I really enjoyed this one. Take notice of how Elam compared him to Elway.
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More than just a Sunday drive for Cutler
Behind the wheel in Buffalo, Cutler turns into leader
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
September 12, 2007
ENGLEWOOD - As an NFL quarterback, Jay Cutler certainly will be asked to do a lot of things in his vocational life. He'll be asked to win games, to be sure. But to do that, he'll also be asked to win the hearts and minds of the 10 other players staring back at him in the huddle.
That's why, in his first full year as an NFL starter, Sunday just might turn out to be more than a one-point win.
"That last drive . . . defines what we're going to be, what we are about," Broncos running back Travis Henry said. "Guys sucked it up. We knew we had to get in field-goal range or score a touchdown to win. . . . And (Cutler) gave us the feeling we were going to do it. That's what you want."
On the sterile pages of recent history, it simply will say the Broncos went 42 yards in 12 plays in the final 2:13 on the game clock. That Jason Elam kicked a 42-yard field goal for a 15-14 win against the Buffalo Bills on a rainy September Sunday.
But for Cutler, who is next in the line of Broncos quarterbacks to step where John Elway left some of the biggest footprints at any position in the league, it was a chance for a leap of faith.
He acknowledged after the game he felt like his teammates believed in him but that a comeback such as Sunday's still was a major step in affirmation.
"I think they believe in me, but to go out there and do that puts even more faith in me," Cutler said. "I feel good about it."
Elam, who, in his 15th season, is the longest-tenured player with the team, went as far as to invoke the platinum standard of comeback play for the franchise.
"I've been involved in a lot of comeback victories with John over the years, and I'm not sure anything compares to this," Elam said. "It was pretty exciting. What was it? Third-and-23?"
"He's a young guy," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "To see him step up and make the plays he made in the final drive and take control of the game, it gives a lot of those players - almost all those players - a lot of confidence in our quarterback.
"That's what leaders do -- that's what competitors do. They don't shy away from competition, from a challenge, and (Cutler) certainly stepped up when he had to."
Many of the Broncos players said Cutler's reaction to the roughest of spots on the winning drive was telling. On second-and-13 from the Broncos 31 - it was the third play of the drive - Cutler dropped back to pass, only to see his first option on the play no longer was an option because a Bills pass rusher was in his face.
So, seeing running back Selvin Young swinging out of the backfield - Young was the second option on the play, Shanahan said - Cutler tried to get the ball to the rookie to avoid the sack.
But, in the heat of the moment, Cutler overthrew Young. The back was behind Cutler, so the loose ball was a lateral that could be recovered by the Bills and would have ended the Broncos' chances for a win.
But Young swatted the ball out of bounds, and the Broncos were left with a third-and-23 with 1:43 to play.
"And we've got to get a first down or we lose the game," Cutler said.
"(You've) got to make plays as a quarterback," Shanahan said. "You can't be afraid. He wasn't afraid (to try) to make a play."
Cutler threw to Javon Walker on a quick hitter that turned into a 21-yard gain on third down, then ran for 7 yards on fourth down to get the first down.
Eight plays later, Elam kicked the winner and Cutler had gone 4-of-6 on the drive, including a spike to stop the clock, for 51 yards.
Shanahan said Cutler also overcame some "rough spots in our communication" during the game because of the noise inside Ralph Wilson Stadium.
"When I looked at it (Monday) morning, I thought he played well," Shanahan said. "He made a number of plays, managed the game well. Especially in those conditions. It was very loud, and sometimes our communication broke down and he had to call a play on his own to get something run. He did a good job with that."
Shanahan and several of his teammates also pointed to a block by Cutler on an option play in the first quarter as an example of what might be possible: Cutler took on safety Donté Whitner on Henry's 33-yard run and put Whitner on the ground.
But winning games, late drives, remaining calm in the storm, that's what quarterbacks are asked to do. Some do, some do not.
And, for his part, Cutler, with a career still ahead of him, seems to already understand Elway's gold- coated Hall-of-Fame shadow will always come with the job here.
"That's why we get paid the big bucks, to make third downs, make two-minute drives," Cutler said. "The Bronco fans, they know it well with John Elway through all those years."
Broncos players apparently knew instantly Cutler was their leader.
"Our players were ready for him to be the starter when he took over the job last year," Shanahan said. "They could see we have a quarterback that has a lot of talent. They saw it again (Sunday). He's just got to keep on getting better. That's what separates the good ones from the great ones."