Serious Question...

Serious question:

Did the Dolphins UPGRADE the QB position with Cutler?

I think Ryan Tannehill definitely has more upside that Cutler but I am looking at it from a talent perspective and a "right now" perspective.

"Cutler is out here throwing lasers"

"Cutler has easily been the best QB on the field today"

"Cutler has excellent velocity on his throws"

"Cutler just hit Julius Thomas for a 40 yard gain up the seam"

"Cutler just hit Jakeem Grant in stride for a TD"

"Jakeem Grant had the best practice of his career today catching balls from Jay Cutler"

Those are all quotes from various media sources that cover the Dolphins. Keep in mind, this was day one of him practicing coming out of retirement. There was one media source that said "Cutler spent most of the day looking confused". That may be partially true but what do you expect? He said he woke up that morning and forgot he was in Miami! Dude just unretired to join a new team and probably had a cross country flight to get to Miami and had to practice the next day! All other media said Cutler looked damn good! So to that I say:

"If 1 person calls you a jerk, that's their opinion. If 10 people call you a jerk then guess what? You're a jerk!!"

So I must ask again, did Miami upgrade the QB position for this year?

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Let's Talk Some Jay Cutler....

I will start by saying this: I wanted Kaepernick, I really did. I saw more upside there but that is not what happened so let's talk about Jay Cutler.

He had his best season, in terms of passer rating, in 2015 with the Chicago Bears under offensive coordinator Adam Gase. 21 TDs and 11 INTs and I think he had a passer rating of 92.3. Not too bad!

Now let's talk Tannehill. Last year, in 13 games played before his injury, he had these stats. 19 TDs and 12 INTs with a passer rating of 93.5. 

Very Similar but Tanne had more picks in 13 games than Cutler had all season but Tanne most likely would have had more TDs so I guess that is a wash. So it's an even swap from a talent perspective right?

WRONG!

Alshon Jeffrey. Eddie Royal. Josh Bellamy. Marc Mariani. Marquess Wilson. 

Those were the 2015 Bears wide receivers and it should be mentioned that Alshon Jeffrey, by far the Bears best receiver at the time, only played 9 games. 

I don't think this Jay Cutler thing will be bad at all to be honest. Imagine what he could do with Landry, Stills, and Parker?

Now, that is only if a few things happen. 

1) Cutler needs to come in and WIN the starting job, not just be given it. And I fully expect him to win it. I love Matt Moore, but he is a backup and is being paid as a back up and I expect him to remain a back up. 

2) Cutler needs to show his teammates that he is in control of the offense and be a calming presence. There was a lot of emotions after Tanne went down and Cutler needs to rally the team. 

3) Cutler needs to keep that diva shit he pulled earlier in his career out of Miami. And I fully think he will because of Adam Gase. 

If those things happen then Miami will be fine this year.

I read an article where it was said that a Jarvis Landry extension should have happened instead and that this sends the wrong message to Jarvis and the team. So I ask, what kind of message does it send to do nothing and hope Matt Moore keeps the team in playoff contention AND stays healthy? BAD PLAN!!

As for Jarvis, he is expecting to be paid like an elite WR and he will be. What would having Matt Moore at QB do to his stock? I think it would drop. Jarvis knows he is going to get paid, he just has to be patient. Miami is not letting him walk out the door but right now, Jay Cutler should be a god send to him because I think he would get the ball to him early and often throughout the season. 

The same person who said The Jarvis deal should have been done instead of signing Cutler predicted a ceiling of 8-8 for Miami this year. I think he is way off. I see a 10 win season with contention for the wild card. This is not a bad team. There is upgrades all around and Cutler is working with weapons he has never had the luxury of having before. The stats don't lie, he had a very similar statistical season to Tanne in their best showing and Cutler had far less offensive talent than he has now in Miami.

One other thing, we need to draft a QB high next draft. We need to draft the QB of the future because time is running out for Tannehill to be that guy. He will be 30 by the time he plays again and he hasn't proven anything in Miami, even if the circumstances aren't his fault. 

Phins Up!!

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Cutler Signing Guarantees Maxwell Cut Next Year

    Whatever opinion you hold of Jay Cutler, it is beneficial to know what he will cost the team prior to rating the move.  He is a "free" pickup this year but he does cost the Dolphins a significant amount of carryover money.  Many pundits are suggesting that this will prevent the Dolphins from signing Jarvis Landry to a new deal.
    I think our front office knows its trade a bit better than that.  Drafting a corner in the third round this season and picking up Alterraun Verner in free agency may provide a clue to Miami's long range plans. Byron Maxwell renegotiated his deal on arrival in Miami; the guaranteed money expires after this season.  Parting ways with the aging cornerback will allow Miami to reclaim 10 million dollars in cap space (no dead money) which can be earmarked for 2018 draft picks, Landry, etc.
    The Cutler move may not work out.  I am not sold that his attitude will fit our building well (see the Smoking Jay Cutler meme if you haven't got a sense of what Chicagoans thought of him.) But Gase deserves the benefit of the doubt, and my larger point is that our front office also does.  This signing should be evaluated strictly based on how well Cutler performs this year in wins and losses. The money will take care of itself or we would never have made this move.
     Finally, for the Matt Moore fans out there, remember that his health is a very thin blanket to sleep under.  At the very least, Cutler puts us two hits (instead of one) from seeing if Peyton Manning is available (joking, I hope.)


Jay Lopez

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Jay Cutler Rolls Into Town But What's Next??

The Dolphins signed ex Bear QB Jay Cutler today on a one year contract which tells me that Ryan Tannehill is done for the season.

Matt Moore knew someone was going to be signed.  That's a no brainer.

Let's face it. Cutler was prepping to be a broadcaster so he probably wasn't doing push ups or sit ups or running gasers.

Who knows when he even last threw a ball?

He knows the Gase system so that helps him but I don't see how he can just walk on the field tomorrow and expect to be our starting QB in 3 weeks.

Cutler would have to work magic to get all the timing and communication with our WRs in order to catch up to Matt Moore.

I expect Moore to start for 2 reasons.

Number 1: He is ready and earned it.

Number 2: Unless Cutler blows Moore out of the water, what signal does this send to the rest of the players who have been busting their humps together for months and this new guy waltzes in and just takes over.

Now if Moore doesn't play well then we have a good guy who paid his dues and will then earn the respect of the rest of the team.

I could see him starting at that point.

This should be a good competition. And a competition it must be. Not a given.

We have a good team. We do.

What we sure as hell don't need is a QB controversy.

I hope Gase handles this well. He may be planning on starting Cutler.

But he should at least give Matt Moore the chance to lose the job.

This is going to be a very interesting 3 weeks.

Phins Up!!

Carl Leone
Dolfan since 12/25/1971

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