A Super Jay Cutler gets to the Super Bowl
NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
Your intrepid author is a huge NBA basketball fan and hailing from Michigan finds me rooting for the Detroit Pistons, win or lose.
This year was bittersweet as the Pistone-ians went down to the Cleveland LeBrons. This left the LeBrons to play San Antone with the Big Fundamental. You just knew the LeBrons would lose, because San Antone always wins. They always win.
During one of the games, the NBA Broadcasting team flashed a graphic showing that the Spurs were the winningest team in Football, Baseball, and Basketball in the last 10 years.
Now the Squibster’s brain ain’t what it never was and never will be again, so the exact order of the list is kind of foggy. Maybe the Yankees were second and the Patriots were tied for 3rd or visa versa.
The real question here is not the order of the teams that won, because we all could have guessed pretty close to the Spurs, Yankee’s, and Patriots. No, the real question is the name of the 4th team involved in the list.
One look at the title probably makes this an easy team to guess, and you are right, that team is the Denver Broncos.
Now without the above clues you would have been hard pressed to surmise that the Orange Crush belonged on that list.
Jay Cutler is ready to take over
Now is the time to get used to Denver staying on that list as the Jay Cutler era quietly began late last season and goes full throttle this year.
Coach Shanahan agrees.
“Yeah, I think so,” Shanahan told reporters. “I think anytime you start with a quarterback like Jay — with the type of ability he has, the type of leadership he has — I think you could say that. It’s not very often you get a quarterback at that age, with that type of ability and that type of leadership skills. source
The Broncos went out and provided Cutler with some offensive help.
To better support his kid gunslinger, Shanahan signed former Tennessee Titans 1,200-yard running back Travis Henry, former New England Patriots tight end Daniel Graham and former Indianapolis Colts slot receiver Brandon Stokley.
Denver has Jay watching tons of film on the great ones, Peyton, Brady, Brees, and Elway. (When did Brees become one of the great ones?)
“The clock in your head, that’s what they’ve been preaching here the last couple of weeks with Mike (Shanahan) and Dinger,” Cutler says, meaning getting rid of the ball quickly. “They’ve been around some great quarterbacks and great schemes. They’ve helped me out tremendously in what I need to attack and look for.
“We’ve watched Elway, Peyton, Drew Brees, Tom Brady— how they work in the pocket and their feet. It’s been a real learning tool.”
Still Jay Cutler will be young and inexperienced, so no one knows if he can get the job done. The scouting report on the Denver QB situation goes like this:
Quarterback: Jay Cutler has the cannon arm to threaten defenses vertically, a dimension unseen in the Mile High City since John Elway retired. Cutler’s arm and pocket presence allow coach Mike Shanahan and assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger to open up what was a limited playbook with Jake Plummer, who was at his best throwing on the move. Backup Patrick Ramsey also boasts a big arm.
The Broncos have a habit of winning lots of games and this year looks like no exception.
Still, Jay Cutler will have to have a terrific season if they want to win it all!
NFL Football Fan Question Are you picking Denver? If not, is it because Jay is so young?
As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.
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POSTED IN: Coach Mike Shanahan, Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, NFL Football, Predictions, Super Bowl
5 opinions for A Super Jay Cutler gets to the Super Bowl
Mike
Jul 3, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Squibster, I think Denver will be mediocre this year. When I saw that Denver is counting on a QB that has to learn the west coast offense I figured they would struggle for this year. Plus the division does have SD and an improved KC. You as a Lion fan has experience with a QB that has never played the ‘Wet Toast’ offense. You remember all those 5 yard passes that would miss receivers by 2 yards, don’t you?
Daily Haze « The Hazean
Jul 3, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Jay Cutler ready to lead the Broncos to the Super …
James
Jul 3, 2007 at 6:33 pm
you are saying they will stink from lack of offense? Keep in mind they are a defensive minded team. Last year they had no offense with whats his name at QB. What was his name? Isn’t he on Tampa’s team now taking a retirement?
Davus.X
Jul 4, 2007 at 9:48 pm
There are a ton of questions that need to be answered before a legitimate assessment of the ‘07 Broncos can be made.
At WR:
Javon Walker can prove himself this season. He showed off his speed and route running last season and has the potential to become a top tier receiver again (i.e. Prow Bowl). Beyond Walker, many questions abound at the WR position. Can Marshall come into his own? Will a refurbished hip make Rod Smith the man he was just two years ago? Can Stokley recover well enough to contribute? There are also a couple wild cards on their recieving corps that are worth watching. It’ll be interesting.
D.J. Williams:
Does he have what it takes to fill the large gap on D that was Al Wilson? There’s no doubt he has the athleticism, the guy hits like a freight train, but does he have the mental stuff for the position? He may, I’m not sure if Coach Bates would slap somebody he’s not confident with, into a position that equates to the QB of the defense.
CB:
Are these guys for real? We’re about to find out. Both Champ Bailey and Dre Bly have been outstanding during their careers, but now with limited options downfield, opposing QB’s are going to have to take some chances. We’re really going to see what these two have. Should be fun to watch.
Safety:
These guys ain’t getting any younger, but don’t expect them to use that as an excuse. Year in and year out, since his neck surgery, John Lynch has been written off time and again. Is he worth a Pro Bowl selection? Maybe… maybe not, but he doesn’t necessarily have to be. Sure he’s got issues in coverage, but with the secondary becoming more secure with Bly and Bailey, he’ll be given the green light to do what he does best, and that’s disrupting blocking schemes and crossing routes.
O-Line:
Everyone likes to bag on the Broncos blocking scheme, but until the league makes it illegal, they’re going to go with what works… and they’ll thrive on it. The Offensive Line has some questions with Lepsis coming off surgery, but I think they’ll settle in fine. The biggest problem comes next year or the year after when Nalen decides to finally hang it up.
D-Line:
Talk about tinkering! This has been one of the Broncos pet projects over the past few seasons. Now that they’re sure that the whole Cleveland Browncos thing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, they can move on…. and so they have. Bringing in a couple of wide-bodied veteran tackles may not be the ticket, but you couldn’t tell that to Coach Bates. He likes to plug fat boys into the middle so they can muck up the interior running game and give the Defensive Ends the freedom to flash toward the QB. This has been Denver’s problem for the past few seasons but that may change this season. With newkid Jarvis Moss coming in and Dumerville getting a season under his belt, it will be interesting to see if they can finally improve the pass rush and finally get someone into the QB’s face on a consistent basis.
QB:
You’ve already covered that.
RB:
1200+ yards last season…. for the Titans? Regarding the Broncos running game, as always: No further questions, Your Honor! He’ll get at least a thousand, if not a bunch more.
Special Teams:
Jason Elam, Kicker… what else is there to say? The guy has been like granite… rock solid, during his career. He’s been quoted as saying that he wants to kick at least another ten years. I think he’s got this year covered, at the very least
Todd Sauerbrun, Punter… huge leg… high altitude. This equates to booming kicks. No wonder he was so eager to go back to Denver.
Not sure what they have in mind for KR / PR, but they might have found their man toward the end of last season in the form of Quincy Morgan. We shall see.
Overall, the real question here is about chemistry. Will the Broncos get it? They may, but it’s way too early to tell. With all the new pieces parts they’ve assembled, it’s hard to look at this team and really make an assessment… so the best thing you can do is make an educated guess.
Everything looks to be in place. If they can gel as a whole, then the rest of the league may have to watch their backs. Either way, it’s going to be interesting to watch.
James
Jul 4, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Outstanding!
By the way, as a Lions fan, Dre’ Bly is top notch. He single covered everyone that was anyone. He will make you proud.
Marinelli released him, because he is a cover corner and the Tampa II defense requires corners that hit. If they are cover as well that is great, but not necessary.
Bly is not a hitter, but a great cover guy.
My Uncle is a Broncos fan living in Denver. Go Broncos.
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