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8 of the top quarterbacks as scouted by myself. Inspired by another thread about perspective quarterbacks for the Broncos, assuming Cutler is traded. I am NOT advocating that Cutler be traded. I did however, enjoy scouting quarterbacks and compiled the following list and did apply some of the analysis to how each would fit with the Broncos.
Graham Harrell
Curtis Painter
Mark Sanchez
Matt Stafford
Josh Freeman
Nate Davis
Chase Daniel
Pat White
On final review, none of them come close to matching up with Cutler. Harrell is a cheap man's Brady and would be a nice fit for our offense and McDaniel's system. Painter has potential, but would have to ride the pine, and therefore is not a fit for us. Josh Freeman and Pat White do not match our system needs. Stafford mirrors Cutler in many ways, but lacks the presence to withstand pressure, while Jay has the ability to thrive when put in similar situations---making it a shame to think about replacing Cutler with Stafford. No comment on Nate Davis. Chase Daniel would serve as a very solid backup in time. There is a lot to like about Sanchez, but there are too many reasons to be concerned to cash in Cutler for the USC alum and some spare parts. Hope you enjoyed!
Graham Harrell
Harrell has the pocket presence that you look for in a quarterback. It reminds me of Tom Brady, but you have to have the weapons around him as well as the offensive line to protect him. Imagine that, we've got both. If McDaniels really wanted to emulate the Patriot way Harrell very well could be the cheap man's Tom Brady. Good poise, good vision. Great accuracy.
Apparently we're going to work out Curtis Painter. I found this video of him and he looks pretty good. Until, however, I found out that he was very poor decision-making skills and cracks under pressure. He would be a middle round pick in the fourth or fifth, I believe.
He didn't have great stats this past year. If you listened to the video, though, you'd have heard that he could've been a first day pick last year. His junior season was pretty stellar, until he lost a couple of his best weapons. I think Painter is the type of guy that needs to sit on the bench for a couple of years and if he finally gets a chance, he could succeed. But he needs time to familiarize himself with the system and his offensive peers.
He didn't have great stats this past year. If you listened to the video, though, you'd have heard that he could've been a first day pick last year. His junior season was pretty stellar, until he lost a couple of his best weapons. I think Painter is the type of guy that needs to sit on the bench for a couple of years and if he finally gets a chance, he could succeed. But he needs time to familiarize himself with the system and his offensive peers.
Meanwhile, I was checking out some highlights of Mark Sanchez. He gained a lot of respect from me after hearing a story from Rice University's tight end expected to go in this year's draft. Looking for a quarterback to throw the ball with just the night before the combine, none other than Sanchez and his fellow USC receiver were the only ones up for a little late night ball in the hotel. His commitment is admirable. Okay, now this video:
The play at 1:51 is one of my favorites, and the accuracy at the 3:00 play is pretty amazing. My problem is that he has WIDE open receivers ALL the time. We see in the video he can made the force passes accurately, but these are highlights; how OFTEN does he do it? Keep reading and you'll see he's pretty inconsistent. He does have instincts. The thing that I love about it is that his offensive line looks horrible, doesn't it? I want to know if he waits for it to break down or it's that bad. He looks like he has great presence and wonderful agility. He stays looking down field, but can he spot a receiver open like that if they're not WIDE open?
This is a guy I'd definitely like if I had a bad offensive line and maybe a couple of weapons around him that will get open, he's proven he can do that. But Marshall doesn't get a whole lot of space, as we see Cutler always FORCING it in and Marshall's true ability is what he does after the catch. Although Royal, on the other hand, is adept at creating holes in the defense.
Okay. After further review he cannot seem to make the accurate throws consistently. Watching a full game of highlights, he throws high pretty often. Too inconsistent. Also, it seems he can only make one real read before checking it down. For a guy that spent some time on the bench before finally starting in his third season this is a problem.
The play at 1:51 is one of my favorites, and the accuracy at the 3:00 play is pretty amazing. My problem is that he has WIDE open receivers ALL the time. We see in the video he can made the force passes accurately, but these are highlights; how OFTEN does he do it? Keep reading and you'll see he's pretty inconsistent. He does have instincts. The thing that I love about it is that his offensive line looks horrible, doesn't it? I want to know if he waits for it to break down or it's that bad. He looks like he has great presence and wonderful agility. He stays looking down field, but can he spot a receiver open like that if they're not WIDE open?
This is a guy I'd definitely like if I had a bad offensive line and maybe a couple of weapons around him that will get open, he's proven he can do that. But Marshall doesn't get a whole lot of space, as we see Cutler always FORCING it in and Marshall's true ability is what he does after the catch. Although Royal, on the other hand, is adept at creating holes in the defense.
Okay. After further review he cannot seem to make the accurate throws consistently. Watching a full game of highlights, he throws high pretty often. Too inconsistent. Also, it seems he can only make one real read before checking it down. For a guy that spent some time on the bench before finally starting in his third season this is a problem.
The offense looks very pro style. Also remember that his competition is the SEC, the highest level of week-by-week competition you're going to find in college football. We both know he has killer arm strength. Like Sanchez, his throws can be off from time to time. The difference I have noticed is that Sanchez ducks his throws when he's got time to think about it, as opposed to being pressured into throwing. Sanchez does BETTER when he has to react instead of think about it.
The Cutler comparisons aren't too far off. When given time, his passer style is virtually a mirror image of Cutler. However, as Broncos fans we're familiar with Jay's ability to work well under pressure. Even going back and looking at college highlights of both quarterbacks, Cutler stands tall in the pocket despite pressure and gets it off in the nick of time. Since Cutler has been in the NFL, he has one of the best passer ratings in the league when being pressured. However, when I see Stafford under similar pressure he tends to make bad decisions. Jay's bad decisions come from an over-estimate of his arm strength, and it usually has less to do with the pressure. Going back to Jay's collegiate highlights (as if necessary), even then he forced (and got many) passes that he shouldn't have. Stafford also lacks the mobility Sanchez and Cutler have.
The point I'm trying to make is that Stafford will not duplicate Jay's success. Also, remember that the running back that Stafford has in his backfield (and the intense number of screens thrown to backs and wide outs). Georgia versus Vanderbilt is no comparison. Denver would be a good fit for him, however, because of the good protection we could give him.
The Cutler comparisons aren't too far off. When given time, his passer style is virtually a mirror image of Cutler. However, as Broncos fans we're familiar with Jay's ability to work well under pressure. Even going back and looking at college highlights of both quarterbacks, Cutler stands tall in the pocket despite pressure and gets it off in the nick of time. Since Cutler has been in the NFL, he has one of the best passer ratings in the league when being pressured. However, when I see Stafford under similar pressure he tends to make bad decisions. Jay's bad decisions come from an over-estimate of his arm strength, and it usually has less to do with the pressure. Going back to Jay's collegiate highlights (as if necessary), even then he forced (and got many) passes that he shouldn't have. Stafford also lacks the mobility Sanchez and Cutler have.
The point I'm trying to make is that Stafford will not duplicate Jay's success. Also, remember that the running back that Stafford has in his backfield (and the intense number of screens thrown to backs and wide outs). Georgia versus Vanderbilt is no comparison. Denver would be a good fit for him, however, because of the good protection we could give him.
Kid from Kansas State. He has an arm (actually I think he has two). While it doesn't match the kind that Stafford has, he makes up for it in mobility and accuracy. He is even VERY accurate while being mobile. This is where I may lose some of you, but there is an intangible I cannot place that leads me to believe that although he is solid all-around I do not think he is going to experience success at the next level.
At 6'2" he has solid arm strength. The catch is that in order to get any power behind it he stretches his body low and has a low release point. I have trouble believing the hype behind Davis. Admittedly, finding game film/highlights on him is hard to find. There's not much to base my opinion on.
After putting forth a stellar 2007 campaign his performance last year was average. At 6'0" he is pretty short for an NFL quarterback. Drew Brees might be somebody he looks to for finding success at the next level. He had Jeremy Maclin to throw to in college, a consensus first round wide receiver. During college he ran a shotgun-spread base formation, making him a difficult fit for most teams. He would be best served as a backup for a team running the spread offense, and a good one at that, in my opinion.
This may surprise some people, but I think that Pat White could have success at the next level as a quarterback. Of course that means a team would have to draft him as such, and commit to building a system that compliments his strengths. But since he's going to be a later round selection, he won't get a chance. He certainly doesn't fit what we're looking for.
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