Cutler becoming a star in third season
October 8, 2008 - 8:42PM
FRANK SCHWAB
THE GAZETTE
ENGLEWOOD • In the time it takes for one of his fastballs to reach the hands of a receiver, Jay Cutler became a star.
Before this season most people knew about the Denver
Broncos quarterback, and those who hadn't probably heard about his battle with Type 1 diabetes. However, he wasn't celebrated nationally and nobody assumed he would become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this year.
Cutler suddenly landed on the short list of elite quarterbacks in just his third season. There's plenty of time to go before a serious MVP discussion can take place. But at this early stage, Cutler, who has 1,502 yards and 10 touchdowns and has been the foundation for the 4-1 Broncos, might win the vote.
Cutler has said the bar for quarterbacks has been set by Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and New England's Tom Brady. Cutler is playing well, but he said he has big steps to take before approaching that class.
"You've got to win Super Bowls and that's what those guys do," Cutler said. "You can put up all the stats you want to in the regular season but if you don't get to the playoffs and make stuff happen in the playoffs and get to the Super Bowl, you're not in that level.
You're just not.
"And they've been doing it for a number of years, so you have to be consistent. There's a lot of guys that go out and throw for a lot of yards and win ballgames for one year, but it's over an extended period of time. That's what they've been able to do."
Cutler doesn't seem like he'll fade away anytime soon, and the national media has latched on. Cutler never has sought attention - that role on the team is filled by loquacious receiver Brandon Marshall - but he has handled it. Weekly since the start of the season, Cutler has done an interview with at least one national media outlet. Last week ESPN taped a segment with Cutler for its "Pardon the Interruption" show and the network featured him in its NFL pregame show a couple of weeks ago. NFL Network, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News also have come calling.
"It's been fun," Cutler said. "You start winning, you start getting some attention, and that's good for the program, for the franchise."
The maturation of an NFL quarterback is supposed to take more time. Sometimes it doesn't happen at all. Arizona quarterback Matt Leinart and Tennessee quarterback Vince Young, each drafted ahead of Cutler in the first round in 2006, have struggled at times to handle the attention and haven't played well. They are now backups.
Cutler has only 26 NFL starts (he has evened his record at 13-13) but he is already the face of the franchise. When Cutler is asked about the hit-or-miss nature of quarterbacks, he speaks from a surprisingly detached angle.
"Quarterback is such a fickle position, especially coming out of the draft," Cutler said.
"You don't know what you're going to get. You don't know how guys are going to react to the speed and the pressure and more responsibility."
Cutler credited being in a good offensive system with a good coach for his seamless development. He said this year's success is because his weapons and offensive line are making his job easy.
There are other reasons. He has the right package of skills. He's able to read defenses, elude defenders or scramble with his athletic ability, make great throws when he has time and good throws when he doesn't.
"He has a rifle for an arm, he has real good mobility, tough as hell and I just see a charismatic guy that the team really believes in," Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said.
The closest Cutler has come to sounding impressed with his numbers is when he acted surprised when told last week he was on a 5,000-yard pace. Fame and success is coming at him quickly, but Cutler said he hasn't had time to notice.
"At the end of the year that's when you look at all this stuff, go back and break up the tape and say ‘You know, we did pretty well,'" Cutler said. "But it goes by so quick. The work week, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, you're always doing something, always preparing. I try to not worry about that stuff."
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