by MARK GREY

12.11.09 

His draft bio read like every head coach's dream.  He had a strong arm, was as tough as nails, and even had the athleticism to make plays on the run.  Although he wasn’t known as much of a winner in college (11-34 as a starter), teams were willing to look past that because of the lack of talent around him.  Standing 6’4” and weighing 230 pounds, the upside was limitless.  Once seen as the heir apparent to John Elway, Jay Cutler is starting to look more and more like the next Jeff George.

Coming out of college, George was the most sought after quarterback in the country.  The Colts used the first pick in the 1990 draft on the strong-armed quarterback with hopes of returning the team back to its glory days. However, what had all the makings of a dream story in which the hometown kid returns to lead the team to greatness quickly became a nightmare.  It took George only four short years to wear out his welcome in Indy.  He feuded with his coach, was hated by fans, and after demanding to be traded, was shipped to the Falcons.  The consensus around the league was that George had all the tools to be great, but just needed a change of scenery.  Over the next seven seasons, he would play for four different teams and it became clear that scenery was not George’s problem.  George’s problem was that he was not a leader and he let his strong arm get him in more trouble than he was worth.  Add all that up, throw in a few memorable quotes like, “leadership is overrated,” and a losing record at every stop, and George became known as the biggest cancer in all of sports.

Fast forward 15 years and the similarities between Cutler and George are alarming.  Entering the 2006 draft, Cutler’s arm was the talk of every draft room.  Vince Young and Matt Leinhart had much more celebrated college careers, but many felt like Cutler’s skill set would make him the best pro.  Thanks to his big arm and gunslinger style of play, he was being pegged as the next Brett Favre.  On draft day, the Broncos traded up to draft Cutler with the 11th pick with hopes of him being their quarterback of the future.

What started out as match made in heaven quickly ended in an ugly divorce.  Denver fans who had been hungry for a franchise quarterback since Elway’s departure welcomed Cutler with open arms.  Over the first two seasons, there were ups and downs just like with any young quarterback, but Cutler was regarded as a future NFL star.  By Cutler’s third season, expectations were high as the Broncos jumped out to a fast start, but the honeymoon would soon be over.  With the Broncos needing to win just one of their last three games of the season to clinch the division, Cutler and the Broncos went cold and lost all three including a 31 point blowout by San Diego to end the season.  The Broncos' poor finish led to the firing of the head coach and before the new coach had even set up his desk, he and Cutler were butting heads.  In less than three months, Cutler had burned every bridge in town as he forced his way out.      

Just like with George over a decade before him, the thinking was that Cutler had too much talent not to be great.  All he needed was a change of scenery.  Well, just like George, Cutler has changed teams but his losing ways have continued.  Cutler’s new team has gotten worse and his old team has gotten better.  Now I know it’s not fair to place the blame of the Bears' struggles squarely on Cutler’s shoulders, but at the end of the day he has spent over four seasons in two different citiesand he has never led a team to a winning record.  On the flip side, Kyle Orton, the player he was traded for, has done nothing but win throughout his career.

Is Orton a better quarterback then Cutler?  The combine, the stats, and the highlight reels say no, but the records say yes.  Will Orton ever be able to throw the ball 60 yards across his body and hit a double covered receiver right between the numbers?   No, but he also won’t try to three or four times a game.  The problem with guys like George and Cutler is that just because they can make the impossible throws, they feel like they always need to.  While both of them will make several passes a game that make you say, “did you see that?,” they will also throw game-killing interceptions.  There is no denying either one's individual talent, but being a leader is about much more.

There is no position in sports where being a good leader is more important than at quarterback.  As strong as George’s arm was, his leadership skills were equally bad on the other end of the spectrum.  He wore out his welcome in all seven cities, building a legacy of being a loser with a strong arm.  While Cutler is still young, he has already started his trip down the wrong path.  It took him only three years to make every fan in Denver hate him, and in his first season in Chicago he isn’t exactly winning them over, either.  When the waters started to get a little rough in Denver, instead of going down with ship like a true captain, Cutler was the first man overboard in a one-man life boat.  Cutler needs to wake up and realize that there is more to being a franchise quarterback than having the ability to throw off your back foot.  Bill Parcells said it best, "you are what your record says you are."  After almost four seasons, Cutler is anything but a winner. 

In closing, let's review the Jeff George check list for Cutler. Loads of talent? Check. Demanded to be traded less than four years after being drafted? Check. Makes dumb comments, " I have a stronger arm than John Elway."? Check. Makes sure to piss off the fans everywhere he goes? Check.  Whines like a baby? Check. Throws high numbers of interceptions, especially in critcal games? Check. Lastly, and most importantly, loses more than he wins? Check. Throw in the fact that both of them come from the same state and " Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you Jeff George 2.0."