Your Take On Sports…

The Jay Cutler saga recently has gotten me thinking, boy the NFL QB situation is in such a sad state, that we have to make a huge deal over Jay Cutler? And more sadly, teams are actually interested in this guy?? Desperation must be at an all time high.

The truth is, it’s a sad world in the NFL for teams who don’t have a rare quality QB. It seems like, despite the millions of dollars spent in the epic machinations of NFL scouting, researching, film study, coaching, etc… teams still cannot determine how to draft or develop GOOD quarterbacks.

Most of NFL’s Quarterbacks are Fossils

When it comes to the QB position, there are two categories: QB’s who know how to win and others cannot cut it despite whatever happens. This fact is evident when you consider the 12 QBs in this past season’s playoffs. You start seeing old familiar names like, Kurt Warner (age 37), Peyton Manning (33), Donovan McNabb (32), Kerry Collins (36), Chad Pennington (32), Jake Delhomme (34). Half of these guys are winning today with different teams than when they started in the league.

Even harder to believe, is the thriving presence of fossils like Gus Frerotte (age 37), Brett Favre (39), Jeff Garcia (39). Furthermore, two of last season’s playoff “young guns” Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger are far from inexperienced youths. They are in fact both champions, and playoff veterans in their own right.

Desperation is an ugly thing

What’s up with all the same old QBs all the time? Don’t coaches in all their wisdom and resources have ANY other options? Don’t they want new fast athletic young players to usher their team onto greatness? Why bring in a sack of old arthritic bones like Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins or even Brett Favre? Of course they would, but there isn’t anybody out there. There just isn’t. It seems crazy to me, but the truth is, you can spend millions of dollars watching tape, drafting, scouting, and yet teams will draft QBs who can’t play the game. Coaches will run teams into the ground, until they are forced to call on the services of guys like Kurt Warner or Gus Frerotte who magically get off their couch at home, throw on some cleats and win NFL games on Sunday.

The truth of the matter is simply, either you have “one of those” QBs who know how to play the position, or you are out of luck.

Good Quarterbacks, Like Diamonds, Are Forever

Good quarterbacks, the ones that have the skills and fortitude to make it to the ultimate stage, the Super Bowl typically have what it takes to be successful in the long term. This means, season after season, despite changes in coaches, teams, teammates, etc. they find a way to keep coming back. And good quarterbacks like diamonds are also rare. Because NFL coaches find it so damn hard to identify these gems, they have no choice but to keep going back to the same old war horses. A look at the list of past Super Bowl quarterbacks is interesting. Going back 10 seasons, you see names like: Brett Favre (1997, 1998), Kurt Warner (2000, 2002), Kerry Collins (2001), Tom Brady (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008), Jake Delhomme (2004), Donovan McNabb (2005). Perhaps this past Super Bowl is the most telling of the trend, where already Super Bowl champions, Ben Roethlisberger faced Kurt Warner.

The fact that both Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner made it back to the Super Bowl, with different head coaches from their other appearances, and in fact seasons removed from their prior Super Bowl games… demonstrates that it is in fact, the player at the QB position that is the common factor.

Everybody knows the QB position is important… but despite the parity of the NFL and the constant turnover in coaches and players. We see how amazingly rare it is to find a QB who can actually succeed in this league which is why the same players find themselves under center across the league over the years.

Coming to an NFL team near you soon?

Perloff does a good job injecting some reason into this pathetic attempt by the media to feed this Jay Cutler vs. Denver Broncos inferno: Broncos won’t lose much if they trade Cutler | FanNation. 

Seriously though, why is this even an issue worth blowing out of proportion? This isn’t some kind of perennial pro-bowl QB with years of playoff accolades we’re talking about. And the Broncos, God bless their blustery high altitude adjusted hearts, aren’t exactly going anywhere soon. So how does this really affect anybody in the NFL?

With the departure and/or exile of Cutler imminently expected soon, there is reported intense “interest” in Cutler from NFL teams ALL around the league apparently. This might be true, but really what this should indicate is the pathetic state of the skilled quarterback shortage in the NFL right now. 

Perloff does point out some things that are spot on:

Shanahan probably could have found a lot of quarterbacks capable of putting up big numbers.

Yup, let’s be honest…. Shanahan ain’t no slouch of a coach. He’s been around the block for a long time, and most importantly, he coaches fairly fundamentally sound teams. Cutler has benefited from the system of a head coach who values strong defense, good running game, and strong team personnel. 

Shanahan’s offense regularly landed near the top spot in total yardage throughout his years in Denver.

I don’t want to take what Cutler has done away from him, but the truth is… he was shown the door, and he simply walked through it… that’s all. 

Cutler earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2008 based on his 4,526 passing yards. But in more important metrics, namely wins (8-8) and TD-to-INT differential (25-to-18), Cutler came up short.

Cutler’s season stats 2008 break down:

• ranked second in NFL in passing attempts but ranked third in the NFL in passing completions and third in passing yards
• Only ranked seventh in passing touchdowns
• Ranked second behind (you guessed it Brett Favre) interceptions (18 INT)

So, what does this mean? Cutler is just a prolific passer but he’s not necessarily a good passer or even a real winner. He can sling the 2nd most balls in the NFL (passing attempts) but he can’t complete the 2nd most passes nor throw anywhere NEAR the 2nd most touchdowns in the NFL. Instead, you have somebody who ranked 7th in touchdowns thrown yet is 2nd on the list for interceptions thrown. Who’s team is this dude passing to? 

When the Broncos needed a win late last season against the Chargers, Cutler was given the ball 49 times. He responded by throwing the mighty cross of two interceptions on Denver’s back with only one little touchdown to his credit. The Broncos had to look elsewhere for their other 14 points. Somewhere in the vicinity of the playoff hunt, Cutler’s 3 straight game losing escapade to close off the Bronco’s season also effectively closed off the playoffs for Denver too. 

I would like to conclude by saying, I’m not a Cutler hater. I’m just pointing out the truth. In fact, I think he’s still got the goods for a real solid career. He’s got talent, good instincts, and a strong gun. He also seems able to effectively play in cold weather (always useful for playoff hopeful QBs). But if you are an NFL team, are you really THAT interested in Cutler? Is he going to seriously change the fortunes of ANYBODY? If you have one of those God awful teams, Raiders, Lions, Rams…. is Cutler really going to change everything?