Perhaps no young Pro Bowl quarterback has drawn as much criticism as Chicago Bears newcomer Jay Cutler.
Usually, the topic at hand is Cutler’s messy breakup from the Denver Broncos.
In this case, though, Cutler is under scrutiny for his tendency to take risks on the field.
After watching tapes and performing a statistical analysis of Cutler’s performance over the past three years, KC Joyner of ESPN.com, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times, has drawn some very negative conclusions about the former Vanderbilt star.
“I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, Cutler will make Bears fans remember Rex Grossman,” Joyner writes. “He’ll make just as many crazy passes but won’t suffer the Grossman fate because Chicago’s fan base is so in love with him that they will forgive the nutty throws he makes in ways that they never forgave Grossman. . . .
“Whenever I say Cutler will remind Bears fans of Grossman, they get all up in arms. All Grossman did was take Chicago to their first Super Bowl in years and the Bears fans couldn’t run him out of the starting spot quick enough. They’ll win with Cutler, but, man, will they grit their teeth when he blows a game or two with his over-the-top risk taking.”
Wow.
According to Joyner, Cutler averages one interception or near-interception out of every 20 throws.
Cutler has a 17-20 all-time record as a starter.
He has also passed for 9,024 career yards, 54 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions for a cumulative 87.1 quarterback rating.
I like how it’s all on the fans now. The fans ran Grossman out of town. Sure they booed him when he played, but that doesn’t mean it was just them. The media was all over him too. They’d rip on Grossman yet praise the likes of Vince Young when Young wasn’t even performing all that great (obviously since he’s not starting anymore either). The media in Chicago is just as much at fault as the fans are for running Grossman out of town (well his play didn’t help, but it wasn’t as bad when people didn’t hate him.)
that’s all?
Yeah, the big thing that’s missing out of his robust “analysis” and tape watching is game situations. The problem is, Cutler in Denver never had the D that Plummer in Denver, Elway in Denver, Orton in Chicago, Grossman in Chicago, or anyone else in Chicago, had. Cutler was always in a scorefest, with a D that couldn’t stop anyone, and a running game that Plummer, Elway and Griese had, but couldn’t continue when Cutler finally got his shot with the Broncos. Cutler was put in situations where risks were necessary, because the only chance the Broncos had to win was to score and score now.
But how would that have made his point? And what’s important is that he can find stats that prove his opinion is right.
Obviously Joyner didn’t watch Grossman on a daily basis. Anyone is better than Grossman. He’s the Rob Deer of the football world. You don’t see all the strikeouts with runners in scoring position, because of the 30 plus bombs he hits. Bottom line, he still sucks. Dude has been in the league how long? And he still has happy feet, and drops how many snaps? If he was even decent in the SB, the Bears win that game.
McDaniels probably knew this.
Yup, but with the Broncos, he had Brandon Marshall (tall) and Brandon Stokley (experienced) who could negate those problems to some effect. For all the pundits who talk about the NFL 24/7, none of you realized the thing that everybody who lives near Denver knew ever since he replaced Plummer?
Paraphrasing South Park: Aren’t you Jay Cutler? My dad says that you suck, but you might one day really be good. (from the Guitar Hero episode)
At this point, nothing has changed.
Thank you, Mr. Obvious.
“I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, Cutler will make Bears fans remember Rex Grossman,” Joyner writes.
The difference is that Cutler has had two good statistical years on a team with this year being a strong focus on the pass so the defenses are expecting it. When averaging good Rex and bad Rex he had fairly poor stats at best plus he fumbled frequently which was not reflected in his stats. Cutler would need to significantly regress to match Rex and that’s very unlikely (though not impossible).
Lets see, Florio is off today, so we get an update per hour almost on the hour. 3:35 4:35 5:38 6:35 7:37 8:35
I’ll be back at 9:35
Isn’t that a QB learning on the job?
There is a big difference between Cuntler and Grossman.
Grossman isn’t a whiny crybaby bitch and will actually sign autographs without incident or complaining.
Joyner is an idiot. Again another writer not mentioning what cutlers record is when his defense holds teams under 21 points a game. He has only lost one time. Plus cutler had lost like what 30 or 40 lbs when he had no idea he was a diabetic. Joyner has no credibility making a statement of comparing grossman to cutler. Cutler will show bears fans what it’s like to have an all pro behind center. Get the wagons started when the season starts because all these idiots will be talking up cutler and saying I told you so when he makes stars out of our current wr’s.
Brad Biggs is a clown. Cutler immediately puts the Bears in the NFC picture. There is no comparison to Cutler and Grossman other than the big arm. Cutler has mobility, height, and accuracy. He is a classic gunslinger, which is something we Bears fans have been longing for.
Believe me, I really felt for Grossman. He is a stand-up guy who was always honest with the media despite the ruthless treatment. I really hope he does succeed in Houston. But there is just no comparison to what the Bears had and what they have now.
Why don’t we ever hear about what a trainwreck the Broncos are going to be? You get rid of a potentially top-5 QB, your WR wants out, and why? Because some new coach wanted his Matt Cassel, which he didn’t get. I am so tired of the “Cutler is a bad guy” stuff when there is plenty of evidence that he was getting out of sinking ship.
The irony is that Brad Biggs writes 1 good article for every 20 he attempts…and this isn’t it.
What nobody seems to mention is how many of Cutlers yards are in “garbage time”, when the score is out of hand, and the opposing team is playing a prevent defense. Prevent defenses can’t stop anybody, and naturally it makes Cutler look better than he really is. The guy is overrated.
Who in the hell are you trying to kid”" the most criticized young QB! Why don’t you take a look at what B.S. you spread about Tony Romo then get your head out of your *ss.
This article hits the nail on the head. Cutler is SOOO over-rated! He makes a ton of dumb throws and has never had a winning record in his career. People (aka fantasy football geeks) were goo-goo over Cutler last year because he threw for 4500 yards. BIG DEAL, he had 616 attempts! Cutler is a whiney immature brat, who may be an above average QB, but is nothing special. He will not save the Bears, and a few years from now they will really wish they had those #1 draft picks back.
Most of the guys who post got the damn thing more accurate than this “professional”. Cutler was forced to make throw after throw cause our defense was so horrible. There were times that he’d do it at the beginning of the game though, and I’m sure that was just cause the guy knew he had a cannon and Marshall would USUALLY catch them no problem. I’m a Denver fan and I can honestly say I would take Cutler over anyone. Except of course Manning, Brady, Brees and maybe Rodgers. We will miss him. And in Chicago, he won’t be forced to win the game as muh cause he’s got that stout defense to keep opposing offenses in check. He may not make the pro bowl this year, but next year and probably 8+ after that. With that being said, McDaniels obviously thought Jay forced to many balls and wasn’t more of a system qb than say, Orton, so maybe we’ll still be ok. At least we’ve still got the better recievers.
Lord Favre plays the same way and will eventually be in the HOF. All I can say is Big Fu*king Deal! The Bears can FINALLY build a franchise around Cutler and Matt Forte.
Are kidding me, Cutler is no Grossman. He is not easily intimidated (ask Philip Rivers). Oh the nightmares I have of poor Wrecks scared shitless as he scampers away from defenses. Grossman was not mobile, jeez, defensive ends only had to approximate Rex’s launching point and bulldoze their way to a sack. And I can assure you, Cutler we rarely fumble a snap!!! However, I am sure KC Joyner will say I am missing the point. He is talking about the throwing interceptions. Does an interception prone QB amass 4, 000 plus yeards in a season?! Give me Cutler any day!
He cultivates strong anti-#6 sentiment in analysts 3 ways:
1. His cocky attitude, that fans love when he says disparaging remarks about Philip Rivers and the Chargers, rubs them the wrong way.
2. His hardball over the Bates firing, trade talk, and supposed lies told to him brings out jealousy in ex-players that wish they could have whined their way out of playing for the team they were stuck playing for.
3. His off-the-charts accuracy, velocity, mobility and smarts make these analysts that had him ranked so far below Leinart and Young try to criticize him repeatedly in hopes that he plays bad due to their criticism so their initial analysis (which they defend absurdly with his W-L record) and their current analysis both come out clean.
Although I’m no Jay cutler fan for the reasons he’s stating, Jones is a bit over the top.
Actually, the best thing to happen to Cutler is that Shanahan was fired because he was looking for cutler to be another Elway and carry the offense in that unique way that John did.
elway was a once in a generation talent.
Although I still don’t think he’ll ever win anything, I think his chances improved by escaping the watchful eye of his “mentor.”
Cutler will make me think of Rex Grossman?
Really?
Give me a break!
There is not one area of Cutler’s play that is not light years ahead of Grossman’s.
Let me know when Rex Grossman comes close to looking like Jay Cutler for even one damn game.
It was the Bears defense that took them to the Super Bowl and Rex’s deer in the headlights play helped them lose it.
Jay Cutler is the best QB that the Bears have had in my lifetime. I am more than happy that he is here and so are the millions of other Bear fans in town. So are the Bears players.
Get a clue.
I’ve been into football long enough to know it’s a team sport, and there’s a million variables for each team every season.
Ex: Trent Dilfer flames out at Tampa Bay. In Baltimore he goes 11-1 and wins the Super Bowl.
Cutler may be the second coming in Chicago or not, but comparing him to Grossman before he plays a down is just the media touching itself in inappropriate ways.
Cutler hasn’t had a winning season since high school, and won’t this year either.
One thing people seem to forget is that the Bears defence is getting OLD! They have no offensive line, and the supposed #1 receiver is a short
converted defensive back. I say Cutler starts throwing everybody else under the bus by week 3. The fans will start booing, the media will turn on him, Lovie’s gone after this season, Cutler follows the next… So much for throwing away those draft picks.
Josh McDaniels is a genius.
“# JimmySmith says: July 11, 2009 9:30 PM
There is a big difference between Cuntler and Grossman.
Grossman isn’t a whiny crybaby bitch and will actually sign autographs without incident or complaining.”
Wow! I see what you did! That’s a really clever nickname you came up with for Jay CUTler! You must’ve thought long and hard on that one! LOLOL!
To your second point, why does no one make the whiny crybaby comment about Elway or Eli, who each refused to play for the team that drafted him? Were they not “whiny crybaby bitch[es]“?
Dude who compared Cutler to Lord Favre is pretty much on, yet misses the obvious conclusion. Cutler is comparable to the Favre of this decade, not the Favre of the 90s. As such, he’ll be great for your fantasy team but the Bears won’t be winning any championships.
The bears actually have great OL this year.. There defense will be vastly improved this year. You now have lovie calling the plays on defense and marinelli coach the defensive line.. And babich coaching the linebackers..Denver didn’t have WR’s either till cutler made them into stars. Most of my friends are bronco fans.. And all they keep telling me is that he is the best QB in the league and that we are lucky to have him.
Peyton Manning threw 58 interceptions in his first three years. Pretty sure we all know how that story turned out. People can turn stats in any direction they want to. If nothing else, Cutler can at least handle a snap.
LISTEN PEOPLE!!!!
I am a Raiders fan (insert joke here) I go to the games as I live in the Bay Area.
I have seen Jay Cutler twice play in my stadium.
He is 2-2 against the Raiders and has thrown 8 INT’s during that 4 game span.
We are talking about the Raiders here a team that could get beat by the local high school team. The worst team in the NFL over the last 6 years and look at what Cuntler has done against the NFLs worst team. Those numbers don’t lie Cutler sucks period.
Now one day we will be competitive again and I will be the first one to talk trash in here but until then I admit my team sucks BUT I am so glad we did not draft Vince Young, Mat Leinhart or Jay Cuntler!
Al Davis has taken so much crap for not taking those QB’s over the last three years and now I can laugh about it (Vince Young) LMAO
more important…
under cuntler (i like it!), the broncos were 1-4 against SD. and should have been… 0-5.
and they were 5-7 against other teams with winning records.
career:
vs winners (9-7 record or better): 5-10
vs .500 teams: 4-2
vs losers (7-9 record or worse): 8-8
and since favre sucks in the last 5 games of the season (since 05 at least)… how does cutler do?
06: only games he played in: 2-3. 9 td, 5 pix. rating approx 86.
07: 2-3. 3 bad losses. 7 td, 4 pix. rating approx 84.
08: 2-3. 2 bad losses. 6 td, 6 pix. rating approx 83. and in the win in nyj, they caught the jets right after their biggest win of the year. the other win, they toasted kc. some achievement.
nice rating. no other real results.
“He has also passed for 9,024 career yards, 54 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions for a cumulative 87.1 quarterback rating.”
Romo has passed for 10,562 yards, 81 TDs and 46 interceptions for a cumulative 94.7 passer rating. He gets more criticism here than Cutler, with Florio even going so far as implying that Romo doesn’t care about becoming a better NFL QB because he plays competitive golf in the off-season with the rationalization that a given person possesses only so much competitive “desire”, and that Romo doesn’t have enough for both sports. Cutler expends more time and effort on being a year-round whiney pussy than Romo spends on off-season golf, but you wouldn’t know it by the type of coverage each guy gets here.
Which one was the 11th overall draft pick again?
“The bears actually have great OL this year.. There defense will be vastly improved this year. You now have lovie calling the plays on defense and marinelli coach the defensive line.. And babich coaching the linebackers..Denver didn’t have WR’s either till cutler made them into stars.”
I didn’t think it was possible to fit every delusional Bears fan’s justifications into one paragraph, but wow. You did it.
How, exactly, is one of the league’s worst o-lines “great,” again? Adding Orlando Pace–who wasn’t good enough to come back to a two-win team? A team whose uniform he’ll wear into the Hall? If he had anything left, he’s be in St. Louis. He’s cooked. Done. And that was your big off-season addition.
Marinelli? It seems like an awful lot of people are depending on a position coach to change things.
And I laugh at the “Jay Cutler made the wideouts into stars” thing. That’s ridiculous. If you’re going to argue that, you can also argue the reverse–that he had really good wideouts who made him look better.
It’s the offseason. Everyone is excited, no one has lost yet. But take a spoonful of reality with your Kool-Aid.
Sincerely,
Someone who has watched every snap of Jay Cutler’s professional career.
He was 2- 2 against the Raiders come one people!!!!
I simply do not care about Cutler’s “risky” behavior. If Da Bears never win a Super Bowl under Cutler’s stewardship I simply do not care. I don’t care if Cutler never takes a snap for Da Bears. All I care about is that I will, in my lifetime, be able to see a PRO-BOWL quarterback (voted by his peers mind you) listed on our roster. The only quarterback that Cutler will remind me of will be Sid Luckman!
All Grossman did was take Chicago to their first Super Bowl in years…?
That might be just a bit of an oversimplification don’t you think?
There might have been a few problems in there somewhere too.
KC and I have gone round on this a few times.
Cutler and Grossman both take chances and throw more picks than they should.
However, Grossman’s MO was utterly ineffective play punctuated by occasional failed gambles.
Does Cutler screw up? Sure. A lot? Maybe. Can he move the chains in the meantime? Yes.
And therein lies the difference.
By the way, this is six-week old news.
I see all the psycho ex-girlfriend/jilted lovers are out in full force again…embittered Broncs fans, sour AFC Westerners, or frightened, anxious NFC North fans…
Add in the biased media, and EVERYBODY’S got an axe to grind against Cutler–and worse, the agendas are obvious.
Grossman got the Bears through SEPTEMBER, not to the Superbowl. After September (and then the Miami game–the begining of the multi-turnover, single-digit passer-rating games), he was just along for the ride.
Opposing defenses knew all they needed was a little pressure to rattle him.
Then the media (local & national) turned him into a punchline.
Was it all deserved? No. But most of it was.
Grossman’s a stand-up guy in just about every way, except in his play.
He has no pocket presence, no mobility, terrible accuracy, terrible decision-making, he’s short, has small hands, happy feet, a hair-trigger inner panic-button, and fifty other liabilities.
Let’s look at Grossman vs. Cutler:
Height–Cutler
Arm strength–Cutler
Accuracy–Cutler
Pocket presence–Cutler
Mobility–Cutler
Poise–Cutler
Decision-making–Cutler
It’s not even close. Plus Grossman’s had years to prove himself. Cutler’s still a puppy. He’s only just developing; he’s ascending, and the sky’s the limit.
In Chicago, he won’t be asked to save the world with his arm. He’ll have the benefit of excellent field position, a defensive that gives him the ball via turnovers, a stable and dangerous running attack, great TE’s, a WR he knows from college, Hester’s speed, and a capable O-line.
(Yes, Kruetz is one of the best, plus a 14th overall pick at RT, a Pro Bowler at LT–Pace is damaged goods–the Rams just cleaned house, and Angelo’s track record in finding decent veteran o-lineman speaks for itself…Pace will be rejuvenated on a winnning team. Shaffer and Omiyale are good FA upgrades, and the other Bears o-lineman are all decent).
As for Cutler not having the likes of Royal, Scheffler and Marshall–nonsense.
The WR production in Denver DOUBLED in Jay’s first season starting. He MADE those guys.
And for proof==if they even come close to what they did w/ Orton at the helm, I’ll grow my own neckbeard.
Will Cutler be perfect? No, but he’ll be the best thing to happen to Chicago since Polish sausage.
For the Bears, he’ll be the third-best off-season signing (after Marinelli, and after Favre to the Vikings).
As for Joyner’s bullspit piece:
What exactly does a “near interception” look like?
If it ultimately goes for a reception or a TD, who gives a sh1t?
It’s a meaningless bit of statistical manipulation, wholly subjective.
I’ve said it before…stats are like scripture:
the Devil can quote them to suit his purpose.
Like a good boob, twist ‘em any way you want–the proof is in the playing.
And Cutler can PLAY. Period.
But he is 2-2 against the RAIDERS!!
We are talking about the RAIDERS!!!
Hey Howie Handles. “If he (Grossman) even plays decent Chicago wins that SB”. Aside from 1 INT in the Super Bowl, Grossman did play fairly decent. THe second INT would have never been if Moose wasn’t a POS reciever. He watched the Colts intercepte it and watched them tip toe down the sideline for a TD. Moose didn’t even make a move to stop the guy, or break up the INT. He just stood by and watched it. Grossman wasn’t the reason the Bears lost that game, the Colts were just a better team. They made the Bears D look average, and then the offense played terrible. How’d the running game do that game? Not so well. That loss was not Grossman, it was teh Bears.
Silver&Crack:
Oh my God! It’s a wonder they let him get anywhere NEAR the Pro Bowl!!
Really, though…what is your point? Does it vary in any way from the weak crap in the original article?
So let me get this straight:
You’re saying the guy is awful because he’s only .500 against an AWFUL team (and that awful team is the very same team you purport to actually be a fan of)?
Sound reasoning, genius.
I generally try to avoid stating the obvious, but for you, I might have to:
QBs don’t play football in a vacuum–they generally have 10 other guys on the field with them, plus another 11 guys on defense, and then the special teamers and coaches.
Then, consider the guys on the bench, the guys on IR, the trainers and equipment managers and water boys and cheerleaders…
Together, they form what is known as a “TEAM” (kind of like Voltron, okay?)
This “team” is generally expected to work together towards one common purpose–in this case, either scoring (passing or running the football into the opponent’s endzone), or stopping the other team from scoring.
Sometimes they will even try to kick the ball through these tall yellow posts.
Now, while you may have ONE PLAYER that throws the ball, or kicks it, or catches it, or blocks or tackles someone, it is generally understood that any ONE individual doing these activities in isolation–without the planning, cooperation, and assistance of all or most of his “team”mates–would not have much success in achieving either of the ultimate ends (that is–scoring, or preventing scoring).
So, seeing as you are a Raiders fan, I GET that these are difficult concepts for you (I imagine you haven’t seen much of them).
However, I hope that my basic, basic tutorial has maybe at least helped you get a little closer to reaching a greater level of comprehension.
(We’re not asking for a lot here…)
Hey! Maybe you could even share this with the Raiders coaches!! Then maybe they’d win a couple more games!
Now THAT’S an idea!
Cutler was AWFUL in 06 and 07 so Shanny adjusted his offense for quicker WR’s and incorporate more 3 step drops and quick passes, while the WR’s would perform more square ins and quick curls. Cutler would then make the LB’s thinking pass first and their 97 hurt RB’s would do what ever they wanted in that zone blocking scheme. The run would then open up the play action roll outs and get Cutler throwing deep on the move, which he was pretty good at. And yes, Cutler had WAAAAAAAAAY too much confidence in his arm.
You’ll see the 06-07 Cutler in Chicago because they pretty much only run 5 step drops. Cutler could be the worst QB in the league against the rush.