Cutler vs McCown week to week thread

[scs787]

It was proven against the same a few of the same defenses they both played, awful or not.

 

How were the draft picks in the Lovie Smith era on offense and D and additions through free agency?

 

It matters who coaches him, because he is great at working with in Trestman's system, while Cutler is Cutler.

 

Welp, Trestman obviously disagrees otherwise he'd be our QB. I suppose Trestman the supposed QB guru had no say in the matter.

 

Coaches do matter...To an extent. At the end of the day though players are the ones out there executing. They set him up with the weapons and he's looked bad.

 

If you don't wanna follow the thread that's cool with me. It was suggested I make the thread and I did.

['TD']

I don't post much anymore, but i follow everything on here cause this board has been a home to me for years.

 

The last game showed my opinion of Cutler perfectly. The offense was inefficient and he was having a bad game going into half time. He came back out at the half and turned it into an excellent game. It's that inconstancy that he has that I don't like.

 

He is who he is at this point and Trestman can't change that. The second half shows why Trestman would want to gamble on him over an aging QB. The NFL is win now. However, I think McCown is way better in this system and it may have been better to look for the future with him at QB and while finding a young replacement that would work.

[scs787]

Way I see it is Jay is really only signed to a 3 year contract. If Trestman and company wanted to resign Josh and draft a QB they coulda done so in basically that same time frame. Trestman has to believe that Jay is the better fit in his system, and I won't question that....If you wanna believe otherwise, that's fine. I'll continue to defend it though, because this is after all a message board.

['TD']

Way I see it is Jay is really only signed to a 3 year contract. If Trestman and company wanted to resign Josh and draft a QB they coulda done so in basically that same time frame. Trestman has to believe that Jay is the better fit in his system, and I won't question that....If you wanna believe otherwise, that's fine. I'll continue to defend it though, because this is after all a message board.

Cutler is locked up as long as Trestman at this point. They are tied together good or bad. McCown is 35 now, you can't tie your career to him for 36 and 37. It was a gamble on correcting Cutler's short comings vs. being able to draft a QB of the future before he was gone.

 

If you have pride in your coaching, you think you can change Cutler and you won't be in a position in the draft to draft an elite QB. We disagree obviously on the two, but I think we both agree on the McCown vs. Cutler argument isn't based on what happens this year.

 

The majority of McCown's support will be based on what he could do in Trestman's offense with the Bear's weapons. Comparing what he does elsewhere is just strawman, as no one I have seen has compared their talent outside of that situation. Most would concede that.

[ParkerBear7]

Don't kid yourself. Cutler is a loose cannon. He very easily could have been intercepted a few times last night. In fact the closest he got was when he was drilled in the chest. As most here have pointed out for some reason he seemed more focused after that hit. Although the first pass TD to BM was more BM than Cutler. At any rate, I don't wish for him to do bad or not play well. I've just been down this road with him before. Before you build up your trust be wary. He isn't called Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for nothing.

 

Last week was Hyde, this week was Jekyll.

 

Just curious what you mean down this road before with Cutler..? When in in Bears history, let alone within Jay's tenure has this team assembled a competent offensive coordinator, offensive line and have legit WRs, TE and dual threat RB assembled around him? I say this is new territory for not only for Jay Cutler but for Bears nation as well! I'm hoping Cutty can keep improving and reach his potential and don't understand why so many want to see him fail.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

I don't post much anymore, but i follow everything on here cause this board has been a home to me for years.

 

The last game showed my opinion of Cutler perfectly. The offense was inefficient and he was having a bad game going into half time. He came back out at the half and turned it into an excellent game. It's that inconstancy that he has that I don't like.

 

He is who he is at this point and Trestman can't change that. The second half shows why Trestman would want to gamble on him over an aging QB. The NFL is win now. However, I think McCown is way better in this system and it may have been better to look for the future with him at QB and while finding a young replacement that would work.

 

That's been my point pretty much since McCown played last year. I was the first to be crucified, nee ridiculed when I even breathed the idea of McCown coming into relieve Jay early last year. Jay was stinking up the joint in a few games early on. And I recall McCown looking good in the preseason. He only proved his ability to play effectively in Trestman's O each time he came in to do just that. Whereas Cutler has continued to play Cutleresque. In the win loss column this year he's so far .500. He was quickly heading down the road to 0-2 until something clicked last week.

 

The "gamble" has sorta paid off so far. I dare challenge whether it will play out for the remainder of the season. I'll leave that to fate and the football gods.

 

My thought that McCown may be able to do ok on his own in TB doesn't seem to be ringing true. Of course I might be able to use the same argument offered in Cutler's defense in that McCown is in a new offense in his first year and perhaps if he was given another year to gel, he could do better this time next year. Clearly Tedford may not be Trestman, so McCown in TB probably won't be McCown in Chicago.

 

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Just curious what you mean down this road before with Cutler..? When in in Bears history, let alone within Jay's tenure has this team assembled a competent offensive coordinator, offensive line and have legit WRs, TE and dual threat RB assembled around him? I say this is new territory for not only for Jay Cutler but for Bears nation as well! I'm hoping Cutty can keep improving and reach his potential and don't understand why so many want to see him fail.

 

Just using game one against Buffalo as an example. The first "Hyde" moment that was apparent to everyone here was the throw to a Defensive Tackle. The second "Hyde" moment was the short throw that appeared to be intended for Bennett and ended up being intercepted by Corey Graham. The third almost "Hyde" moment came off the deflection from Morgan where the ball popped up in the air and nearly was intercepted by Buffalo. The first half of last week's game had few of those moments too. But as we all saw the potion wore off and he went back to playing "Jekyll" again. This is something he's been doing for years. Offer all the excuses you want. Poor coordinator, poor line, poor accessories. At one point Aaron Rodgers was getting sacked more than was Cutler yet still outplaying him. The horrible choice to have Hester play WR or continue as a returner has proved itself nill. Despite all of this Cutler continues to be Cutler.

 

I have said this before and will repeat it for you. I DO NOT want for Cutler to fail. I want him to play like the money they are paying him for. And until he actually makes it into the playoffs and wins that game, I won't be satisfied.

[CrackerDog]

LOL! I love that this thread lives on.

 

I wasn't planning on chiming in but what the hell...

 

As to McCown playing on a Lovie team and Cutler on a Trestman team and this comparison being apples and oranges, bullshit. Tedford's offense was supposed to be all that and a slice of cheese. They have stud WR's and RB's that should be able to set up the passing game. McCown has simply sucked ass this year but there's too much pride in some of the folks on this board to acknowledge the OBVIOUS. McCown had one shining moment in his entire career and it was last season for four games as a backup. That experience gained him the opportunity to be "the man" and he ain't got it. Sorry, pretty clear at this point.

 

And listen, I wanted him to succeed. I really did. And I hope he gets out there and does well whenever he comes back from whatever injury he had last night. I had to turn the game off because it was a laugher and no longer interesting.

 

There is NO WAY McCown pulls off what Cutler did against San Fran last weekend. And sure, I know some here will say that the great Josh McCown wouldn't have started off as poorly as Jay and therefore the Bears would've won anyway. Whatever. Jay and the rest of the offense clearly need to drink some Red Bull before the games as they generally come out of the gate slow but that comeback, 4 TD drives in a row, is one for the ages. And it was done on SF's field on the first day it was opened. Winning under those conditions, after the first half we had, is something we've not seen many times in the almost 50 years I've been a Bears fan. And yeah, Cutler can be an asshole and he's certainly far from perfect, but anyone still pining for McCown is a chump or a hater. Sorry, that's all there is to it.

[madlithuanian]

Entertainingly correct!

 

LOL! I love that this thread lives on.

 

I wasn't planning on chiming in but what the hell...

 

As to McCown playing on a Lovie team and Cutler on a Trestman team and this comparison being apples and oranges, bullshit. Tedford's offense was supposed to be all that and a slice of cheese. They have stud WR's and RB's that should be able to set up the passing game. McCown has simply sucked ass this year but there's too much pride in some of the folks on this board to acknowledge the OBVIOUS. McCown had one shining moment in his entire career and it was last season for four games as a backup. That experience gained him the opportunity to be "the man" and he ain't got it. Sorry, pretty clear at this point.

 

And listen, I wanted him to succeed. I really did. And I hope he gets out there and does well whenever he comes back from whatever injury he had last night. I had to turn the game off because it was a laugher and no longer interesting.

 

There is NO WAY McCown pulls off what Cutler did against San Fran last weekend. And sure, I know some here will say that the great Josh McCown wouldn't have started off as poorly as Jay and therefore the Bears would've won anyway. Whatever. Jay and the rest of the offense clearly need to drink some Red Bull before the games as they generally come out of the gate slow but that comeback, 4 TD drives in a row, is one for the ages. And it was done on SF's field on the first day it was opened. Winning under those conditions, after the first half we had, is something we've not seen many times in the almost 50 years I've been a Bears fan. And yeah, Cutler can be an asshole and he's certainly far from perfect, but anyone still pining for McCown is a chump or a hater. Sorry, that's all there is to it.

 

[CrackerDog]

Entertainingly correct!

 

Ha! Someone has to keep people on their toes here.

 

Thanks.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

LOL! I love that this thread lives on.

 

I wasn't planning on chiming in but what the hell...

 

As to McCown playing on a Lovie team and Cutler on a Trestman team and this comparison being apples and oranges, bullshit. Tedford's offense was supposed to be all that and a slice of cheese. They have stud WR's and RB's that should be able to set up the passing game. McCown has simply sucked ass this year but there's too much pride in some of the folks on this board to acknowledge the OBVIOUS. McCown had one shining moment in his entire career and it was last season for four games as a backup. That experience gained him the opportunity to be "the man" and he ain't got it. Sorry, pretty clear at this point.

 

And listen, I wanted him to succeed. I really did. And I hope he gets out there and does well whenever he comes back from whatever injury he had last night. I had to turn the game off because it was a laugher and no longer interesting.

 

There is NO WAY McCown pulls off what Cutler did against San Fran last weekend. And sure, I know some here will say that the great Josh McCown wouldn't have started off as poorly as Jay and therefore the Bears would've won anyway. Whatever. Jay and the rest of the offense clearly need to drink some Red Bull before the games as they generally come out of the gate slow but that comeback, 4 TD drives in a row, is one for the ages. And it was done on SF's field on the first day it was opened. Winning under those conditions, after the first half we had, is something we've not seen many times in the almost 50 years I've been a Bears fan. And yeah, Cutler can be an asshole and he's certainly far from perfect, but anyone still pining for McCown is a chump or a hater. Sorry, that's all there is to it.

 

Call a spade a spade you ass clown. Why is it you just can't come out and call it like it is? I'm probably the loudest here about what it is you're talking about. Call me these names you keep mentioning by my name and quit playing these childish "guess who I'm talking about?" bullshit.

 

You and Mad are always so prompt about getting on here and reminding me of stupid stuff that I'm saying but you're ok with doing under the guise of cloak and dagger. F#%k you.

 

Look I thought McCown would do better than he has. I tried to make comparisons to how this is his first year under a new system and would probably struggle just like you and many others have about Cutler. I tried to offer the rationale that while in Treatman's offense McCown undoubtedly propspered more so than did Cutler...at least last year. I also tried to suggest that I felt paying as much money into Cutler was not a wise choice, because like so many of you want to remind me that McCown has a proven track record of not doing well, so too does Cutler. Name one championship he's brought us or the Denver Broncos. I fear the money paid for Cutler will be a waste. Where they could of easily kept McCown for one maybe two years traded Cutler and gotten an up an comer QB for Trestman to work with. And all for a lot less money.

 

But that ship has sailed. I know you think that I'm hoping for Cutler to fail. I'm not. That would mean I'm cheering for our team to lose and not succeed. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

In closing and in retrospect. This thread was an ill contrived idea largely on my behalf. Let's just hope that keeping Cutler doesn't prove to be equally bad. SCS if there is a way to remove it, make it so. If not maybe we can revisit it later this year. For me, I'm done with it. And to Cracker I say GFY.

[CrackerDog]

And to Cracker I say GFY.

 

Dude, I don't mention you by name because it isn't personal to me. Shouldn't be to you either. There are plenty of Cutler haters here so my comments aren't meant to single you out in any way. Chill bro, I actually like your posts a lot. I liked Jason's posts a lot too. But I also think if you're going to put your opinions out there, you've got to take what comes your way. I dish it out and I've taken it here, mostly without whining. We're all buddies here dude, at least that's the way I look at it. If I were giving you shit about Cutler/McCown in a bar, we might fight, I guess. But more likely we'd have another beer and you'd laugh knowing I got you on this one. But you'd have gotten me on plenty as well.

 

Point being, let's have a sense of humor about this site. This isn't life or death and I don't waste my time with internet mudslinging. A little shot or two here or there is meant in fun and I hope everyone takes it that way.

[AZ54]

If you can't compare McCown to Cutler's performance then why are people always comparing Cutler's performance to Brady's, Manning's, Rodgers, etc.?

 

Last year our entire offense performed poorly early in the season. It was a new and complex scheme with a ton of new players, including a brand new Oline (minus Garza), young and inexperience WR in Jeffrey due to his injuries his first season, and a stud RB in Forte to hold it all together. Cutler had his issues but it's ridiculous to put all the blame on him for the poor start last year.

 

Fast forward to this season and McCown and his new offense gets to go through all the growing pains and folks are calling for his backup to start. I haven't watched any of the Bucs games so I have no clue how he looks or what's going on around him other than what the stats say. I'll sit back and see how McCown plays mid-season but at that point the comparison is fair. For now we know that the Bears put up 24, 31 (Cutler 2 INTs & fumble), and 40pts in our first three games last season with Cutler at the helm. I'm guessing the Bucs fans would love to have 31pts to go along with McCown's two INTs.

[scs787]

Only Mods can delete the thread....I'm cool with it, but there's still gonna be talk every week more than likely so at least it'd be condensed into 1 thread and easily avoidable for those who don't wanna read it.

 

 

[CrackerDog]

Only Mods can delete the thread....I'm cool with it, but there's still gonna be talk every week more than likely so at least it'd be condensed into 1 thread and easily avoidable for those who don't wanna read it.

 

IMO, the thread is entertaining and there's no reason to delete it. If people don't like it when they're held accountable for their statements (or actions) then they shouldn't say or do those things in the first place. It's like Marshall, not being happy with people bringing up his past. Well they wouldn't bring those things up if your past issues didn't exist. Terra is a huge fan of Kyle Fuller now and didn't like people bringing up the fact that he hated the pick only a few months ago. I get told to GFY for teasing someone about their constant support of a former player despite the results we've seen.

 

Here's the deal... Just say "My bad" every once in a while. It cleanses the soul! Take your lumps, admit you're wrong and move on with life. Like I've said lots of times, this isn't life or death.

[madlithuanian]

I have been pretty clear that I disagree with you...

 

If you're going to stick your neck out and come up with a plan that the vast majority don't agree with, expect some backlash. I know you are a Bears fan over Tampa and McCown. But your hatred of Cutler should be tabled, no? Give him a chance.

Yes, Cutler may end up being not good enough. It may end up being money not as wisely spent. But, you will never see evidence that McCown'd do as well or better than Jay this season for the Bears. I simply think the issue is just that. I'ts as you mention...the ship has sailed. We have no choice now. Can't we all hope for great? Feel free to drop the "I told you so card" in a few years. You can be right, and we all will just be sad.

 

...and please feel free to remind me of stupid stuff I say. My wife and friends call me out on it all the time!

 

 

 

Call a spade a spade you ass clown. Why is it you just can't come out and call it like it is? I'm probably the loudest here about what it is you're talking about. Call me these names you keep mentioning by my name and quit playing these childish "guess who I'm talking about?" bullshit.

 

You and Mad are always so prompt about getting on here and reminding me of stupid stuff that I'm saying but you're ok with doing under the guise of cloak and dagger. F#%k you.

 

Look I thought McCown would do better than he has. I tried to make comparisons to how this is his first year under a new system and would probably struggle just like you and many others have about Cutler. I tried to offer the rationale that while in Treatman's offense McCown undoubtedly propspered more so than did Cutler...at least last year. I also tried to suggest that I felt paying as much money into Cutler was not a wise choice, because like so many of you want to remind me that McCown has a proven track record of not doing well, so too does Cutler. Name one championship he's brought us or the Denver Broncos. I fear the money paid for Cutler will be a waste. Where they could of easily kept McCown for one maybe two years traded Cutler and gotten an up an comer QB for Trestman to work with. And all for a lot less money.

 

But that ship has sailed. I know you think that I'm hoping for Cutler to fail. I'm not. That would mean I'm cheering for our team to lose and not succeed. That couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

In closing and in retrospect. This thread was an ill contrived idea largely on my behalf. Let's just hope that keeping Cutler doesn't prove to be equally bad. SCS if there is a way to remove it, make it so. If not maybe we can revisit it later this year. For me, I'm done with it. And to Cracker I say GFY.

 

['TD']

LOL! I love that this thread lives on.

 

I wasn't planning on chiming in but what the hell...

 

As to McCown playing on a Lovie team and Cutler on a Trestman team and this comparison being apples and oranges, bullshit. Tedford's offense was supposed to be all that and a slice of cheese. They have stud WR's and RB's that should be able to set up the passing game. McCown has simply sucked ass this year but there's too much pride in some of the folks on this board to acknowledge the OBVIOUS. McCown had one shining moment in his entire career and it was last season for four games as a backup. That experience gained him the opportunity to be "the man" and he ain't got it. Sorry, pretty clear at this point.

 

And listen, I wanted him to succeed. I really did. And I hope he gets out there and does well whenever he comes back from whatever injury he had last night. I had to turn the game off because it was a laugher and no longer interesting.

 

There is NO WAY McCown pulls off what Cutler did against San Fran last weekend. And sure, I know some here will say that the great Josh McCown wouldn't have started off as poorly as Jay and therefore the Bears would've won anyway. Whatever. Jay and the rest of the offense clearly need to drink some Red Bull before the games as they generally come out of the gate slow but that comeback, 4 TD drives in a row, is one for the ages. And it was done on SF's field on the first day it was opened. Winning under those conditions, after the first half we had, is something we've not seen many times in the almost 50 years I've been a Bears fan. And yeah, Cutler can be an asshole and he's certainly far from perfect, but anyone still pining for McCown is a chump or a hater. Sorry, that's all there is to it.

 

Apples to oranges, indeed. Your comparisson, no, no, no, no, no.

 

After AP, Forte is arguably the best RB in the league. Doug Martin had one good year and is injured again this year. Rainey is a fumblefest.

 

Brandon Marshall is debatable, talent wise, as the top WR in the league. Only Megatron could trump it, Jackson is over a tier below. Guys like Julio Jones, AJ Green, Dez Bryant and even Alshon Jeffery is above him. Their rookie WR is a rookie and doesn't deserve to be in the discussion. I don't even need to mention the offensive lines, because we all saw that thurs.

 

In another comment, someone asked if Cutler can't be compared to McCown's situation, how can he be compared to greater QBs? Quite simply, no one declared McCown a great QB, he is great in this system.

 

Tedford has not ran an offense in over 10 years, and only did so in college. Trestman running an offense that has been successful for over 20 years. McCown excelled in that offense, with the talent there. Tedford has also been dealing with major physical problems int hat time.

 

I call BS in the comparison of Cutler to McCown now. McCown is obviously not in near the advantage Cutler has now. The Buccs are more comparable to the Jaguars in talent than the Bears.

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Apples to oranges, indeed. Your comparisson, no, no, no, no, no.

 

After AP, Forte is arguably the best RB in the league. Doug Martin had one good year and is injured again this year. Rainey is a fumblefest.

 

Brandon Marshall is debatable, talent wise, as the top WR in the league. Only Megatron could trump it, Jackson is over a tier below. Guys like Julio Jones, AJ Green, Dez Bryant and even Alshon Jeffery is above him. Their rookie WR is a rookie and doesn't deserve to be in the discussion. I don't even need to mention the offensive lines, because we all saw that thurs.

 

In another comment, someone asked if Cutler can't be compared to McCown's situation, how can he be compared to greater QBs? Quite simply, no one declared McCown a great QB, he is great in this system.

 

Tedford has not ran an offense in over 10 years, and only did so in college. Trestman running an offense that has been successful for over 20 years. McCown excelled in that offense, with the talent there. Tedford has also been dealing with major physical problems int hat time.

 

I call BS in the comparison of Cutler to McCown now. McCown is obviously not in near the advantage Cutler has now. The Buccs are more comparable to the Jaguars in talent than the Bears.

 

Well played sir.

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

I have been pretty clear that I disagree with you...

 

But your hatred of Cutler should be tabled, no? Give him a chance.

 

There is no doubt you disagree. With you on that I will not...disagree.

 

I don't "hate" Cutler. Never said that. Hate the stupid mistakes he makes; yes. Hate how he stares down receivers; yes. Hate him? No. Please be clear on that. Don't trust him? Now that's another story alltogether.

 

 

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Edit

[madlithuanian]

Gotcha.

 

I stand corrected on that.

 

There is no doubt you disagree. With you on that I will not...disagree.

 

I don't "hate" Cutler. Never said that. Hate the stupid mistakes he makes; yes. Hate how he stares down receivers; yes. Hate him? No. Please be clear on that. Don't trust him? Now that's another story alltogether.

 

[madlithuanian]

Agreed.

 

McCown isn't nearly as talented as Cutler...

 

Have a peek at 2013.

 

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?sea...;qualified=true

 

McCown has a better rating over Cutler 109 to 89. But the top rated QB was Tavaris Jackson. "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics" as Mark Twain said. It's about who you played, when you played them, etc. McCown had a better year than Cutler because his particular oponents were ripe. He played mistake free. But he never had to come back as Jay's done numerous times. Yes, some of those due to Jay's own fault.

 

I get it, you guys clamoring for McCown just want the safe Bears. A safe QB to simply make no mistakes. Jay is the gambler. He will do things to win games and do things to lose a few. Safe tends not to win championships. Gutsy does. The floor is higher with McCown, but the ceiling is higher with Jay. I, like many, think the better bet is to go all in. I want a SB, not just an NFC title and a bounce out of the playoffs. I think Jay has a greater chance of that than McCown. Especially over the next few years as we only have so many years with our WR's.

 

Bears management simply looked at Jay as a starter for numerous years that could do things other top QB's like Rodgers, etc do to win. McCown was a stop gap...a hope for a couple decent seasons while we await the next drafted QB.

 

You and Alaska may end up being right, that if Jay doesn't get over the hump, we may have been better off with McCown. However, the bet isn't that he'll fail. It's that he'll succeed. No risk, no return.

 

 

 

 

I call BS in the comparison of Cutler to McCown now.

 

[CrackerDog]

I call BS in the comparison of Cutler to McCown now. McCown is obviously not in near the advantage Cutler has now. The Buccs are more comparable to the Jaguars in talent than the Bears.

 

Ha! Whatever. All I know with 100% certainty is that if McCown's numbers were even in the neighborhood of the same ballpark as Cutler's there'd be twenty threads on this topic, not 1.

[ASHKUM BEAR]

Last season, Trestman was an unknown, Jeffery was an unknown, Bennett was a chance after one decent year in NY, Cutler ran through how many systems, Oline was an unknown....

McCown came into this as an unknown and took the reins late in the season and he did good. He didn't win games for us though. If he came in and won 3 of 4, different story.

To compare them now isn't fair and pointless. To play woulda shoulda coulda is fantasy. To see the Bears lose and the topic comes up again, it is what it is.

It sure seemed once a cheap shot on Jay happened, the team bonded like big brothers and wanted revenge.

[AZ54]

In another comment, someone asked if Cutler can't be compared to McCown's situation, how can he be compared to greater QBs? Quite simply, no one declared McCown a great QB, he is great in this system.

 

How do you focus solely on the word great and then simply say it's ok to compare all QBs against the great ones but it's not ok to compare them against the non-great ones? Do we leave McCown's stats off the list of the NFL QBs or chop off the top 5 from the list?

 

All QBs in the NFL are compared against each other. All RBs in the NFL are compared against each other. You say McCown was great in Trestman's offense. I compared the stats of both and don't see that. He was better than Jay and certainly played well but I don't see greatness in his stats from last year. I see efficiency.

 

yds/game 228 vs. Cutler 238.

Comp% 66.5 vs. Cutler 63.2% (McCown has a 63.1% at Tampa so far which is nothing more than..just interesting)

TD% 5.8 vs. Cutler 5.4%

Yds per Attempt 8.2 vs. Cutler 7.4

QBR 85 vs. Cutler 66.4

 

The only real difference that is in Cutler's favor is game winning drives.

GWD 1 vs. Cutler 3

 

McCown had 5 starts but fininshed or played in 8 games. It's tough to be the backup and get few reps during the week so he had to overcome that. I think he was better than Jay in our offense last year but what the coaches saw is that Jay can do things late in the game that McCown wasn't as good at. It was the potential they gambled on if they can get Jay to read the check downs and go there early, which he did better later in the season, that they can have the best of both worlds.

 

You are right about the talent. I haven't watched a Bucs game so really have no idea what is going on but on a few highlights of the Atlanta game I can see his WR just stopping on routes and standing there waiting for the ball. On these routes where you just settle down in a zone area, or stop on a route, a good WR will come back toward the QB a step or two to make it harder for the DB to get in front of them. Tampa's WR would just sit and wait for the ball. Marshall and Jeffrey both work back toward the ball a step or two. DB might still get the break on the pass but at least now they changed the angle of attack and make it harder to get in front for the INT. McCown would benefit if his WR would do that.