Jay Cutler: Comparing His Chicago Bears Arsenal to His Denver Broncos Days

In his third year in Denver, Jay Cutler was a Pro-Bowl quarterback.  But football is a team sport and the success of a quarterback has direct links to the players, scheme and coaches around him.

In the two seasons since coming to Chicago, Cutler has seen two coordinators with vastly different schemes and a rousing game of musical linemen in front of him on game day.  

He's also seen his receiver group shuffled around as receivers fall in and out of the coaching staffs good graces.

All in all, the cards have been stacked against the young quarterback.  How different is his situation in Chicago from what he dealt with in Denver?

Let's take a look... 

Defense and Special Teams

Before we get to the guys that Jay actually plays with, lets take the time to note that defense and special teams play a pivotal role in a quarterbacks success.

Special teams provide field position and in Chicago's case, points.  Those things make it easier for Cutler and the offense to score on a shorter field and give more variety of options to the offense in terms of available plays because of field position and score.

And the defense creates turnovers and field position, as well.  A dominant defense is an offense's best friend.  Playing from a lead or a close score is much different than playing from even 14 points behind.  When a defense stop the opposing team or takes the ball away it alters field position.

Here, Jay has to thank Halas that he's in Chicago.  One of the knocks on Cutler before he came to Chicago was the inability to win.  I've always found quarterback wins an absolutely worthless statistic.  If a quarterback leads his team to the #2 ranking in the league, but his defense ranks 29th, whose fault was it that the team put up an 8-8 record?

In Chicago, Cutler gets the benefit of the best special teams unit in the league and one of the best defenses in the league.

Devin Hester has changed the way front offices look at drafting players for return ability.  Add to that Johnny Knox and Danieal Manning and you have simply the best return group in football and have scored five kick and punt return TDs in the past two years.  But it doesn't stop there.  The Bears cover returns just as well.  Special teams coach Dave Toub is the best int he business and has seen his name floated around the league in head coaching discussions. 

The defense is consistently one of the best in the league.  Jay's first year in Chicago was marked by Lovie Smith taking on too much responsibility as he tried to juggle defensive coordinator duties with his head coaching job.  Add to the mix a season ending Urlacher injury in Week 1 and you get the recipe for the sixth worst points allowed total in the Bears 91 season history.  

But Smith was quick to right the boat, placing defensive guru Rod Marinelli in the DC spot for 2010. Add a returning and resurgent Brian Urlacher, a trade to return safety Chris Harris home and the free agency acquisition of Julius Peppers and the Bears jumped to fourth in the league in points allowed and held the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers to all of 41 offensive points in three games.  They were also third in the league at producing turnovers to help out their offense.  

Back in Denver, Special teams weren't exactly their forte.  In Cutler's two seasons as a full-time starter in Denver, the KR team ranked 18th and 23rd while the PR team ranked 14th and 23rd.  They contributed all of one touchdown to help their offense.

Somebody forgot about defense in Denver, as well.  The Denver defense ranked 28th and 30th in points allowed in Cutler's two starting seasons.  And turnovers?  A decent 11th in 2007 followed by being last in the league in turnovers produced in 2008.  And Denver's losses are on Cutler?

While these factors in the game may not be offensive weapons for Cutler, they do affect the situation Cutler finds himself in.  When you consistently start closer to the opponents goal-line and the defense keeping you ahead or keeping the game close, being successful on the offensive side is far easier. 

Offensive Coordinator

In Denver, Jay was treated to the same coaching staff for all of his first three seasons.  

His coordinator, Rick Dennison, used Cutler's strengths and hid his flaws with roll-outs, quick reads and reliable dump0off routes in order to build Jay's confidence and slowly bring him up to NFL speed.

When Cutler arrived in Chicago, the expectations were high.  Jay was deemed the missing piece to make Ron Turner's predictable offense into a powerhouse.  Unfortunately, it wasn't to be and Turner coached himself right out of a job.

The following season, the Bears search for coaches was limited by Lovie Smith's perceived occupation of the fabled "Hot Seat".  

But Mike Martz didn't shy away from the job, and welcomed the chance to take over the tutelage of a young star quarterback.  While the pairing didn't take off like a wildfire in 2010, Martz's impact could be seen in Cutler's decision making, as his touchdown percentage increased, his interception percentage decreased, his yards per attempt jumped by a yard-and-a-half and his quarterback rating jumped by 10 points.

System stability means everything to a quarterback.  If the Bears can stay with Martz for a while, Cutler could end up in better shape than he was in at Denver.  

But if the Bears keep rotating offensive coordinators out, then Cutler is in for a rocky road and the Bears will not see fair return on their investment in Cutler...

And it will be their own fault. 

Running Backs

The running back scene in Chicago is far more quarterback friendly for Cutler than it was for him in Denver.

Matt Forte is a legitimate threat rushing and receiving and provides solid blocking for Cutler when he stays back.  Forte rushed for his highest yards per carry total last season behind what might have been the worst offensive line of the last decade.  He also led the team in receptions.  Cutler couldn't ask for more.  

Chester Taylor provides veteran receiving ability but mediocre rushing and honestly is misused to the Nth degree.  Taylor is Forte on the decline, but the Bears stuck him in the position of being a short yardage back out of necessity.  A 5'11", 213-lb short yardage back who's never been known for power?

In his Mile High past, Cutler was forced to deal with a turnstile situation at halfback.  In three seasons in Denver, Jay had three different rushers lead the team in yardage and no less that 11 RBs make at least one start.  Denver was desperate to find a solid and consistent rusher, but gave nobody the time to develop into that player.  

Not that there weren't some productive rushers.  Peyton Hillis did a pretty good job in Cutler's final year in Denver and Tatum Bell did pretty well in '06.  And overall, the committee of backs has performed pretty well, stat-wise.  The Bronco's ranked eighth, ninth and 12th respectively from 2006 to 2008 in rushing yardage.

But those stats are heavily weighted by the outstanding Broncos offensive line, which is why Denver went through so many back looking for one who could take advantage of that line rather than just put up decent numbers and why, while Denver put up decent rushing numbers, nobody was concerned with Denver's running backs.

In short, Jay has a much better running back in Chicago than he ever had in Denver. 

Wide Receivers

Hester, Knox, Bennett, Davis, Aromashodu...

Or, Marshall, Royal, Stokley, N. Jackson and D. Jackson...

Which receiving corps would you rather have?

While in Denver, Cutler had the luxury of a true number one receiver in Brandon Marshall.  Eddie Royal was a fantastic option on the other side and Stokley and the Jacksons were fantastic from the slot and as additional receivers.

Honestly, If you added Marshall to the Bears group, it might have been even better.  But without that true upper-echelon receiving threat, the Bears group is lacking.  They've tried switching around the receivers to get the best match-ups, but a top-tier receiver, the Bears end up with three No. 2 receivers, and none are capable of consistently beating the opposing defenses top corners.

It's baffling that Chicago would go out and give up so much to bring in a quarterback of Cutler's caliber and not provide him with the tools necessary to compete.  It's like sending a soldier to fight a war with a butter knife.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Hester, Knox and Bennett aren't talented.  I'm saying that their talent is wasted.  Two of them—Devin Hester and Johnny Knox—are classic slot receivers that could be every bit as good as Wes Welker and Earl Bennett is a fierce possession receiver.  But without that legitimate number one, these players are not getting the matchups they would on any other team.  Instead, the coverage is slid down and they must all face better defenders than they otherwise would have to compete against. 

Right now, the best receivers on the team are a tight end and a running back because of a lack of a true No. 1 receiver and the misuse of the other talented receivers on the team.  

That's a crying shame. 

Tight Ends

Cutler's best bud also happens to be the best receiver on the team: tight end Greg Olsen.

Unfortunately for both, Olsen is in possession of elite skills on a team with an offensive coordinator who believes that tight ends are for blocking.

But Olsen showed what he's capable of when Martz puts him to good use in the 2010 NFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Seahawks, where G-Reg went into beast mode and posted three receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown.  

The other receiving TD scored that day?  That one was caught by the Bears other receiving TE Kellen Davis.  In fact, the Bears can boast perhaps the best TE group in football.  Olsen and Davis are joined by Brandon Manumaleuna and fan favorite Desmond Clark in arguably the most complete group of tight ends in the business.  In '09, the group snagged 88 throws for 832 yards and 13 touchdowns and last year in a heavily decreased role under Mike Martz the group still managed to grab 47 passes for 478 yards and seven touchdowns.  

Clark will probably leave in 2011, but the Bears will still be stout at the TE position with Olsen and Davis catching.  Manu had a down year as a blocker last season, but hopefully he can rebound and give them the sixth offensive linemen they envisioned when they snatched him up in their 2010 free agent frenzy.

Back in Mile High Country, Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham were no slouches.  Their roster may not have been as deep at the TE spot, but Cutler was getting reliable play from their top two tight ends, who together grabbed 72 balls for 917 yards and seven touchdown in 2008 and 71 passes for 795 yards and seven touchdowns in 2007.

So Cutler had good talent at the tight end position in both Chicago and Denver.  Hopefully Martz figures out how to make the most out of that talent in Chicago. 

Offensive Line

Here is where there really is no contest between the two.

While in Denver, Cutler had one of the best offensive lines in the league.  Tackles Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris, guards Ben Hamilton and Chris Kuper and center Chris Weigmann were fantastic in Denver's zone blocking scheme and Clady is among the best left tackles in the game.

By contrast, the Matadors of the Midway have seen eleven different linemen start in Jay Cutler's two-year tenure.  One of them—Josh Beekman—currently a Florida Tusker in the UFL.  Many of the others should have joined him.

The offensive line the Bears fielded last season was a mess.  They went through five different lineup changes and finally ended up with a group that managed to keep Jay from getting killed and showed some improvement by the end of the season.  

Things are looking up for next season, with first round tackle Gabe Carimi joining the fray.  If J'Marcus Webb can improve and develop on that raw talent he displayed as a rookie seventh-round pick last year, the Bears could be set at tackle for more than a decade.

Resigning Olin Kreutz has to be a top priority for the Bears, though and finding a left guard should be up there, as well.

But so far, Jay has worked with one of the best offensive lines in the league in Denver.  And he's worked with one of the worst of the past decade with Chicago.

But he helped guide the Bears to the NFC Championship Game in 2010 behind that line.  It makes you wonder how far Cutler could go with some time to throw the ball.

Conclusion

Overall we're looking at a mixed bag, here.

In Denver, Jay had the receiving corps and offensive line to put up huge numbers but ultimately gained a "loser" label because his defense couldn't stop a raging toddler.

In Chicago, he has a defense and a special teams unit that has allowed him to win some games and a running back that presents a real threat and must be planned for by defenses.  

But he also had an offensive line that allowed him to be sacked a record 9 times in one half of a football game against the New York Giants.

And he has had no true No. 1 receiver to provide him with a reliable first option and open up opportunities for the other talented receivers on the roster.

Add that to the instability at the coordinator position and Jay has had a rough time in Chicago.  

But things are looking up.

The team won the division and made an appearance in the NFCCG in a year when everything wasn't on the defenses shoulders for a change.

Cutler led the offense to shootout victories over the Eagles, the Jets as well as the Seahawks in the playoffs and to a blowout of the Vikings.  A loss to the Jets or the Eagles would have cost the Bears the division and the playoffs by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Giants.

But if Chicago wants to get everything that they paid for out of Cutler, the only real solution is to follow in Denver's footsteps and give him the weapons and protection that he needs to succeed.

Now it's time for you to let us know what you think.  Sound off below and let your voice be heard!