WARHORSE
06-06-2008, 02:11 PM
Virtually every scouting report with Jay Cutler's name at the top begins with words devoted to his right arm.
A powerful tool in the football universe, the arm gives him the ability to make big spaces small, to construct big plays from small openings, to be what most everyone in the league wants behind center.
Ah, but there is the rub as Cutler heads into his third year in the league. That three will be a magic number, a charm or whatever else the third dot in the timeline of a career can be only when he does more with less.
"There's no doubt, that's right," Cutler said this week. "I have to just be patient, a lot more patient. I've learned every possession just counts for so much in this league. Those 2-yard gains, 3-yard gains, 4-yard gains add up. Make it second-and-short, third-and-short, that's huge.
"I know I can go down the field, but I have to learn to take what's given to me. Defenses can't take away everything, and if they take away the play down the field, I have to make enough of the other plays until they give it back. Then you take your shots."
So there it is: The virtue of patience is at the top of the docket for Cutler as the Broncos put together the offensive playbook for a season in which Jeremy Bates is the new quarterbacks coach and where history says coach Mike Shanahan will coax something big out of the quarterback.
"The third year is a big year for me, no doubt," Cutler said. "My first year was just kind of getting in there, getting my feet wet; last year (I) started the entire season and did some good things.
"But this year is about knowing what defenses are trying to do to us and finding the right spots to make the plays."
There is also the matter that Shanahan's last four full-time quarterbacks have all lifted their games in the third year in his offense.
* In 2005, Jake Plummer tallied his lowest interception total in any season in which he started at least 12 games - seven - and the Broncos went 13-3 on the way to the AFC Championship Game.
* In 2001, Brian Griese, in his third year as the Broncos starter, threw 23 touchdown passes, which still is his career high.
* In 1997, John Elway, in Shanahan's third season as Denver's head coach, threw a career-high 27 touchdown passes and the Broncos finished 13-3 on the way to the franchise's first Super Bowl win.
* And in 1994, Steve Young, in Shanahan's third season as 49ers offensive coordinator, completed more than 70 percent of his passes for 3,969 yards, 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. The 49ers, who scored 505 points in the regular season and put up a staggering 44, 38 and 49 points in postseason wins over Chicago, Dallas and San Diego, finished 13-3 and won Super Bowl XXIX.
Young's 112.8 passer rating that season was an NFL record until Peyton Manning broke it in 2004. Young's 70.28 completion percentage also is the third-highest, single-season total of all time and the highest since 1982, when the Bengals' Ken Anderson set the NFL record at 70.55.
"It's (Cutler's) third year in the National Football League, and I've said before I don't care if you're coaching or playing, it just takes time to feel comfortable with the system," Shanahan said. "I believe Jay has things in place to have a big year.
"I think the thing, and we've gone over this, we always emphasize for a guy who's got a great arm is you really have to know when to dump the ball off.
"Most guys want to dump the ball off all the time, just get their percentages up, but Jay isn't like that. It's a good problem that he always wants to go down the field, but we have to give him the confidence to dump the ball off and be ready when that play is there down the field. That's what we've seen on the film."
For Cutler, that means not only dealing with the revelation that he has Type I diabetes but also adapting on the field to Bates, in his first season as Cutler's go-to position coach, as well as to the perennially demanding Shanahan.
Shanahan's exacting standards have frazzled more than one quarterback over the years. Plummer and Shanahan had a working agreement at times that Plummer would deal with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak during games to keep the quarterback on more of an even keel on the sidelines.
Kubiak has said, "Jake is a fiery guy, and that led to some fiery exchanges."
Cutler said Shanahan, who has also overseen the draft and free agency work, has taken a low-key approach with the offense thus far in the offseason.
"Mike's kind of sat back and let me and Jeremy do our thing this camp," Cutler said. "I think he's just kind of feeling it out to see how we mesh. I think Mike just wants to see how we do right now, and he's giving Jeremy a little bit of freedom to just experiment, which is good.
"But this year there shouldn't be a lot of surprises for me. I've seen a lot of things. We'll do the work, and we have a lot of options on offense, so that means, hopefully, it adds up that I'm successful and we're successful."
A powerful tool in the football universe, the arm gives him the ability to make big spaces small, to construct big plays from small openings, to be what most everyone in the league wants behind center.
Ah, but there is the rub as Cutler heads into his third year in the league. That three will be a magic number, a charm or whatever else the third dot in the timeline of a career can be only when he does more with less.
"There's no doubt, that's right," Cutler said this week. "I have to just be patient, a lot more patient. I've learned every possession just counts for so much in this league. Those 2-yard gains, 3-yard gains, 4-yard gains add up. Make it second-and-short, third-and-short, that's huge.
"I know I can go down the field, but I have to learn to take what's given to me. Defenses can't take away everything, and if they take away the play down the field, I have to make enough of the other plays until they give it back. Then you take your shots."
So there it is: The virtue of patience is at the top of the docket for Cutler as the Broncos put together the offensive playbook for a season in which Jeremy Bates is the new quarterbacks coach and where history says coach Mike Shanahan will coax something big out of the quarterback.
"The third year is a big year for me, no doubt," Cutler said. "My first year was just kind of getting in there, getting my feet wet; last year (I) started the entire season and did some good things.
"But this year is about knowing what defenses are trying to do to us and finding the right spots to make the plays."
There is also the matter that Shanahan's last four full-time quarterbacks have all lifted their games in the third year in his offense.
* In 2005, Jake Plummer tallied his lowest interception total in any season in which he started at least 12 games - seven - and the Broncos went 13-3 on the way to the AFC Championship Game.
* In 2001, Brian Griese, in his third year as the Broncos starter, threw 23 touchdown passes, which still is his career high.
* In 1997, John Elway, in Shanahan's third season as Denver's head coach, threw a career-high 27 touchdown passes and the Broncos finished 13-3 on the way to the franchise's first Super Bowl win.
* And in 1994, Steve Young, in Shanahan's third season as 49ers offensive coordinator, completed more than 70 percent of his passes for 3,969 yards, 35 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. The 49ers, who scored 505 points in the regular season and put up a staggering 44, 38 and 49 points in postseason wins over Chicago, Dallas and San Diego, finished 13-3 and won Super Bowl XXIX.
Young's 112.8 passer rating that season was an NFL record until Peyton Manning broke it in 2004. Young's 70.28 completion percentage also is the third-highest, single-season total of all time and the highest since 1982, when the Bengals' Ken Anderson set the NFL record at 70.55.
"It's (Cutler's) third year in the National Football League, and I've said before I don't care if you're coaching or playing, it just takes time to feel comfortable with the system," Shanahan said. "I believe Jay has things in place to have a big year.
"I think the thing, and we've gone over this, we always emphasize for a guy who's got a great arm is you really have to know when to dump the ball off.
"Most guys want to dump the ball off all the time, just get their percentages up, but Jay isn't like that. It's a good problem that he always wants to go down the field, but we have to give him the confidence to dump the ball off and be ready when that play is there down the field. That's what we've seen on the film."
For Cutler, that means not only dealing with the revelation that he has Type I diabetes but also adapting on the field to Bates, in his first season as Cutler's go-to position coach, as well as to the perennially demanding Shanahan.
Shanahan's exacting standards have frazzled more than one quarterback over the years. Plummer and Shanahan had a working agreement at times that Plummer would deal with offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak during games to keep the quarterback on more of an even keel on the sidelines.
Kubiak has said, "Jake is a fiery guy, and that led to some fiery exchanges."
Cutler said Shanahan, who has also overseen the draft and free agency work, has taken a low-key approach with the offense thus far in the offseason.
"Mike's kind of sat back and let me and Jeremy do our thing this camp," Cutler said. "I think he's just kind of feeling it out to see how we mesh. I think Mike just wants to see how we do right now, and he's giving Jeremy a little bit of freedom to just experiment, which is good.
"But this year there shouldn't be a lot of surprises for me. I've seen a lot of things. We'll do the work, and we have a lot of options on offense, so that means, hopefully, it adds up that I'm successful and we're successful."