Cutler played like a rookie

Matthew Hill, Special to the News

Published December 5, 2006 at midnight

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The next attempt to fill the shoes of John Elway found his team trailing by four late in the fourth quarter. After Seattle opened up a 17-13 lead, Jay Cutler responded by throwing an interception that was returned to the Denver 14-yard line. This led to John Madden's profound comment, "It's hard to play quarterback in the NFL." Everyone longing for a rookie starting quarterback discovered that fact Sunday night.

It was obvious something had to be done. Plummer was having his worst season as a Bronco and looked lousy his last two starts, both losses. Cutler's presence, combined with the fans' disdain and his coach's lack of trust, had caused doubt to destroy The Snake's backbone. Like a pitcher aiming his pitches, Plummer's tension-laced passes struggled to hit their mark.

What Shanahan should have done was hold a news conference attacking everyone who questioned Plummer's ability. He'd then declare Plummer the starter for the rest of the year, giving Plummer confidence and salvaging the season.

Instead, Shanahan succumbed to the growing crowd of Broncos fans ignorantly demanding the promotion of a rookie quarterback in the final weeks of a playoff chase. The results were not that surprising.

Cutler finished the game 10-for-21 for 143 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Take away the short curl that Brandon Marshall broke for 71 yards and consider that the two picks led directly to 10 Seattle points, and you realize just how poorly Cutler performed. The first interception, returned for six by Darryl Tapp, was the result of Cutler tossing it up for grabs as a pair of Seahawks were taking him down. The play screamed "rookie mistake" and was a blunder that a team striving to make the playoffs just couldn't afford.

The fact is, all things being the same, the Broncos win Sunday with Plummer. Tatum Bell had a big game, and the Seahawk offense could do nothing for three quarters. Minus the ten points that Seattle scored off interceptions, the Seahawks wouldn't have been in a position to take advantage of the gutless effort by the Broncos defense in the fourth quarter.

Even though the Broncos lost largely as a result of awful quarterback play, don't blame Cutler. He performed the best he could for a rookie who obviously was not ready to lead an NFL offense.

Based on one game, there's no way of knowing what the future holds for Cutler's career. But as far as the coming weeks, it's hard to imagine Cutler leading this team to victories over San Diego and Cincinnati. Bid the playoffs farewell. Fans wanted the change, Shanahan made it, and now everyone has to live with the results.

Before Cutler had even thrown his first pass, a fan was shown holding a sign adorned with a picture of John Elway next to a picture of Jay Cutler. Underneath the pictures was the question, "Separated at birth?" For all the irrational, Elway-infatuated fans, there's this question: How long until you turn on Cutler?

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