By Jacob Sanders
For those who think Cutler doesn’t
really care and is just there for the paycheck, the dude has pocketed over
$120,000,000. He has no need for a paycheck. He was set for life and had a
career in broadcasting but he came back. Why? Because, like most football
players, he loves this game. Now that we
have that out of the way, let’s get down to the man himself.
Jay Cutler is the probably the most
polarizing figure in the NFL when it comes to his play. The guy has some pretty
high highs and as well as some low lows. To me, Cutler is the epitome of
inconsistency. But, is it really so bad for the Dolphins to rely on Cutler as
their quarterback for this season? Well let’s take a look and compare Cutler to
Tannehill.
Cutler, as a player, has quite the
arm strength and has the ability to make a big play for his team. He is today’s
modern gunslinger and one of the few left in the NFL. However, this has not
brought Cutler much success, as he tends to take too many risks. He typically tends to throw the game away for
his team more than he does save the day. In fact, the last time Cutler looked
like a decent starting QB, Adam Gase was his offensive coordinator (more on
that later). But for all of the hullabaloo you can give Cutler about being a
risk-taker the opposite can be said of Tannehill.
Tannehill is a QB who plays it
safe. He is smart and typically stands tall in the pocket. He has a decent arm
but isn’t going to be wowing you with Hail Mary plays anytime soon. Tannehill
has steadily improved as a quarterback every year and seemed to really excel
under Adam Gase and showed some growth. Tannehill has showed something Cutler
can’t and that is consistency. The problem is that Tannehill is usually
consistently bland with his play and he isn’t going to be a guy to throw away the
game or save the day. This comes back to something that makes Cutler an
enticing option for the Dolphins. There are some things you just can’t teach to
a quarterback. And it’s something that Jay Cutler has that Tannehill does not.
This goes back to the risk taking.
By instinct with the game, Cutler is able to see the big play more often than
Tannehill does. In an offense with Jarvis Landry and Davante Parker, there are
numerous chances for big plays. So why is the Dolphins offense not as explosive
as it should be, especially with Jay Ajayi in the backfield? The root of the
problem comes down to Tannehill. Again, Tannehill is a smart quarterback. But
he plays to not lose. In other words, when the game needs a clutch play, he
goes with the safe play and lets the game be decided by others. Cutler on the
other hand, will take the game into his own hands, and either give the win to
the enemy team or make an incredible play to win the game. More often than not,
Cutler has lost when it comes into his own hands. Hell, the Bears went 6-10
when he had his best season every as a quarterback. But let’s roll back to that
2015 season and remember just how sharp Cutler actually looked. He threw a
career low 11 interceptions that season which tells you he wasn’t the reason
that the Bears did so poorly. In
addition, that season was when Adam Gase was his offensive coordinator who is
now the head coach of Cutler’s new team.
Because of Cutler’s familiarity
with Gase and his own personal success under Gase, there is much reason to
believe that a Dolphins team who went 10-6 can do just that again, if not
better, if Cutler can replicate his 2015 season. The biggest thing the Dolphins
lost was safe quarterback play. But the biggest thing they gained was risky
quarterback play to make or break a game. Cutler still wants to play this game. He probably feels he still has something left to prove. And he does. He has a lot to prove. That he is more than just the man with a bland face who doesn't care that he threw 3 INT's and lost the game as we have all perceived him to be.
To close out, let me ask you this. When there is 27 seconds, no
timeouts, and you’re down 20-16 in the game with the ball on the opponent’s 25-yard
line, whom would you rather have? The quarterback who plays it safe and maybe
gets it to the end zone in time? Or the guy who is going to sling it down the
field in a 50/50 pass to your electric receivers for a chance to win the game? You tell me.
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