the highest QB ratings in the NFL on third down. He often converts and even we he misses, he misses going for the conversion. That might seem obvious to some, but a lot of QB's in the league will take the easy completion even if it won't convert to preserve their QB rating. Bottom line is he's money on third down.
Cutler has 4 fourth quarter game winning/tying comebacks. Playing well when the pressure is what separates the great ones from the pretty good ones. Less than a full season in Cutler is displaying this "intangible" element of his game.
He attacks defenses. I like that he looks for the deep pass and wants to come after teams. This is not as common as you think and it really helps other areas of the game more than you'd think.
Cutler is accurate at all ranges. There are some throws he struggles with (I'll get into them in the next section) but his accuracy and ability to fit passes into tight places is impressive. Few can do what he does.
Cutler is incredibly tough. His game today and grit under pressure in other circumstances has impressed me all year. Toughness is one of the most underrated attributes of a player, and Cutler has it.
He throws from the pocket and steps into his throws. This is a nice change of pace. While he can throw on the run, he's not as good as he is from the pocket and he's stepping up into the rush to make plays. This something he struggled with early on, but more and more he's stepping up and making the play.
He's not Jake Plummer.
What he needs to work on:

He struggles with linebackers dropping into coverage. He just doesn't see them for whatever reason. All of his interceptions this year have been to linebackers. This is good because generally most linebackers don't have "ball-hawking" ability. However it could spell doom against teams that run a 3-4 and some of the more impressive linebacking corps in the game. It's something that will need to be corrected.
Cutler still struggles with throws across his body to his far left. The square out and short comeback patterns aren't very accurate. This has plagued him since I saw him day one and he'll need to work on it.
He throws to the middle of the field too much. Some say it's his "style" but I say take the easy completion on the perimeter. He needs to learn to look at the late, easy patterns that are available underneath and on the outside of the coverage. Getting the ball into the hands of these guys allows for easy conversions and better YAC. He's getting better at this, but not much better.
Cutler needs to check down a little more. This and the two above are all inter-twined, but the point is that he sometimes waits too long for a route to open up. Going through his progressions will help this.
He lets a lot of his passes get batted down at that line. This is also something that has plagued him. He needs to either pump-fake to make them jump early or (again) check down. The first step is seeing the linemen that are there, though.
He really needs to start working on his snap count and get a good hard count developed. Defensive linemen in these past games have been teeing off on him. A good hard count will take some of the pressure off of the offensive line. Maybe he can spend a weekend with Kelly Holcomb this summer.
I'd like to see him audible more. There are some times when they are facing seven and eight man fronts and I think a call to a pass play or quick throw would really help things for our offense.
Overall he's doing very well and getting better and better. The things he needs to work on are little things that can be corrected with coaching, but it's nice to start to get a feel for a guy and say "Ok, you're shaping up to be 'this' kind of player."


Did you see the pass, I believe it was towards the beginning of the game, across his body to Scheffler? My god, when he threw that I yelled at the screen "NO! NO! NO!" but it was a very good throw, Scheffler got popped and dropped it but the throw was still very accurate for where he threw it. Thats one of the major things I think he needs to work on though, he looks toward Scheffler far more than anyone else, even if he's double covered. I understand wanting to go to the TE but he seems to me at least, to be taking it to the extreme.

[enjolras]

The batted balls thing is largely on the O-Line.. that's one of the worst parts of the offensive line right now, they just don't keep their assignments engaged at the line.

[missingnumber7]

The batted balls thing is largely on the O-Line.. that's one of the worst parts of the offensive line right now, they just don't keep their assignments engaged at the line.

A cut block or two would fix that. DLine guys worrying about their knees slows a pass rush.

Great take Kaylore, I think one of the toughest things was actually stepping through the throw this week. You could see putting pressure on that left leg really hurt.

[backup qb]

I truly think once we get our full complement of weapons with a steadier o-line, either through Nalen and Hamilton coming back or the development of the kids, you will truly see his abilities come out. We are already seeing so many flashes that it's hard not to believe that he can be one of the best in the biz.

[frerottenextelway]

He struggles with linebackers dropping into coverage. He just doesn't see them for whatever reason. All of his interceptions this year have been to linebackers. This is good because generally most linebackers don't have "ball-hawking" ability. However it could spell doom against teams that run a 3-4 and some of the more impressive linebacking corps in the game. It's something that will need to be corrected.

Nice post, I always enjoy reading your takes.

Not all his INTs, but most of them have been to LBs. This is what I consider to be his only "big" negative so far. But he's a very intelligent kid, and this is something that I don't think anyone has any doubt will get fixed at some point.

It's always a gamble when you draft a QB in the 1st round, but overall, he's way exceeded my expectations. He will be the next great QB, 15 years from now he'll be put in the same breath as Brady, Manning, etc...

[Traveler]

I'd add one more item for Cutler to work on. He seems to stare down his receivers. Once he gets better at "looking off" S and LB's, watch out!

[loborugger]

I'd like to see him audible more. There are some times when they are facing seven and eight man fronts and I think a call to a pass play or quick throw would really help things for our offense.


Do you think Shanny lets him/encourages him to audible? He is afterall, pretty much a rookie QB. I dont know of too many Rooks that audible frequently. Standing on the outside looking in, I am guessing that is being told to run the plays handed to him and as he gets more experience he will be given a longer leash.

[elsid13]

Do you think Shanny lets him/encourages him to audible? He is afterall, pretty much a rookie QB. I dont know of too many Rooks that audible frequently. Standing on the outside looking in, I am guessing that is being told to run the plays handed to him and as he gets more experience he will be given a longer leash.

it been stated before that Shanahan believes that his offense has enough flexiblity built in that you don't need to audible in pass plays. Beside Culter has audible several times this season - sometime successfully, sometime not- but it was mainly on running plays.

[eddie mac]

I also wish we'd run some of the play-action boot stuff with him that we ran with Plummer. (Remember the rocket he launched in the pre-season game against Arizona last year?)

Seems like we've sort of abandoned the boot as of late, and it could be a good weapon to implement from time to time. Just because he can throw from the pocket doesn't mean he shouldn't get out and use his ability to throw on the move from time to time.


We lost the Green Bay game because we abandoned it. GB had the worst D in the league at defending playaction and we shut it down completely in the 2nd half. That totally bemused me.

[elsid13]

We lost the Green Bay game because we abandoned it. GB had the worst D in the league at defending playaction and we shut it down completely in the 2nd half. That totally bemused me.

All year the play calling has been dreadful. We abandon the run when it working and go to drop back passing from the shotgun. Denver coaching staff is making it easy for the opponents defense to figure out what they are planning to do.

Yesterday before the 2nd half, they attempted to pass the ball 24 times to only 7 rushing attempts. THAT IS A JOKE. Why not let the offense line play aggressive and hit someone vs playing passive on pass blocking. Dinger is to freaking pass happy! Balance it the key and we don't have it right now.

[Rohirrim]

Nice take, Kaylore. Remember, it took about ten years and Mike Shanahan to get Big John to start checking down or throwing it OB on a broken play. Once he started doing that, he became the best in the business.

[-Slap-]

The batted balls thing is largely on the O-Line.. that's one of the worst parts of the offensive line right now, they just don't keep their assignments engaged at the line.

I would agree with this to a point. No coach is going to tell a young quarterback to alter his delivery because his interior linemen keep getting walked back into his lap. Batted passes might be a concern to me if he was six foot nothing or flapping balls out of there sidearmed, but I think right now they're mainly a combination of weak pass blocking and coincidence.

I don't have many complaints about Cutler for the simple fact that he's so far ahead of most young quarterbacks at this stage of his career. His career numbers through 14 games aren't really indicative of all the turmoil and change we've experienced on offense over the last two years.

G GS Att Cmp CmpPct Yd YAtt Lg TD Int Rate Att Yd Avg TD
14 14 385 242 62.9 2883 7.5 71 18 14 86.1 34 120 3.5 1

The two numbers that jump out at me are his completion percentage and his yards per pass attempt. If he's that efficient in these crucial metrics at this embryonic stage of his development, I can't wait to see how he performs in a year or two.

The toughness he showed yesterday - which is curiously being downplayed by many people - is not a surprise. It just confirms everything we've heard about him from people who saw him coming up. Had Tony Romo suited up yesterday after that injury Jay took last week, they would have had round the clock coverage on ESPN.

[-Slap-]

it been stated before that Shanahan believes that his offense has enough flexiblity built in that you don't need to audible in pass plays. Beside Culter has audible several times this season - sometime successfully, sometime not- but it was mainly on running plays.

There are good reasons for coaches to limit the audibles they permit young quarterbacks. If defensive coordinators see a green QB is making a ton of adjustments at the line, he's going to have his defense break their huddle in false looks just to get the kid to change the playcall at the line. This way, the defense is no longer dealing with calls from the OC designed specifically to exploit matchups or tendencies.

[elsid13]

There are good reasons for coaches to limit the audibles they permit young quarterbacks. If defensive coordinators see a green QB is making a ton of adjustments at the line, he's going to have his defense break their huddle in false looks just to get the kid to change the playcall at the line. This way, the defense is no longer dealing with calls from the OC designed specifically to exploit matchups or tendencies.

Green QB? Do the words Plummer and SD ring a bell.

[Stormontheplains]

When passes are getting knocked down it's the qb's job to shuffle his feet and get in a passing lane. Jay needs to improve his footwork to move around the pocket and always be in a loaded position to make the throw. He seems to have better vision outside of the pocket. Bad habit from college I would assume

[Rashomon]

Your take on Cutler being better in the pocket vs. outside the pocket is interesting, because on one of the national broadcasts (SNF or MNF, I can't remember which), they pointed out that statistically, Cutler was the top rated QB in the entire NFL outside the pocket.

[Paladin]

One common comment has been: ..."with coaching..."

I wonder if the coaching has been adequate to this point. I know most would say that Shanahan develops QBs, but the day to day stuff is done by the QB coach. So, my question is whether the Broncos have the coaching staff available for Cutler?

I'm not bashing Shanahan here, but Shanahan is a "strategy" coach, not a "mechanics" coach. His game plans are always built around mismatches, deceptions and misdirections. I wonder if there is sufficient effort to help Cutler on the mechanics and the "style" of play.

[vancejohnson82]

i completely agree with the check down comment...Cutler rarely if EVER checks down to a tight end in the flat or a RB out of the backfield

he tends to try to squeeze balls in farther down the field instead...if we can get YOUNG the ball in the flats it could make for a few big plays

[TheDave]

Real good post Kaylore...

Something ive noticed lately is the tendancy for balls to sail on him. Normally i would look at footwork or mechanics as the problem. Yet he seems fairly consistent on these, I'm wondering how much that tendonitis he had in training camp is bothering him...

A varience in release point might also account for some of his tipped balls at the line... Just a thought.

[anthonypacino]

I couldn't agree more with you Khan, if he would get his footwork problems worked out his accuracy would improve greatly, he wouldn't get those floaters or balls that sail and the dirtballs at the ankles would lessen.

[-Slap-]

i completely agree with the check down comment...Cutler rarely if EVER checks down to a tight end in the flat or a RB out of the backfield

he tends to try to squeeze balls in farther down the field instead...if we can get YOUNG the ball in the flats it could make for a few big plays

I see this from the opposite perspective. I think having a quarterback who is constantly looking to attack defenses downfield is an extremely positive thing, not a negative. In my experience, the standard modus operandi for young quarterbacks is to check down to safety valve receivers too frequently. This is because they're deathly afraid they're going to make mistakes, or they simply don't want to expose themselves to big hits. Jay doesn't worry about making mistakes and he doesn't worry about getting hit. Jay intuitively understands a defense that has to respect the big play isn't able to take as many chances. This turns an aggressive defense into one that is playing back on their heels.

Our latest street free agent running back is having immediate success, despite playing behind an offensive line that lacks star power and has been wracked by injuries and rebuilt on the fly. One reason is because defenses know they have to respect our deep and intermediate passing game. This loosens things up for the running game. I also think we are incorporating the short passing game into the game plan to some extent. Selvin had three receptions for 20 yards yesterday. That's not too bad, especially against a team with as much speed at linebacker as Kansas City.

[Broncos123]

Your take on Cutler being better in the pocket vs. outside the pocket is interesting, because on one of the national broadcasts (SNF or MNF, I can't remember which), they pointed out that statistically, Cutler was the top rated QB in the entire NFL outside the pocket.

It was Madden (Green Bay game) he said Cutler lead the league in completions % when throwing from outside the pocket.

[Bronco Billy]

Great post Khan. He really needs to work on reading the LBs dropping into coverage. Though he needs to work on checking down, using a hard count, and calling audibles, I'm not as worried about these things as they should come with more experience. I'm just glad we've opened up the playbook more. I do agree with Meck that he seems disturbed with the crowd noise.

Cutler looking to throw downfield, stretches the defense vertically and keeps the safeties from cheating, which helps in the running game and shorter passes. And how about the Bootleg sneak yesterday? He's definitely really tough. I almost cringed when I saw him running with the ball. No one expected it though - turned out to be a great play. I'm really excited about this guy. !Booya!

[Requiem]

Good analysis Kaylore.

[cutlerfan]

Yesterday Cutler's throws sailed on him. The reason for this is because his 'plant' leg was hurt. if you don't 'plant' the ball will sail. Kaylore if you watched inside the NFL a few weeks ago Jay was talking with Myers on the sideline about changing the snap count. Going from hut to hut hut.

[JCMElway]

Fantastic analysis. Well done.

[broncofan2438]

Nice thread, although i thought he did well against the chiefs by throwing across his body.

[broncofan2438]

I did have a feeling that the reason his passes were high was becasue of his leg, but other than that, felt like he did pretty well

[HorseHead]

I know i'm late to the party, but great post Kaylore.....

I have to agree with every thing "K" said....

It's going to be fun watching the kid develop.....

[Cito Pelon]

it been stated before that Shanahan believes that his offense has enough flexiblity built in that you don't need to audible in pass plays. Beside Culter has audible several times this season - sometime successfully, sometime not- but it was mainly on running plays.

Ya know, I wouldn't mind seeing the O play get in faster. All that flexibility built into the O makes for some incredibly long play calls. I've watched NFL films and heard those play calls. They're ridiculously long.

I'd like to see a faster pace on O. Yesterday at KC the O stepped the tempo up a little bit, but I'd still like to see a faster tempo at all times. If your O is well-schooled you get in and out of the huddle fast. I see guys dawdle back to the huddle on O and it irritates me, you have to huddle up fast unless you have a good lead.

[Cito Pelon]

He also just needs coaching. Some of his problems will disappear with experience. Some will need to be addressed specifically. His drop-back still looks wobbly at times, and there's no excuse for a guy his height to throw balls into defenders helmets that often. There's also no excuse for the dead-duck passes with the arm he has. (I fully attribute that to mechanical problems.)

That said, this is all stuff that can be sorted out. Like Kaylore pointed out, he's got a real knack for big throws at big times. He's obviously got a cannon when he gets himself set up to throw properly. He's mobile, tough and guys seem to respect him.

The sky is truly the limit for him, as long as he doesn't get comfortable in some of the bad habits he's established. The flashes of brilliance are there, and the talent is without question.

The Dude most certainly needs work on his mechanics. So far, so good, but to be elite he most certainly needs work on his mechanics. That throwing motion where he drops the ball to his belt then winds up and releases the ball just above the crown of his helmet is a killer at times.

His dropbacks and stepping into the throw as Khan noted have sure got better, but that windup and low release point has to go.

[Stormontheplains]

Cutler misses on his rotation reads. To me his initial look is on, but the other teams have begun to slide the underneath coverages. Experience is the only fix of this problem.

[2KBack]

Ya know, I wouldn't mind seeing the O play get in faster. All that flexibility built into the O makes for some incredibly long play calls. I've watched NFL films and heard those play calls. They're ridiculously long.

I'd like to see a faster pace on O. Yesterday at KC the O stepped the tempo up a little bit, but I'd still like to see a faster tempo at all times. If your O is well-schooled you get in and out of the huddle fast. I see guys dawdle back to the huddle on O and it irritates me, you have to huddle up fast unless you have a good lead.

I remember a couple seasons ago, possibly the 13-3 season, They were calling 2 plays in the huddle in order to keep the pace up. Might be worth doing again if Cutler can handle it.

[Kaylore]

He's still learning our system Kaylore. I'm sure the noise didn't bother him as much in his 2nd/3rd year in college ball but the dude flaps his arms like a bird at Mile High when the crowd has a little buzz going. As far as I know you haven't been to the gamesthis year but it's hard to judge how loud the crowd noise is on tape Kaylore but it seemed Arrowhead was exploding right about the time he lobbed the pick. He was obviously confused at the time. Besides how many TOs did we burn during the game trying to execute a play? You watched it again. I'd say at least 2?
It's possible though if you've watched any QB that spends TO in Arrowhead, you'd know that even the veterans do it a few times and two per game is pretty standard. Personally I think those problems you mentioned were him being inexperienced and less a result of the noise specifically. And Elway was always quieting down the Mile High crowd with his "shhh" moves during his drives, so I think that's just Cutler trying to let his guys work.

The batted balls thing is largely on the O-Line.. that's one of the worst parts of the offensive line right now, they just don't keep their assignments engaged at the line.
Yes, but that doesn't mean he still has to throw it into the defender's hands.

I'd add one more item for Cutler to work on. He seems to stare down his receivers. Once he gets better at "looking off" S and LB's, watch out!

Ahem...;)
# Cutler needs to check down a little more. This and the two above are all inter-twined, but the point is that he sometimes waits too long for a route to open up. Going through his progressions will help this.

Nice thread, although i thought he did well against the chiefs by throwing across his body.
Remember this is a look at the total body of his work to this point. He hasn't even finished a full season's worth of games yet, so there is a ton of room to grow. One game doesn't mean he's fixed something, nor does it mean it will be an ongoing problem. Sometimes the struggles of a player are reflective of the defense he's matched up with that week and the offensive players he's throwing to. That's why you need to take a step back and look at the whole picture.

[Kaylore]

I see this from the opposite perspective. I think having a quarterback who is constantly looking to attack defenses downfield is an extremely positive thing, not a negative. In my experience, the standard modus operandi for young quarterbacks is to check down to safety valve receivers too frequently. This is because they're deathly afraid they're going to make mistakes, or they simply don't want to expose themselves to big hits. Jay doesn't worry about making mistakes and he doesn't worry about getting hit. Jay intuitively understands a defense that has to respect the big play isn't able to take as many chances. This turns an aggressive defense into one that is playing back on their heels.

Our latest street free agent running back is having immediate success, despite playing behind an offensive line that lacks star power and has been wracked by injuries and rebuilt on the fly. One reason is because defenses know they have to respect our deep and intermediate passing game. This loosens things up for the running game. I also think we are incorporating the short passing game into the game plan to some extent. Selvin had three receptions for 20 yards yesterday. That's not too bad, especially against a team with as much speed at linebacker as Kansas City.
great post, Slap and much more eloquent than what I was trying to convey.

Anybody can check down, but most QB's don't have the ability or the balls to attack a defense down field. The two passes to Scheffler (that was popped lose) and Stokely are a great example of this. Most QB's want to just manage the game, not make a mistake, or preserve their QB rating and go for the easy throw, especially with a lead. Cutler made some big throws to come after the Chiefs even with a decent lead. That mentality and ability to execute is elite.

[Xenos]

I'd add one more item for Cutler to work on. He seems to stare down his receivers. Once he gets better at "looking off" S and LB's, watch out!
I think this will go away once the right amount of trust develops between Cutler and his receivers. Guys like Brady and Manning just make it look so easy when it comes to the way they get so in touch with their receivers.

[Cito Pelon]

The game winning or tying drives are so impressive for a QB with so little experience. Keep him healthy and hope he keeps an even keel. Shanny was ready to strangle him after the INT, but you could see Shanny kept himself under control instead of humiliating the kid in front of everybody. There's gonna have to be more of that from both The Dude and Shanny. Shanny's gonna hate the chances Cut takes, but Cutler is his money man. Shanny's gonna have to live or die with Cutler. Cutler can't be scared of Shanny, and Shanny can't be scared of Cutler. QB's rule the NFL, you can't leash them. It's do or die, and Cutler can do.

[FantomForce]

Great post. Hopefully he's hiding on the mane as mr. unnoticiable #6 and will take these things to heart and start working on them A.S.A.P.!

[Kaylore]

Great post. Hopefully he's hiding on the mane as mr. unnoticiable #6 and will take these things to heart and start working on them A.S.A.P.!

I'm sure he and the coaching staff are aware of all this and even more extensive analysis on his play than anything we can write here.

[broncobum6162]

Great post Kaylore. You have great insight. Keep up the good work.^5

[bronco militia]

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