Thread: Ditka: Can Jay Cutler be considered an elite QB?

Originally Posted by dabears54

while agree Peyton the best in the game, not sure better athletic skills.. Cutler a MUCH better runner, ever see manning scramble? it is not pretty. think their arm's comparable.. manning just so far, mentally alot better, but he's also in his 10th year, so not as far a comparision.

let culter be in the SAME system for a few consective years for a better comparision.. I mean peyton been running the same system since came in league and not changing 3 in 4 years and different people each year

He doesn't have to run, or scramble, he shifts in the pocket pretty damn well though; and he gets the ball out real quick. Don't downplay the mental aspect though, that position is probably the most mentally challenging of all sports. Any starting qb in the NFL, and some backups have good to great arms(w/the rarest of exceptions), and good enough to get the ball downfield. If armstrength were that important we'd still have Rex here, and Jeff George would be a HoF'r

Originally Posted by Riczaj01

He doesn't have to run, or scramble, he shifts in the pocket pretty damn well though; and he gets the ball out real quick. Don't downplay the mental aspect though, that position is probably the most mentally challenging of all sports. Any starting qb in the NFL, and some backups have good to great arms(w/the rarest of exceptions), and good enough to get the ball downfield. If armstrength were that important we'd still have Rex here, and Jeff George would be a HoF'r

Oh don't disagree that is why said Manning the best.. just saying on JUST PURE ATHLETIC talent you can make an argument on Cutler, esp with better legs. but the mental side puts Manning over the top over-all as a QB. just hopefully we keep winning and Martz sticks around for a few years, because DO want to see what jay can do with some consistancy and SAME COACH/SCHEME/PLAYERS and see how far he can grow

People forget manning avg over 20 INT's his first 4 years in league,, its HARD even for as great a talent and qb as manning is.. until have the consistancy and same system

Originally Posted by motownbear

so you are telling me throw brady in manning system when he had wayne-harrison-clark-edge-stokley that he would fail?

im not gay for brady anymore 1. not into the justin bieber look lol 2. Im gay for Cutler for like over a year now get with the times already

I don't think he would fail with those guys, but I don't think he would do as well as Manning. Brady is a system QB, he can't translate to any NFL system. I don't think putting Brady on a team makes their offense an instant threat. I think Manning would.

And YOU may not like the Bieber look, but 4th sure does.

Originally Posted by Guitarzan-54

So......I guess we can finally put to rest whether or not Dan Marino was an "elite" quarterback.........

.

AND the Trent Dilfer HOF talk can commence...

Originally Posted by Rakk

AND the Trent Dilfer HOF talk can commence...

lawlz. touche.

Originally Posted by Guitarzan-54

So......I guess we can finally put to rest whether or not Dan Marino was an "elite" quarterback.........



.........


.

and joe theisman for HOF..lolol

Elite QBs win. If Jay keeps winning and wins some playoff games, he will be elite.

usa today:

With an improved Jay Cutler, hopes are high for Bears again
By Marlen Garcia, USA TODAY
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Desmond Clark uses some levity to explain the Chicago Bears' three victories to open the season, all of which had can-you-believe-it drama.
"We're trying to do it for the TV ratings," says the tight end, in his eighth season with the Bears. "We need to keep those up."
The Bears are commanding attention as the NFC's only undefeated team going into Sunday night's game against the New York Giants (1-2) at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The Bears join the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs as the NFL's unbeatens.



The last time the Bears started 3-0 was the 2006 Super Bowl season. Hopes are rising again in Chicago, thanks to a turnaround by quarterback Jay Cutler under new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, a longtime coach who worked for the NFL Network last season.

Martz is best known for his stint as offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams when they won the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. He was the Rams' head coach from 2000 to 2005, guiding them to a Super Bowl appearance in the 2001 season.

But Martz's pass-first attack hasn't always bred such success. In his two seasons as the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator (2006-07), they ranked 22nd and 19th, respectively, in total offense for teams with a combined 10-22 record. A year later with the San Francisco 49ers, the 49ers (7-9) ranked 23rd in total offense and failed to record a 300-yard passing game.

Yet the Bears' about-face "started with the hiring of Martz and (offensive line coach) Mike Tice," says Tom Thayer, a 14-year Bears radio broadcaster who played on Chicago's 1985 Super Bowl team. "Every player came in with a clean slate. Martz had to evaluate how players fit into his system, and there was a lot of absorption by the players."
Martz's pass-heavy approach suits Cutler, 27, in his fifth season. Last season, the quarterback arrived with a lot of hype in a trade from the Denver Broncos. Last October, he signed a contract extension that goes through 2013 and pays him an average salary of $14.67 million.

He ended up throwing a league-high 26 interceptions and had a passer rating of 76.8 that ranked 21st.
The Bears went 7-9, and Cutler was under fire for everything from poor reads in double coverage to bad body language.

Fast forward to 2010. He ranks third with a 109.7 rating — behind Peyton Manning and Michael Vick— passing for 870 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions.
"Martz brought a whole new element to this offense, not only philosophy-wise but mentally," Cutler says. "He's getting guys prepared."

Martz says Cutler sees things quickly: "He knows what's going on and gets the ball to the right guy. That's a rare quality."


Some fans couldn't grasp the team's potential during a winless preseason, when a fourth consecutive year without a playoff berth seemed plausible.

"People get too wrapped up in (the preseason)," coach Lovie Smith says. "All along we said wait until the regular season."

That's where drama has unfolded week after week.
•The Bears beat the Lions 19-14 in the opener after officials ruled an apparent touchdown catch by Calvin Johnson with 25 seconds left was an incompletion.
•The next week, the Bears went to Texas, where they had lost three consecutive games, and beat Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys 27-20. Cutler threw for 277 yards and three scores.

•On Monday, the Bears earned a 20-17 win vs. the Green Bay Packers, a team many experts think has realistic Super Bowl aspirations. Star middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, out last season after dislocating his wrist in the opener, forced a fumble that led to a field goal by Robbie Gould with four seconds left.

In wins against the Lions and the Packers, luck seemed to be with the Bears. The incompletion by the Lions that ultimately secured the victory came courtesy of an archaic rule. The Packers set a team record with 18 penalties.
"There's no such thing as luck," Smith says. "The best teams usually win. Our record is 3-0. We didn't trick anyone."

Urlacher, Peppers anchor 'D'

As much attention as Cutler and the offense have drawn, Smith's praise of the defense cannot be understated. Urlacher's return has provided a big boost.

"It looks like he's having fun," Smith says of Urlacher. "And guys normally have fun when they're playing good ball."
The Bears also are getting a lot from $91 million man Julius Peppers, who signed a six-year contract in free agency. The defensive end blocked a Packers field goal attempt for the 10th blocked kick of his career.
"He's a phenomenal athlete. He works his tail off every day in practice," Urlacher says.

When asked to judge the defense, Urlacher says the unit still needs work: "We're getting key takeaways at good times, which is helping us, but we've got to play better. We missed a lot of tackles (Monday), me included. We're playing fast; that makes up for a lot of mistakes."

The offensive line remains anchored by center Olin Kreutz, in his 13th season after having surgery on his Achilles tendon. He has defied talk that he was all but finished as a contributor.

Tice has pieced together the rest of the line, the team's weak link, with position swaps, and is relying on inexperienced players.

"Those guys have done a hell of a job," Kreutz says. "Hopefully we'll keep improving and then we'll become a pretty good line."

Meantime, it's up to Martz to devise ways to keep Cutler, who already has been sacked eight times, on his feet.
"Martz is scheming ways so Cutler doesn't get killed," Chicago Tribune columnist David Haugh says. Martz says Cutler can help himself by getting rid of the ball quicker.

Martz is adjusting to his personnel. In the past, his system relied on tight ends mostly as blockers, but he has recognized the versatility of starter Greg Olsen, who had a 21-yard catch vs. Green Bay to help set up Gould.
"I was confident that if I just continued to go out there and do what I do, there would be a place for me," Olsen says. "Martz has said all along that the guys who make plays and do what they're supposed to do are going to play."
Says Martz of his switch: "I just have not had anybody at that position that talented."

Running back Matt Forte struggled last season, in part because of a knee injury, rushing for 929 yards and four touchdowns. In 2008, he set a team single-season rookie rushing record with 1,238 yards.

This season, Forte has had more success receiving — 14 catches, 202 yards and three touchdowns — than rushing, with 38 carries for 108 yards.

"Catches are just as good as a run," he says.
Yet the Bears need to turn to their running game more, Smith says.

"The defense is playing great ball, keeping us in games," Cutler says. "Offensively, we're still figuring out things."

Smith stays the course
Some see a higher level of accountability for players as a new sense of urgency for Smith, whose team was 23-25 entering this season since the Super Bowl. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, for instance, sat out the Green Bay game, a decision based on Harris' recent performances, according to Smith.

"It's the same philosophy we've always had," Smith says.

The Tribune's Haugh thinks the thinking is more like this: "The time to get Harris' attention is Week 3, not Week 10, because if we don't make the playoffs, we're unemployed."

Smith brushes off jabs at his job security: "I come to work every day like it's my last day at work."
He compared his job to his 31-year marriage to wife MaryAnne. "Each day isn't our wedding night," he says. "Sometimes there are moments where you go through some things. You stay the course, and it all works out."
His ability to hang on to his job may be predicated on the success of Cutler and Martz's offense.

"We still have too many mistakes," Martz says. "We have an awful lot of information out here now with what we're doing. We'll get that taken care of."