I think it's entirely possible that some people weren't sold on him being the long-term solution in Denver, much less now after all that has transpired with the situation. Maybe some people think he would just me another entry in the catalogue of Jets QB failures.
If that's the case, the people in Denver need to look at the bigger picture. The Broncos' failures the past two seasons were the result of failing to build up their defense. The only team I can think of that made the playoffs while surrendering 400+ points was this year's Arizona Cardinals, and they benefited from a weak schedule in the NFC West. Their defense also underperformed for much of the season, despite clear talent.
I agree. Especially given that we have the 17th pick. It would take more than that to trade up and grab a "potential" franchise QB. He's worth the draft picks if for no other reason, you don't have to gamble big bonus money to a big question mark that could bust, a la Gholston, Robertson, etc. Probably 50-60% of 1st rounders live up to their selection and paycheck. Assuming one draft pick is a great pick & one is mediocre, it's a good trade. I'd offer 2 1sts & a QB for Cutler & their 2nd rounder. Doubt the Broncos would take it. I'm sure some team will give up more or higher picks.
Cutler is no guarantee. If he was he would not be on the block because Denver would never have made the error of publicly looking for Cassell when he became available. The single biggest X factor in this entire scenario is Cutler's actual value versus his perceived value. People look at the 4,500 yards passing and they act like that's the only thing that matters here. If you drill down in the stats you come up with the fact that Cutler's yard's per pass attempt was only 10th in the league though. He passed the ball a huge number of times, 616 to be exact, and thus he was able to amass a huge number of yards passing without actually excelling at gaining yards on each pass. Overall Cutler's performance was pretty ordinary but magnified by the fact that he threw the ball 616 times. If you gave Matt Cassell 616 throws last year he's have put 4,374 yards up, which is very close to what Cutler did. He'd have thrown 23 TD's, which is exactly what Cutler did. He'd have thrown 13 interceptions, which is 5 less than Cutler. McDaniels may well have concluded that Cassell is actually a better QB than Cutler when he made his overtures towards the Pats. It's a defensible position to take, although it flies in the face of a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and so was a bad move on his part.
It also helps that opposing defenses knew he was throwing the ball on every down. If you watched a fair amount of Denver football, you saw teams dropping 6 or 7 into coverage rather consistently. It's tough to pass consistently in that situation, but I can see your point.
Yes, the tandem of Harris and Scott will be a force and I too would be very upset with trading Harris. How many years have we endured teams running at will up the middle on us? We got better last year untill the last 5 games, but Jenkins will be made even better by having Harris and Scott on the team. I will be quite content going with what we have before I would ever think of trading Harris.
Yes, this is true and I concede the point. That said, the performance that Cutler put up last year really does look like a decent QB given a ton of throws not a great QB. There was nothing wrong with Denver's rushing attack last year. They gained 1,837 yards on the ground with a 4.8 yards per carry average and in fact ranked 12th in the NFL in rushing. This is something that Denver has done so consistently over the years that I can't attribute it to Cutler's amazing passing prowess. The fact that none of the Broncos rushers individually had a particularly good season is also unremarkable. Mike Shanahan has had this kind of rushing attack in about half the seasons he coached the Broncos: nobody in particular shines but the team can run the ball. That's because they have always had a good offensive line. What's interesting is that the Broncos ranked 3rd in passing and 12th in rushing but only 16th in points per game. What's that all about? Makes me really wonder about what Cutler's value really is. QB's with good offenses create TD's. Last year Cutler really didn't at the level his offense was capable of.
The only conclusion McDaniels was capable of making was that he wanted Cassell because he knew him. He probably still doesn't even know Cutler. For what it's worth and all you have to do is read the papers, most GMs are convinved Cutler is the real deal and a true franchise QB and they have no thought like that about Cassell whatsoever. If Cassell was as good as Cutler then NE would have gotten more then a lonely 2nd round pick for him.
Anyone on this team could go for Cutler unless your name is Revis, Jenkins, Pace, Scott, Mangold, D Brick or Leon I say peace see you later. Cutler would make this team a contender for the next 10 years. I do not think they will want a player in return just picks but if they take a 1st, 2nd & Harris Tannenbaum about to get taken should be named Tannenbaum just robbed Denver. I would give up this year & next years 1st round pick for this guy.
Ignatius, I am seriously praying for the day when you dump that avatar for anything else. Everytime I see it I get an upset stomach.
That may well be the case. But in the first instance, I think it was a monumental screw-up by Babyface McDaniels that caused this rather than an overall lack of confidence in Cutler. In the second instance, if Jets fans are so gun-shy they now recoil from a quarterback like Jay Cutler, there may be no hope left for us!
There seems to be a real disconnect here between some fans and reality. They don't want to give up a lot for a franchise QB yet every GM in the league that your hear from says he is worth a lot and then some more. Yesterday they were talking about 2 #1s and a 3. Or players, a 1 and a 3. If they think he is worth it why don't soime of the people here think so too?
McDaniels probably just looked at the 16th best offense stat and asked himself why that was the case if Cutler was a great QB behind a very good offensive line. It's the logical question to ask given that Mike Shanahan's teams never ranked less than 10th in points scored from 2000 to 2005 but then in the last two seasons have ranked 21st and 16th in points scored. Shanahan knows how to pile up points, does Cutler?
Either April 25th, when we don't draft Harvin, or the day we trade our #1 for Cutler. It stays until then. Sorry.
If Cutlers skin is not tough enough to deal with the Cassal riff in Denver what is he going to do when ny media or even worse the fickle fans get on him for two bad games or a bad game against the Pats? He is a great talent without the tough skin necessary to play in NY! Plus the price we will have to pay is to steep. We will have to tear the core of our team plus give up valuable picks for him To much of a risk. Our Qb is on the roster or in the 2010 draft.
Maybe it was because in the last two years the Denver defense never got off the field. You can't argue his stats from last year. Everybody in the stadium knew he was going to pass on almost every down and yet he still threw for 4500 yards and 25 TDs or whatever it was. He was probably throwing against nickel and dime packages on every play and still did it. They were using taxi squad RBs all year long. He really was great last year.
