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Lessons learned from Cutler's first 5 years
Lessons learned from Cutler's first 5 years
When you compare him with other QBs, you find he isn't far off from where many were at a similar stage of development
In the biggest game of Jay Cutler's life, he laid an egg big enough to feed most of the people at Soldier Field. And when he couldn't play in the second half because of a knee injury, the haters accused him of being chicken.
It's easy to be down on Cutler these days. He wasn't as good as Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't good enough, period.
But that doesn't mean he's incapable — or that he won't get better.
It's easy to forget Cutler still is a young quarterback at 28 with only five years of NFL experience. When you compare him with other quarterbacks, you find he isn't far off from where many were at a similar stage of development.
For instance, after Tom Brady's first five seasons, the Patriots quarterback had thrown for 99 fewer yards and seven fewer touchdowns than Cutler, had a worse yards per attempt (7.2 to 6.9), had been sacked eight fewer times and had a slightly better passer rating (87.5 to 84.3).
What Brady had that Cutler didn't was three Super Bowl rings. And a coach named Bill Belichick.
There are interesting lessons to be learned from looking at Cutler's first five years, compared with the first five years of 10 other established veteran quarterbacks: Brady, Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.
Lesson 1: Cutler has been at a comparative disadvantage.
Cutler has played for four offensive coordinators in five years: Mike Heimerdinger, Jeremy Bates, Ron Turner and Mike Martz. None of the other 10 quarterbacks played for more than two, and three of the most successful — Brady, Peyton Manning and Palmer — played for only one.
Cutler has not had a chance to grow lengthy schematic roots and become a master of one way of doing things. He also has not had a chance to develop long-term chemistry with teammates.
The only other quarterback of the 10 to switch teams in his first five years was Orton.
Lesson 2: Cutler's productivity matches up well.
Only one of the 10 quarterbacks threw for more yards and touchdowns than Cutler, and finishing second to Peyton Manning in those categories is nothing to be ashamed of. Cutler also has had more attempts than any of them.
His completion percentage of .616 is better than the .607 average of the other 10.
Lesson 3: Cutler has not figured out how to win.
Cutler's winning percentage is lowest among the 11 quarterbacks. Some of this has been out of his control. He has not played on the same caliber of team, for instance, that Rivers and Roethlisberger have.
Cutler also has not had the same kind of fortification around him that many of the others had. He has had a Pro Bowl wide receiver or lineman on his side only once in five years, in 2008 when Brandon Marshall and Casey Wiegmann were teammates in Denver. (Johnny Knox played in the Pro Bowl in 2009, but he made it as a return specialist.)
Cutler has benefited from a top-10 defense only once in five years, last season when the Bears ranked ninth.
Whereas Brady won 75 percent of his regular-season games in his first five years, Cutler has won 50 percent
Some of Cutler's wounds have been self-inflicted. Only Peyton Manning threw more interceptions in his first five years than Cutler, who has 78. Cutler's touchdown-to-interception ratio of 1.31 is second-worst to Orton's 1.30.
Cutler must improve that number before he can improve his winning percentage.
Lesson 4: Cutler is most similar to Roethlisberger.
Both are big, strong-armed passers who can move and make plays outside the pocket. Neither has been an ideal leader, and both have personality quirks.
The numbers from each player's first five years are comparable. Cutler threw for 990 more yards and three more touchdowns.
Like Cutler, Roethlisberger had a lot of negative plays. He threw 69 interceptions, 10 fewer than Cutler. He was sacked 192 times, 54 more than Cutler.
The big difference? Roethlisberger won 16 more of his starts — not to mention two Super Bowls.
Some of that is because Roethlisberger is a clutch player who has made big plays at opportune times. And some of that is because Roethlisberger has been in a stable environment surrounded with better players.
Is it that outrageous to suggest that if they had traded places, Cutler might have won a couple of Super Bowls in Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger still would be trying to figure it out while working with his fourth offensive coordinator? It might not be.
The circumstances of Cutler's career make it difficult to judge him. We should find out if he has the fiber that made Roethlisberger a champion in the coming seasons, assuming he continues to mesh with Martz and Bears receivers.
Cutler has an excellent base to build on. If he has the will and stability around him, he still can become a premier quarterback.
dpompei@tribune.com
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Couldn't agree with this article more! I've felt since we traded for him, that Cutler was the most talented offensive skill position player that we've had since Neil Anderson, and the type of guy that you can build an offense around.
I think adding Carimi was a good move in the overall goal of increasing our offensive talent level. I think we are good at RB for this next season (though, I'd like for us to use a pick in the first 3 rounds next year on another RB... need to always be looking to reload at the position due to injuries). The big next step, IMHO, is this FA - bring in a WR that brings something DIFFERENT to the table than what we already have in Knox, Hester and Bennett. I.E., look to Sidney Rice (true all purpose #1 WR), Santonio Holmes (quite possibly the best possession WR in the NFL) or Santana Moss (a high quality possession WR). On the o-line, I'd also look to bolster our talent at the OT position - Clabo?
Those are my thoughts. GO BEARS!
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Roethlisberger plays through pain.
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High Fives / Like - 0 BEAR DOWN!, 1 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
OBTheAnimal 
Couldn't agree with this article more! I've felt since we traded for him, that Cutler was the most talented offensive skill position player that we've had since Neil Anderson, and the type of guy that you can build an offense around.
I think adding Carimi was a good move in the overall goal of increasing our offensive talent level. I think we are good at RB for this next season (though, I'd like for us to use a pick in the first 3 rounds next year on another RB... need to always be looking to reload at the position due to injuries). The big next step, IMHO, is this FA - bring in a WR that brings something DIFFERENT to the table than what we already have in Knox, Hester and Bennett. I.E., look to Sidney Rice (true all purpose #1 WR), Santonio Holmes (quite possibly the best possession WR in the NFL) or Santana Moss (a high quality possession WR). On the o-line, I'd also look to bolster our talent at the OT position - Clabo?
Those are my thoughts. GO BEARS!
hey OB! good to see ya still lurking!.. thought you had joined the lockout in sympathy or something ..J/K.. and as we have talked the last 2 months.. a F/A WR and F/A OG probably on deck when F/A finally opens, see the F/A thread for almsot same ideas, with the addition of Malcolm floyd another posible addition, and on holmes the 2 strikes against him already may keep bears away from pursuing FWIW
And depending on if its a 4 or 5 year to F/A here is how the OG situation will be in F/A
5 year Free agents:
tyson clabo ( OT/OG) , atlanta 5 years
davin joseph(OG) tampa 5 years
chris spencer( C/OG), seattle, 5 years
4 year free agents:
justin blalock(OG) atlanta, 4 years
chris chester(OG) baltimore, 4 years
marshall yanda(OG/T) baltimore 4 years
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Cutler has played for four offensive coordinators in five years: Mike Heimerdinger, Jeremy Bates, Ron Turner and
Mike Martz. None of the other 10 quarterbacks played for more than two, and three of the most successful — Brady, Peyton Manning and Palmer — played for only one.
Cutler has not had a chance to grow lengthy schematic roots and become a master of one way of doing things. He also has not had a chance to develop long-term chemistry with teammates.
Also think the above has alot to do with the inconsistencies.. keeping him in same system with same players do expect a big jump in year 2 this year.. and have seen so often...and the td's and will increase and the INT's down as knows the system and wha each WR can and can not do now
Last edited by dabears54; 06-11-2011 at 08:12 AM.
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So you mean we can go from the 30th best offense to the 29th?
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Originally Posted by
dabears54 hey OB! good to see ya still lurking!.. thought you had joined the lockout in sympathy or something ..J/K.. and as we have talked the last 2 months.. a F/A WR and F/A OG probably on deck when F/A finally opens, see the F/A thread for almsot same ideas, with the addition of Malcolm floyd another posible addition, and on holmes the 2 strikes against him already may keep bears away from pursuing FWIW
And depending on if its a 4 or 5 year to F/A here is how the OG situation will be in F/A
5 year Free agents:
tyson clabo ( OT/OG) , atlanta 5 years
davin joseph(OG) tampa 5 years
chris spencer( C/OG), seattle, 5 years
4 year free agents:
justin blalock(OG) atlanta, 4 years
chris chester(OG) baltimore, 4 years
marshall yanda(OG/T) baltimore 4 years
haha, yeah I'm still around DB... just not much time to post with putting all the bad guys in jail ;)
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High Fives / Like - 1 BEAR DOWN!, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
OBTheAnimal haha, yeah I'm still around DB... just not much time to post with putting all the bad guys in jail ;)
you mean ray lewis is right? w/o football crime is a'rising!.. j/k... at least makes the day go quicker : ) and yeah we need a new CBA soon, just to get some real stuff to tak about.. see how Carimi does and and what poistion they line him up.. how Paea looks at the '3".. i Conte the real deal?.. who will we snag in F/A.. some much better topics to be had : ).. but like the mortuary, your job will always keep them coming. : )
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Lessons learned from Cutler's first 5 years
Lessons learned from Cutler's first 5 years
When you compare him with other QBs, you find he isn't far off from where many were at a similar stage of development
Jay Cutler tries to get away from the Packers' Clay Matthews during the NFC Championship Game loss. (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune / January 23, 2011)
Dan Pompei On the NFL 8:10 p.m. CDT, June 11, 2011
In the biggest game of Jay Cutler's life, he laid an egg big enough to feed most of the people at Soldier Field. And when he couldn't play in the second half because of a knee injury, the haters accused him of being chicken.
It's easy to be down on Cutler these days. He wasn't as good as Aaron Rodgers. He wasn't good enough, period.
But that doesn't mean he's incapable — or that he won't get better.
It's easy to forget Cutler still is a young quarterback at 28 with only five years of NFL experience. When you compare him with other quarterbacks, you find he isn't far from where many were at a similar stage of development.
For instance, after Tom Brady's first five seasons, the Patriots quarterback had thrown for 2,039 fewer yards and seven fewer touchdowns than Cutler, had a worse yards per attempt (7.2 to 6.9), had been sacked eight fewer times and had a slightly better passer rating (87.5 to 84.3).
What Brady had that Cutler didn't was three Super Bowl rings. And a coach named Bill Belichick.
There are interesting lessons to be learned from looking at Cutler's first five years, compared with the first five years of 10 other established veteran quarterbacks: Brady, Rodgers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger.
Lesson 1: Cutler has been at a comparative disadvantage.
Cutler has played for four offensive coordinators in five years: Mike Heimerdinger, Jeremy Bates, Ron Turner and Mike Martz. None of the other 10 quarterbacks played for more than two, and three of the most successful — Brady, Peyton Manning and Palmer — played for only one.
Cutler has not had a chance to become a master of one way of doing things.
He also has not had a chance to develop long-term chemistry with teammates.
The only other quarterback of the 10 to switch teams in his first five years was Orton.
Lesson 2: Cutler's productivity matches up well.
Only one of the 10 quarterbacks threw for more yards and touchdowns than Cutler, and finishing second to Peyton Manning in those categories is nothing to be ashamed of.
Cutler also has had the third most attempts — trailing only the Manning brothers.
His completion percentage of .616 is better than the .608 average of the other 10.
Lesson 3: Cutler has not figured out how to win.
Cutler's winning percentage is lowest among the 11 quarterbacks.
Some of this has been out of his control. He has not played on the same caliber of team, for instance, that Rivers and Roethlisberger have.
Copyright © 2011, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...7657042.column
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Looks like Dan Pompei really slammed Lovie Smith here. And he seems to be right about Cutler in a lot of respects in that he favors comparatively to the other great quarterbacks in the discussion. I suspect that his numbers will only continue to get better as the years roll along. He will lead us to a Super Bowl championship.
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