The Sports Guru's Case Against Cutler

by John B on Apr 4, 2009 9:25 AM EDT

The Sports Guru over at SB Nation's Mile High Report wrote an excellent recap on the Jay Cutler situation yesterday as it pertains to the Broncos. Many of his key arguments can be related to the Jets and their situation. I suggest you take the time to read the full article. Here are some key points as they relate to Gang Green.

Championship teams are built around character. Nobody is bigger than the team. There are no sacred cows. Everybody better be able to do the little things and check egos at the door because competition for a job makes everybody better. Having a bunch of high character guys builds a stable locker room. Players start trusting one another and have confidence at critical moments. It is no surprise the only two teams to win multiple Super Bowls this decade, New England and Pittsburgh, model their franchises around these core values.
Cutler is not the only quarterback out there. Good coaching can develop a franchise player. The Pats have taken two late round Draft picks and turned them into quality players. The Jets have three talented young players whom they can mold.
Cutler has floundered every step of the way when put into a pressure situation. He has not shown any leadership skills. People have made excuse after excuse for him. It is surprising how many Jets fans wanted to give up anything and everything to land Cutler. Brett Favre was castigated by this fan base for having an eerily similar end to his 2008 season, not delivering when it mattered most. Could Cutler handle a similar situation, or would he beg for another trade if he was in New York? It is a lot more painful than hearing one's name rumored in a trade.
Cutler has been at his worst in statistical terms when his defense has played poorly, and he has needed to take his team onto his shoulders to pull out a game (one way to quantify whether somebody really is a franchise quarterback).

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The Jets had a chance to select Cutler in ‘06. They scouted him heavily and wound up passing him up over d’brick. Trading 2 first round picks and a pro bowler or pro bowler to be would be asinine for a player they could have had 3 years ago for one first round pick. Not to mention he’s shown he has a rather thin skin and his insecurities wouldn’t mesh well with the ny media and jets fans. How would he react when he gets booed off the field at halftime in his own stadium? Bottom line for me though is the price; teams were offering to pay way too much for a player who was a must trade for his former organization. They bid far too much against themselves and drove his price tag way higher than it should have been. We have a defensive minded head coach and this team will surely be built around that, to trade away your top shutdown corner in Revis (and a player who many coaches have already called the league’s best at his position) or a hard hitting tackling machine like Harris would just leave the Jets with another huge hole to fill.

by Ozone on Apr 4, 2009 1:00 PM EDT reply actions