The Trade of the Last Year

Now that the NFL regular season is drawing to a close, I want to take a quick look back at the trade that made the most headlines over this past off-season. The one that has forever dubbed Jay Cutler Captain Crybaby, Crybaby Cutler, Captain Pampers, and various other colorful names that the Bronco faithful came up with.

Now that things have been said and done? How is everybody doing? Well, let's look at the numbers.

Jay Cutler: 284 for 457. 62.1 % complete, 3023 yards 19TDs and 22 INTS. QB rating of 75.2

Kyle Orton: 258 for 410. 62.9% complete, 2904 yards 16 TDs and 8 INTs. QB rating of 88.9

The numbers really aren't that terribly different. Completion percentage about the same. Cutler has thrown the ball 47 more times than Orton, and has also completed 26 more passes. Yards not that far apart, and TDs are even pretty close. The big number difference is in the interceptions. A whole 14 more interceptions for Cutler than for Orton. 15, if you remember that the first interception of the year for Orton was a hail mary pass that was thrown at the end of the first half against New England earlier in the season. This brings to light the big thing that most people, myself included, really missed during this whole trade fiasco. Jay Cutler isn't really all that good.

Or at least not quite for what they traded for him. The Broncos got Kyle Orton, a first and third round draft pick in the 09 draft, and another first round pick (which they later traded away) in the '10 draft. 2 first round draft picks. Now, draft picks at that level are players that you quite literally expect to come in and make an impact on your team pretty immediately. What did the Bears get? Jay Cutler and a 5th round draft pick. Then, Jay Cutler was hailed as the savior of the Bears, the missing piece to their puzzle, the best thing since sliced bread and a Blackhawks team that was actually worth watching! Where are they now? 5-9, better than only the lowly Lions. What happened?

Well, as I mentioned, Jay Cutler just isn't what he was advertised. He's not the franchise quarterback that will make your team an instant contender. Sure, he's got a rocket arm, and can make plays with his feet. But the place where he is lacking, and where Orton is quite adept, is the mental part of the game. Orton has been praised all year long for taking care of the ball. 16 TDs isn't spectacular, but 8 INTs compared to 22 is incredibly significant. Cutler makes bad decisions. His interception numbers have gone up every year since he came into the league. From 14, to 18, and now to 22. The worst part about it is that he makes the bad decisions, a lot of the time, in the worst areas on the field. In the red zone, or deep enough in his own zone that points are almost guaranteed. So why haven't we really noticed it until this year's dismal display?

I have a theory. Mike Shannahan. Now, remember that Cutler was Mike Shannahan's baby. He quite literally babied this kid and gave him anything he wanted. Cutler liked a play, they called it all the time. Think about the system, the West Coast Offense. Shannahan perfected this when he was the offensive coordinator for the 49ers when they were winning all those Super Bowls. That offense uses a lot of short passing to keep the chains moving. Add in that the Broncos have always had a pretty strong running game. Now you have a ton of possibilities. The 18 interceptions that Cutler threw last year was monstrous for a Mike Shannhan offense, but isn't really huge to the casual observer. Plus, Cutler threw for 4500 yards last year. People were far more interested in that than the 18 interceptions. Why else didn't we notice this?

Personel! The Broncos offensive line is definitely one of the best in the league. Cutler had time to look, survey, figure out, possibly make a salad, and allow receivers to get open, or for him to realize there is nothing and try to run. This great offensive line let things develop with the receiving core that might not have developed had he been pressured sooner. In addition to the offensive line, the receivers are also immensely talented. Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokely, Tony Sheffler. These guys are all immensely talented people in their positions. One weapon right after another. All of these guys were able to make plays that most players really can't, which would bail Cutler out at times. Combine all of these things with a quarterback like Cutler, who does have a lot of talent, and you get a guy who throws for a ton of yards, a bunch of TDs, and a healthy amount of picks as well. Take those away from him and move him to a team that has always really relied on their defense to win games, and what do you get?

You get Jay Cutler. A lot of raw talent; big arm, great athletic ability to move around. Combine that with the babying that he received at the hands of Mike Shannahan where he now believes any throw he makes is the right one, and you get a guy who throws tons of interceptions because he is just too sure of himself. At this point, I don't really know of anybody who believes that Cutler was worth all of the things that they traded to get him. I don't think most Bear fans would say that they wouldn't be happier with Kyle Orton back. And I am almost positive that you won't find a Bronco fan that would want Cutler back.

Once you look at everything with 2 games left in the season, I think it is clear to say that the Broncos got the better side of the deal, and that Jay Cutler is going to have to do a lot more work if he actually wants to be a real franchise quarterback. I'd start with fixing the attitude.