With Cutler it's on and poppin

[Wesson44]

With Cutler, will Bears dig long ball?

Turner will have more freedom to open up playbook

Dan Pompei | On the NFL

May 19, 2009

The joke goes when Jay Cutler showed up at Halas Hall after his trade from Denver, nobody knew who he was.

 

See, none of us in Chicago recognizes what a real quarterback looks like.

 

The next issue is if anyone in Chicago will know what to do with one. Other than buy him a beer, of course.

 

Bears coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Ron Turner never have worked with a talent like Cutler, but they believe they know how to use him.

 

 

 

Dan Pompei E-mail | Recent columns

 

The first thing you need to know is even though the Bears' most talented player now is a quarterback, Smith does not intend to get off the bus passing.

 

The central theme of the offense remains balance and, really, that is a good thing. Balance will make Cutler a more effective quarterback because the threat of the run game will open up the passing game by allowing one-on-one opportunities for the players running pass patterns.

 

"We have a lot of trust and faith in what Jay will do," said Smith. "I know he's an all-pro quarterback and we are going through unchartered waters a little bit. But we aren't going to change what we are. ... We just expect to do what we believe in better."

 

Still, Cutler will be flinging it plenty. Here is a dirty little secret Smith might not want us to know:

 

Even last year, when the perception was that the offense was as conservative as George Halas' fedora, the Bears passed the ball 56.6 percent of the time in the first half of games, when the score usually is not a major consideration in calling plays. That was 14th-highest percentage in the NFL, according to STATS.

 

Shhhh, the Vikings are listening.

 

With Cutler, the temptation to throw more will be greater.

 

"We've seen that arm everybody talked about, and it gives everybody confidence, the entire football team," Smith says.

 

Where Cutler and the Bears may deviate a little from the past is in the second half of close games. That is when you need a quarterback the most. And that is when it would make sense to hop on the back of a player who was deemed valuable enough to give up two first-round draft picks and a third to acquire.

 

Cutler, if used properly and supported by his teammates, will give the Bears a comeback dimension they rarely have had in the franchise's 89-year history.

 

Three pro scouts said Cutler's arm is the second-strongest in the NFL after Oakland's JaMarcus Russell. The Bears figure to try to take full advantage of Cutler's long throws, assuming someone can catch them.

 

"It's hard in this league to have 60-, 70-, 80-yard drives without getting some big plays," said Turner, who knows all too well. "We've always believed in taking shots [downfield so] I'm excited about what he's going to allow us to do."

 

The two areas in which Cutler has a significant edge over Kyle Orton are deep balls and quick feet. Cutler had 55 completions of 20 yards or more last season -- second in the NFL, compared with 34 for Orton. On attempts of 20 or more, Cutler had a passer rating of 77.0 while Orton's was 49.3.

 

Cutler also had 151 more rushing yards than Orton, but his mobility is more valuable as a passer than a runner.

 

"We'll definitely move the pocket more with him," Turner says. "He is good at it when it's called to move the pocket, and he also is good at creating a play, extending a play when nothing is there. That's something I'm really excited about. If everything is not perfect -- protection, you don't get the coverage you want -- he can create something by moving around."

 

Turner and the Bears offensive coaches are not rewriting the playbook for Cutler. But they will be dusting off chapters of it that they rarely, if ever, have used. Without question, the Bears will be different offensively.

 

Turner has studied how the Broncos used Cutler, and he plans on picking the brain of former Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

 

The beauty of having Cutler is it opens up options for Turner as a game-planner and play-caller. With Cutler, there are no handcuffs or shackles on Turner in terms of his calls. It has become about what the offense can do instead of what it can't do.

 

"Hopefully we are getting to the point where we don't have to protect everything we are doing, and not just because of Jay," Turner said. "We want to call something, we can call it. That's going to happen this year. If we see something we want to do, we won't say -- 'I'd like to do that but I can't.' At times, you had that in the past."Even though the season is nearly four months away, Turner and Cutler have been meeting daily, usually for a couple of hours. They discuss terminology, how the Bears call things, how Cutler is most comfortable operating.

 

The education of Cutler has gone well, as has the integration of Cutler to his new team.

 

"Jay has been everything we want him to be," Smith said. "He has come in on a mission to be one of the guys and get accepted in the locker room. He has done a super job with that. He has been in the trenches running every sprint, being helpful, moving into the leadership role."

 

It remains to be seen if Cutler will return the calls of Michael McCaskey. But as long as he executes the calls of Turner, it's all good.

[Mongo3451]

Good article I especially liked what was said about passing efficiency of 20+ yards and what the offense can do vs what it couldn't do. Rolling pockets, deep outs, flea flickers(oh my)... The playbook is officially opened!

[Stinger226]

Good article I especially liked what was said about passing efficiency of 20+ yards and what the offense can do vs what it couldn't do. Rolling pockets, deep outs, flea flickers(oh my)... The playbook is officially opened!

We have so much to look forward to and so much to forget.

[selection7]

It's been pointed out already, but the thing to remember is not to get too hyped up about Cutler's "deep" ball. A 22 yard pass is not deep. The article conveniently left out that from 30+ yards out, Cutler was equally as horrid at the long ball as Orton, but with thrice as many attempts. So Cutler has a big arm, but that should manifest itself in strong throws while on the run (hopefully not backpedalling), not completed fly routes...though the latter would be nice since we do have Hester.

[DrunkBomber]

It's been pointed out already, but the thing to remember is not to get too hyped up about Cutler's "deep" ball. A 22 yard pass is not deep. The article conveniently left out that from 30+ yards out, Cutler was equally as horrid at the long ball as Orton, but with thrice as many attempts. So Cutler has a big arm, but that should manifest itself in strong throws while on the run (hopefully not backpedalling), not completed fly routes...though the latter would be nice since we do have Hester.

I think its a combination of things that give us high hopes for Cutler in terms of "our" offense. The best way to look at it was some of the playcalling when Grossman was in as opposed to Orton. Turner went deep a lot when Rex was in and had some success with it. The good thing about Cutler is he is much better at scrambling than Orton and Grossman and that he can make good throws on the move. He also throws tight short passes and can fit the ball into small spaces in short yardage, which is something neither Rex or Orton could do with consistency.

[ParkerBear7]

Turner has studied how the Broncos used Cutler, and he plans on picking the brain of former Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

 

I thought this was a really interesting tidbit especially for all of us whom have been calling for an offensive consultant maybe this could facilitate into something with Shanny.

[nfoligno]

What are you talking about? "Equally as horrid"?

 

One. I personally wouldn't say Orton was "horrid" on the deep ball. He simply didn't have the arm to be a legit long ball QB, and thus took fewer chances. He was 28 of 50 for 287 yards and a 56%, and finishing w/ only a 5.78 ypa due to (a) the fewer attempts thrown and ( not many of his deep balls ended in homeruns, also noted by only 2 TDs on 28 completed passes over 30 yards.

 

Cutler? 88-149-959 and a 59.1% completion and a 6.44 ypa. Also, 8 of his long balls went for a TD.

 

So what this tells me is he is likely hitting his receiver deep in stride more often, and thus why he nets more yards on average and more TDs. More of Orton's long balls, which were caught, were not in stride, thus not allowing the WRs YAC or greater TD potential. While many of Cutler's balls would better hit the WR in stride, a great number of Orton's long balls were thrown in a way that would take the WR out of stride (many passes behind the WR forcing the WR to completely turn his body).

 

Sorry, but I do not see how you can argue that, even from the 30+ range, Cutler isn't a significantly better QB.

 

It's been pointed out already, but the thing to remember is not to get too hyped up about Cutler's "deep" ball. A 22 yard pass is not deep. The article conveniently left out that from 30+ yards out, Cutler was equally as horrid at the long ball as Orton, but with thrice as many attempts. So Cutler has a big arm, but that should manifest itself in strong throws while on the run (hopefully not backpedalling), not completed fly routes...though the latter would be nice since we do have Hester.

[defiantgiant]

What are you talking about? "Equally as horrid"?

 

One. I personally wouldn't say Orton was "horrid" on the deep ball. He simply didn't have the arm to be a legit long ball QB, and thus took fewer chances. He was 28 of 50 for 287 yards and a 56%, and finishing w/ only a 5.78 ypa due to (a) the fewer attempts thrown and ( not many of his deep balls ended in homeruns, also noted by only 2 TDs on 28 completed passes over 30 yards.

 

Cutler? 88-149-959 and a 59.1% completion and a 6.44 ypa. Also, 8 of his long balls went for a TD.

 

So what this tells me is he is likely hitting his receiver deep in stride more often, and thus why he nets more yards on average and more TDs. More of Orton's long balls, which were caught, were not in stride, thus not allowing the WRs YAC or greater TD potential. While many of Cutler's balls would better hit the WR in stride, a great number of Orton's long balls were thrown in a way that would take the WR out of stride (many passes behind the WR forcing the WR to completely turn his body).

 

Sorry, but I do not see how you can argue that, even from the 30+ range, Cutler isn't a significantly better QB.

 

It's not that Orton doesn't have enough arm to throw deep passes: far from it, he's got above-league-average arm strength. He just has never developed any touch or accuracy on his deep passes. That was one of the knocks on him coming out of Purdue, and for as much as he's improved in every other area, he hasn't shown a lot of progress in his ability to place a deep pass. You said it yourself: Orton's deep passes don't hit his receivers in stride. He's got plenty of zip on those throws, but he puts them behind his receivers or out in front of them or generally off-target, forcing receivers to adjust.

 

Look at Devin Hester last season: he had very little trouble getting open deep, but he was lousy at adjusting to Orton's underthrown or badly-placed passes, which meant he missed a lot of catches. When Orton did put one right on the money, Hester usually came up with the catch. I think the Orton-to-Hester connection would have worked MUCH better had Orton been better at ball placement or Hester better at adjustments.

 

I'm with you in thinking that Cutler is a vastly superior deep passer, mainly because he can put those throws where they need to go. We should be able to take a lot more shots down the field with Cutler throwing the ball.

[madlithuanian]

Interesting...

 

Turner has studied how the Broncos used Cutler, and he plans on picking the brain of former Denver coach Mike Shanahan.

 

I thought this was a really interesting tidbit especially for all of us whom have been calling for an offensive consultant maybe this could facilitate into something with Shanny.

[selection7]

What are you talking about? "Equally as horrid"?

 

One. I personally wouldn't say Orton was "horrid" on the deep ball. He simply didn't have the arm to be a legit long ball QB, and thus took fewer chances.

Orton doesn't have the arm? How long have you been following the Bears

 

Also, you've read the stats page wrong (it happens to the best of us). You're looking at his stats when he passes at least 31 times in a game, not a depth of over 30...though it should have clued you in when you reported that Cutler throw 149 deep balls last season, haha.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/splits?playerId=9597

Cutler from beyond 30 yards was 4/27 and 1 TD

Orton from beyond 30 yards was 3/33 and 0 TD (literally he was 1/11 but I multiplied it by 3 to make it more apples to apples)

I don't think the picks stat is useful because of last second of the half hail mary's, though for full disclosure Orton did throw 3 in only 11 attempts to Cutler's 4 in 27 attempts.

 

Also remember that Orton was badly hurt. It stands to reason his deep stats would have been better than Cutler's (it wouldn't have taken much) if he had been.

 

It's awesome that Bear fans finally want to see the glass half full with a Bear QB, but I've been around long enough to know how it goes with some of you fans (not necessarily you Nfo). The media loves to build them up so they can tear them down later, but that doesn't mean we have to as fans. Just like Orton, Cutler's young and and should only get better, so who knows he could very well put up great deep ball numbers, but let's just not make the mistake of assuming strong arm = completed bombs without any other reason to assume so.

[madlithuanian]

All stats adise, and from plain old observation...do you really think Cutler's arm is not significantly better than Orton's?

 

I love(d) Kyle (he's not longer a bear, so no more love...). He's the consummate team player. But he does not have the same skill set at Cutler.

 

When you're looking at 30 yard passes, most these don't get completed. The key to the stat bug, is when are these passes getting completed? If it's garbage time or early in games, that's a different skew than if on 3rd's or the last play of the game.

 

My point isn't stats...it's just plain old ability. And i think Cutler has tons of it and Orton does not. Will we find that maybe orton has more smarts? Maybe. I sure hope not... I think Cutler is a bonafide 100% NFL all-pro QB. Orton, is a game manager. He could get lucky and Dilfer/Brad Johnson his way into a Super Bowl win with someone...but those are the exceptions and not the rules.

 

 

Orton doesn't have the arm? How long have you been following the Bears

 

Also, you've read the stats page wrong (it happens to the best of us). You're looking at his stats when he passes at least 31 times in a game, not a depth of over 30...though it should have clued you in when you reported that Cutler throw 149 deep balls last season, haha.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/splits?playerId=9597

Cutler from beyond 30 yards was 4/27 and 1 TD

Orton from beyond 30 yards was 3/33 and 0 TD (literally he was 1/11 but I multiplied it by 3 to make it more apples to apples)

I don't think the picks stat is useful because of last second of the half hail mary's, though for full disclosure Orton did throw 3 in only 11 attempts to Cutler's 4 in 27 attempts.

 

Also remember that Orton was badly hurt. It stands to reason his deep stats would have been better than Cutler's (it wouldn't have taken much) if he had been.

 

It's awesome that Bear fans finally want to see the glass half full with a Bear QB, but I've been around long enough to know how it goes with some of you fans (not necessarily you Nfo). The media loves to build them up so they can tear them down later, but that doesn't mean we have to as fans. Just like Orton, Cutler's young and and should only get better, so who knows he could very well put up great deep ball numbers, but let's just not make the mistake of assuming strong arm = completed bombs without any other reason to assume so.

[Stinger226]

Orton doesn't have the arm? How long have you been following the Bears

 

Also, you've read the stats page wrong (it happens to the best of us). You're looking at his stats when he passes at least 31 times in a game, not a depth of over 30...though it should have clued you in when you reported that Cutler throw 149 deep balls last season, haha.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/splits?playerId=9597

Cutler from beyond 30 yards was 4/27 and 1 TD

Orton from beyond 30 yards was 3/33 and 0 TD (literally he was 1/11 but I multiplied it by 3 to make it more apples to apples)

I don't think the picks stat is useful because of last second of the half hail mary's, though for full disclosure Orton did throw 3 in only 11 attempts to Cutler's 4 in 27 attempts.

 

Also remember that Orton was badly hurt. It stands to reason his deep stats would have been better than Cutler's (it wouldn't have taken much) if he had been.

 

It's awesome that Bear fans finally want to see the glass half full with a Bear QB, but I've been around long enough to know how it goes with some of you fans (not necessarily you Nfo). The media loves to build them up so they can tear them down later, but that doesn't mean we have to as fans. Just like Orton, Cutler's young and and should only get better, so who knows he could very well put up great deep ball numbers, but let's just not make the mistake of assuming strong arm = completed bombs without any other reason to assume so.

You can list these stats and have many different opinions on them. The question is can our QB make consistent long throws ? To use the over 31 yards stats, can be misleading because those passes are usually desperation passes in a game and means the team is behind and has to attempt them.

Stats to look at: 21 to 30 yard throws.

Orton- 17/46/472 5-tds 1-int

Cutler-23/53/751 7-tds 3-int

Manning-14/40/385 2-tds 1-int

What do these stats say? Is Orton better than Peyton? Can Cutler throw a deep pass consistently?

 

Stats to look at: All passes over 21 yards

Orton-18/57/504

Cutler-27/80/944

Manning/ 21/58/848

What do these stats say? Being a bad team comes into play. Team philosophy. Playing from behind, so many things contributes to stats what do you want it to say? What I read from this is Cutler can throw a deep pass, and may be better than average at it.

[lemonej]

You can list these stats and have many different opinions on them. The question is can our QB make consistent long throws ? To use the over 31 yards stats, can be misleading because those passes are usually desperation passes in a game and means the team is behind and has to attempt them.

Stats to look at: 21 to 30 yard throws.

Orton- 17/46/472 5-tds 1-int

Cutler-23/53/751 7-tds 3-int

Manning-14/40/385 2-tds 1-int

What do these stats say? Is Orton better than Peyton? Can Cutler throw a deep pass consistently?

 

Stats to look at: All passes over 21 yards

Orton-18/57/504

Cutler-27/80/944

Manning/ 21/58/848

What do these stats say? Being a bad team comes into play. Team philosophy. Playing from behind, so many things contributes to stats what do you want it to say? What I read from this is Cutler can throw a deep pass, and may be better than average at it.

I believe none of these stats are going to matter in Nov and Dec when the wind is howling on the lakefront. You better be able to complete a 10 yard pass. And as hard as Cutler throws its going to matter during the cold weather.