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On dreary day, it's Broncos' Cutler who reigns

By Jim Hague, Special to the Rocky

Published November 30, 2008 at 7:28 p.m.

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Jay Cutler had little trouble in the rain, going 27-for-43 for 357 yards and two touchdowns.

Photo by Bill Kostroun / Associated Press

Jay Cutler had little trouble in the rain, going 27-for-43 for 357 yards and two touchdowns.

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Who is the better quarterback right now, Brett Favre or Jay Cutler?


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When Jay Cutler was a young boy growing up in Lincoln City, Ind., his idol was Brett Favre.

On Sunday, Cutler outdueled his idol in a steady downpour at Giants Stadium, leading the Broncos to a seemingly easy 34-17 win against Favre and the AFC East- leading New York Jets.

Cutler paid no attention to the damp and dreary conditions and threw the ball all over the field with pinpoint precision. He completed 27-of-43 passes for 357 yards and two touchdowns, compared with the 23-for-43, 247-yard and no-touchdowns outing from Favre.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan went as far as saying Cutler likes to play in the rain.

"He actually embraces throwing in the rain," Shanahan said of his third-year QB. "I think he'd rather throw the wet ball than throwing into the wind. Some guys get bothered and simply can't throw in the rain. Jay's not one of those. He's not afraid of it at all. Jay played very well under those conditions."

"I don't know if 'likes' is the right word," Cutler said. "I just don't mind it. It really wasn't raining too hard. They kept changing the balls and I kept my hands dry. I think a lot of it has to do with mind-set. We knew what the conditions were going to be like, so I just felt comfortable out there. If you don't let it get into your mind, you'll be fine."

Cutler said the conditions shouldn't be on one's mind once the game begins.

"If you start worrying about the bad conditions, you'll be in trouble," Cutler said. "You have to keep attacking and keep the offense open. You have to keep doing what you planned to do."

Cutler was especially effective in the first half, connecting on 18- of-28 passes for 230 yards, including a 59-yard pass to Eddie Royal he placed between two Jets defenders that enabled Royal to tiptoe along the sideline inbounds for the score.

Cutler hit seven receivers with passes in the first half, including little-used Chad Jackson, who caught his first pass this season, which set up Matt Prater's 25-yard field goal in the first quarter as the Broncos took a 17-7 lead.

Cutler said that he got a thrill facing his boyhood idol.

"Brett's one of the greatest players ever, and I've been a fan of his for a long time," he said. "I was able to talk to him before and after the game. He gave me some nice compliments.

"But trying to keep up with him is pretty hard to do. It's always fun to go up against one of the greatest ever and see how he handles himself, because you know he's not going to be around forever. He's running out of time. But I'm sure he's going to come back and have other great days."

Apparently, so will Cutler, especially when it rains.

Comments

  • November 30, 2008

    7:59 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    J_easy writes:

    go jay now wheres all the so called fans at so they can hate on jay

  • November 30, 2008

    8:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Bradonkadoncs writes:

    Great playcalling all game long. Nice work by the staff and the players.

  • November 30, 2008

    8:53 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    deezBroncs1127 writes:

    Put The Ball In Cutler's Hands !!! Thats all I have to say. We are not the Broncos of old. Yeah every team wants to establish the run game, but sometimes that just doesn't work. The play calling was so much better than last week against the Raiders,

    I don't see any Cutler haters on this blog....I wonder why....b/c there is nothing to be negative about Cutler's game. But the ones that should be getting alot of credit is the OFFENSIVE LINE ! These guys are keeping Jay off his back and giving him the time he needs to pick teams apart. Clady is a first ballot pro bowler...hands down.

    Dear Shanny,

    Put the ball in Cutler's Hands.

    Bronco Fans

  • November 30, 2008

    10:29 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dynamicdave writes:

    deezBroncs1127, yeah, Cutler was great. But, don't forget to also give credit to one hard running RB who goes by the name of Hillis. He kept the defense honest with his runs. So, in essence, we DO have a running game. Broncos offense had their way today and the D made some crucial 4th down stops. Special teams played well. It was a very balanced team, today.

  • December 1, 2008

    8:19 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    bronc4evah writes:

    We utilized our entire offense and it was a thing of beauty. Not only great QB and RB play, but offensive line, tight end, and reciever play was terrific. Great work guys and also great game plan coaches.

  • December 1, 2008

    6:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    willysfish writes:

    Well. Great game by all. However, the game became in doubt when Cutler threw the interception in the end zone when he should have thrown it away. 3 points there would have made it a 3 score game lead. I know we all sure got fitgetty after that. 3 would have been more comfortable.

    But, thanks to Hills and ......finally....some knocked down 3rd and 4th down passes..we survived.

  • December 6, 2008

    10:50 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    whitestallion64 writes:

    I want to talk about the play of our FANTASTIC 4 (Clady,Royal,Hillis,Larson) The Draft of 2008 will go down in BRONCOS history as the greatist of all time!!
    I haven't even mentioned (Woodyard,Barrett,Williams,Torain,Kearn,Lechtensteiger,Aldridge)these players show so much tremendous upside in both their play and in their character as well!!
    The future is BRIGHT indeed for BRONCO NATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    PEACE OUT