Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dolphins seeing ‘Good Cutler’
But opinions about his skills, leadership diverge wildly
Jay Cutler? “He reminds me of Jeff George,” former Super Bowl winning coach Brian Billick said of the big-arm, no-result NFL quarterback. Jay Cutler? “He has to show he can win,” former Super Bowl winning coach Jon Gruden said. Jay Cutler? “Will he stand up?” former safety Rodney Harrison said. “Will he be the face of that locker room when things [go bad]? Will he be able to do that?” Jay Cutler? “He can do it all — make every throw, be that leader you need, win games,” Dolphins guard Jermon Bushrod said. Jay Cutler? “He’s a stud,” Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry said. Jay Cutler? “The guy I read about isn’t the guy I know,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said.
These conflicting quotes were all gleaned just from September. They’re from players and coaches who know and breathe the game. Surly? You haven’t seen it. Bad decisions? Not yet.
Go back a few more months and there’s an even more contradictory view the Dolphins quarterback.
“He can make all the throws, but quarterbacking is so much more than throws,” former Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy said.
“I liked him when I met him. I know he cares. I think he can win,” former NFL executive Mike Lombardi said.
“QBs are leaders, leaders set the intensity of an organization or business, leaders communicate well, Cutler doesn’t lead. It’s obvious,” former NFL quarterback Sage Rosenfels tweeted.
“If my team had Jay Cutler at QB, we would have won four Super Bowls,” said former Chicago Bears DL Dan Hampton.
The Dolphins are in the blind-belief business, of course. Their season rests on him. He saved them just by showing up on some level after Ryan Tannehill’s injury. But did anyone call Tannehill, “a stud?” Has anyone called Cutler that throughout a career of mediocre-at-best seasons?
The Dolphins have been around him six weeks and one game, so they believe in the best side of him — the only side they’ve seen so far. Give it some time. Maybe this who he is at 34. Just know teammates have said similar things until they aren’t teammates anymore.
Martellus Bennett on Twitter, as Cutler’s teammate in 2015 defended him from criticism: “They threw rocks at Jesus, too, & Jesus was an excellent guy who did a lot of awesome stuff.”
Bennett to ESPN The Magazine, as Cutler’s former teammate in 2016: “I’d be open and he’d throw in to double coverage.” (“The worst quarterback in the league,” was the story’s next quote from Bennett’s brother, Michael, the Seattle defensive end.)
Cutler shrugs and says neither the criticism nor the praise bothers him. There’s no reason not to believe his indifference. It would be easy for him to dribble out some trite answer. But if there’s one thing clear about Cutler — one thing everyone agrees on — is he’s the king of not taking the cliché question to its rightful cliché answer.
“Does he appreciate getting a new start with a new Dolphins team?” Easy question, right? Easy answer: It’s great to be here, and I appreciate what the Dolphins, blah, blah, blah.
Cutler’s answer: “I don’t know. I feel grateful I was in the same spot for eight years. There’s stability to that.”
What makes him think this offense will hit the field running? “We might not,” he said.
What does he have to prove at this point in his career? “That’s for you guys (the media),” he said.
No, not really. Not in South Florida. He’s a blank page here in many respects. He writes the narrative, not us. And he hasn’t been anything as advertised — through six weeks and one game.
You want to call him a “stud,” as Landry did? There’s evidence in his one month of that. But you want to see him as Jeff George, as Billick did? There’s evidence in his 11 years of that, too.
Here’s all we do know for sure about Cutler: He’s got a great arm, he’s shown his good experience, he’s exactly what the Dolphins needed — and it’s been one game. One more thing: For a guy who was retired six weeks ago, he’s having fun.
“I am enjoying the fact that I am playing football,” he said “These guys, the locker room is contagious. It is a good group of guys. Young, enthusiastic, and they make me feel young. They are passionate and at the end of the game when the kick is missed, it is always fun to win the NFL, but this locker room is a little bit different. It is special.”
Put your feet up on the table and watch. He’s had a good first step. But this will take a while to sort out.