Former Chicago Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo invested a lot of resources into acquiring quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos, but despite the high price tag, he doesn’t feel that the Bears have gotten their money’s worth.
At least that’s the conclusion that you can draw from the ranking that Angelo gave to Cutler on his list of the top NFL quarterbacks from the 2013 season. Cutler received a grade of 7.9, which tied him for 13th place along with Matthew Stafford, Tony Romo, and Matt Ryan. Quarterbacks who received the grade could be described as “talented…but had a subpar year.”
More specifically, here’s how Angelo described Cutler’s year:
“Has all the physical tools, but inconsistent in the clutch. Mostly due to a lack of poise. He’s not comfortable reading defenses and consequently locks onto a favorite or pre-determined target, that may or may not be the right choice. The less he’s asked to see the better he is. A better half field general, than a full field one.”
There are certain elements of Angelo’s comments that are correct, such as the assertion that Cutler locks onto favorite receivers (he does, with Brandon Marshall mostly), but there are others that simply aren’t true of the 2013 edition of Cutler. He was plenty consistent in the clutch this season, leading game-winning drives in several games, including the first two weeks of the season. He also played well in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, losing that game simply because the defense couldn’t come up with a stop when it was necessary to do so.
Ultimately though, the grade of Cutler as a quarterback in the upper end of midrange is correct. While there are quibbles with Angelo putting guys like Ben Roethlisberger and Alex smith ahead of Cutler, the reality is that he is either at the very bottom end of the top-10 quarterbacks in the league, if not just outside of it.
What do you think of Angelo’s ranking of Cutler, Bears fans? Did he get it right, or should Cutler have been ranked higher?
