Tag, Cutler's 'it'

Lynn DeBruin, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 6, 2007 at midnight

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"It" means different things to different people.

For some, it was seeing Jay Cutler get up after a big hit yet go right on calling the next play despite a mouthful of blood.

Others think back to Vanderbilt's meet- the-team days when, standing before hundreds of fans, his magnetism came through as he picked up children and hugged mommas more comfortably than any politician.

Then there's the work ethic of a guy voted captain since his sophomore year; not surprising because he was a quarterback getting down and dirty in the weight room with his linemen.

"He's definitely not one of the pretty-boy quarterback types," said former Vanderbilt teammate Justin Geisinger, now an offensive lineman with the Tennessee Titans. "He gets in there and lifts and works . . . and was not afraid to get dirty."

As Cutler enters his first full season as the Broncos starter, it's clear he has the arm, the size and the brains to be an NFL quarterback.

It's the intangibles — the calm under fire, leadership on and off the field, toughness and study habits — that others point to as reasons he'll find success when others could not.

Since John Elway retired after helping the Broncos win Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, eight others have stepped into those shoes (Bubby Brister, Chris Miller, Brian Griese, Jarious Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Steve Beuerlein, Danny Kanell and Jake Plummer) with varying degrees of success.

Now, it's Cutler's time.

"What I like most is, he can make all the plays," Elway said. "He'll run with the ball, can make all the throws and he seems to be a competitor."

But, Elway cautions, it might take time for everything to come together.

"People think that Jay Cutler is this groomed veteran, but he's still going to be a rookie. Five games under your belt is not enough to not be classified as still a rookie," Elway said.

Yes, the guy who once played option quarterback in college turned heads as a rookie.

"I like what I see," said former Broncos running back Terrell Davis, an NFL Network analyst. "But I'm still taking that wait-and-see approach. Last year, he was playing on house money and he wasn't expected to play. He had nothing to lose. Now, when he's expected to perform, I want to see how he does."

Agreeing on the gifts

One thing most agree on is Cutler is far more gifted than any of the previous quarterbacks who followed Elway.

Start with the impressive arm.

"When you roll him out, you don't have to eliminate half the field," said former Broncos guard Mark Schlereth, an NFL analyst for ESPN. "You can attack downfield. I don't think there's a throw that kid can't make."

Then look at the natural leadership abilities. Griese, right or wrong, was perceived as a loner, Davis said.

"As a quarterback, you've got to be the guy talking to your players," Davis said. "(Griese tried) to internalize some of his problems . . . and the dialogue wasn't there."

In the Broncos' preseason opener this year, cameras caught Cutler working intensely with receivers on the sideline, going over defensive alignments and the like. That hardly surprises guys like John Sisk, who saw Cutler's leadership in January 2002 before he knew his name.

"I was watching the quarterbacks warm up and I asked who our starter was," said Sisk, Vanderbilt's strength and conditioning coach.

A coach pointed to one player and asked Sisk what he thought.

" 'That one over there,' " he said of Cutler, then a 185-pound redshirt freshman. " 'He's leading 14 people.' I'm big on body language, and I could just tell they believed in him a little bit more."

Sisk would prove right as new coach Bobby Johnson went with Cutler instead of hometown favorite Benji Walker.

Johnson saw glimpses of an NFL future when Cutler was a freshman playing a road game against Mississippi.

"It was a close game, in the fourth quarter, and he had about a 20-yard out from one hash to the other sideline and somebody hit Jay right under his chin right as he was throwing it. He never gave one inch, and that (ball) was on a line. We all sort of just looked at each other on the sideline," Johnson said. "That's pretty special."

Johnson said Cutler's leadership extended beyond the field.

"I remember one day we were a little concerned about some of our freshmen going out to fraternity parties and stuff like that, and he said, 'Hey, you want a place to hang out, come hang out at my place. I'll make sure you're not getting into trouble,' " Johnson said.

Offensive tackle Brian Stamper saw that side of Cutler when he arrived at Vanderbilt and needed a place to stay so he could get in shape before school started.

Cutler opened up his off-campus house, where it was not uncommon to have a dozen players, even if they had to sleep on air mattresses on the floor.

Back in Denver, Broncos trainer Steve "Greek" Antonopulos has seen quarterbacks come and go since before Elway. But he likes what he sees in Cutler.

"He has the same air about him," Antonopulos said. "It's an air of confidence, not arrogance, that I saw in No. 7, and he's very mature for his age. And probably the most important thing is the competitiveness. It will be a long time before he's compared to John Elway, but I see things in (Cutler) that John had in him that other guys didn't."

Jim Saccomano, the Broncos' public relations director the past 30 years, puts it more succinctly.

"I get the sense that he gets 'it,' " Saccomano said of Cutler. "We've had guys in here who didn't quite get 'it.' "

That includes understanding his role and grasping that being quarterback in Denver is a big deal.

"He's usually nodding before I finish a sentence," Saccomano said.

Protecting his privacy

That doesn't mean Cutler is ready to open up his life for all to see.

He recently cut off access to his parents, saying simply, "I'm just going to leave them out of the whole situation for now."

At 24, Cutler acknowledges his life conceivably has changed forever.

"I really can't even go to my house and just hang out without people driving up and coming up to the door," he said incredulously. "Elway kind of made it that way with how well he played and what he did for this organization."

How does Cutler try to re-establish a normal life?

"You can't, really," he said. "Your life really isn't normal once you're the quarterback in Denver. Everyone wants to know something about you. Everyone wants to know what someone else doesn't know."

What doesn't he want people to know?

"Lots of things. I like my privacy. I like things kept to myself," he said. "I like to play football. I love my job. It's why I play so hard."

Jokingly, he was asked how many marriage proposals he has received.

"I'm not even going to go down that road," he said.

But he would be happy to talk about his dogs.

"I've got two German shepherds. Those are enough for me right now," he said.

In Nashville, Tenn., where celebrities from Kid Rock to Sheryl Crow have residences and country music stars abound, Cutler still can't escape the limelight.

He can relax on a houseboat at J Percy Priest Lake or step into a couple of karaoke bars "and not be swarmed by a bunch of people," Stamper said.

In Denver, that figures to be the most difficult part, handling the constant scrutiny and attention inherent with the job.

"He has to realize it's going to be there and he's got to deal with it," Elway said. "No matter what he thinks, no matter how much he likes or dislikes it, that's the way it's going to be, and accept it."

Former Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, a radio talk-show host in Nashville, isn't worried Cutler will be overwhelmed living in Denver's fishbowl.

"He has that laid-back surfer kind of style that I think will only help," said Wycheck, who raved about Cutler before the 2006 draft. "I don't think he's going to freak out like a Ryan Leaf."

If Cutler approaches the pressure the way he approached the double-overtime game against Florida in "The Swamp" two years ago, he'll be fine.

Vanderbilt quarterbacks coach Jimmy Kiser remembers the scene in Cutler's senior season when he went out for the coin toss before overtime.

"The TVs and everything's on him, yet he was out there with the most casual look, like, 'Let's get this thing going,' " Kiser said. "In tight situations, he's one of the guys who wants to make plays, wants the ball in his hands. That's the kind of guy you want in charge."

Two good: How a few notable quarterbacks fared in their second NFL season

• Tom Brady: Began career as a backup after being drafted 199th overall in 2000. Took over for injured starter Drew Bledsoe in 2001 and that season helped the Patriots to the first of their three Super Bowl titles.

• Ben Roethlisberger: First-round pick guided Steelers to the AFC title game as a rookie, then helped them win Super Bowl XL.

• Dan Marino: The last quarterback taken in the famed Class of 1983 won Rookie of Year, then was named league MVP in 1984 after setting six NFL passing records and helping the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX, where they lost to the 49ers.

• John Elway: In his first season as a full-time starter, helped Broncos to a 12-2 record in first 14 regular- season starts and finished with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The Broncos lost a divisional playoff game to Pittsburgh.

• Peyton Manning: After going 3-13 as a rookie, won 10 more games as a second- year pro and helped the Colts to the AFC East title. Lost to Tennessee in the divisional round.

What they're saying about Jay Cutler

"He picked up the children. He hugged the mommas. And it wasn't false at all. He was having a good time with fans. You could just see he had that star quality."

Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt football coach, on watching Cutler in the limelight

"It's kind of funny to see the dichotomy of superstardom on the field. Off the field, he's just a good guy, likes to hang out with his friends."

Ben Koger, friend

"Even as a first-time starter, he had that look in his eye. We were all so scared as young freshmen, but he still had the confidence, the poise, to (get) people in the huddle to get their minds straight."

Matthew Tant, former Vanderbilt teammate

"Pittsburgh won a championship with (Ben) Roethlisberger because they did a good job of managing him, bringing him along slowly. Mike is doing the same thing."

Mark Schlereth, ESPN analyst and former Broncos guard, on coach Mike Shanahan's handling of Cutler

Cutler file

• WORDS OF WISDOM: Cutler shares the same agent as Brett Favre and got a chance to talk to the likely future Hall of Famer at his golf tournament. "The guy's been in the league a long time and been through the ups and downs. His advice was just be yourself and have fun."

• TEEING OFF: Cutler probably couldn't match John Elway stroke for stroke on the golf course, considering he only recently took up the game. "I rarely keep score," said Cutler, who estimates he is a bogey golfer.

• ON WHAT HE'D ASK ELWAY: "I'm sure he'd have a lot of information to give me about him starting off here and what the pressures were like and how he dealt with them, and what he'd do differently if he could go back."

• ON LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS: "Hopefully, I play a long time and win two, three, four Super Bowls. That's the object here with the organization, the way they put players around you. They really don't settle for anything less. It's very achievable, but you never know."

• IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Last year, he was seen backstage at a Gary Allan concert at the Fillmore Auditorium. "We're 24-, 25-, 26-year-old guys. We're going to go out and have fun and do what normal guys do. It just so happens whenever we go places, people are going to talk about it."

debruinl@RockyMountainNews.com

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