COMPETITION--the guiding principle of sports, the concept that ALL successful coaches build their teams with, WOULD BE ELIMINATED if the Jets obtained Jay Cutler in a huge trade. Jay Cutler would have the starting job locked up for at least all of this season and half the next, no matter how well he played. Sure, he might play very well. And it seems likely that in a fair competition, he would be a good bet to beat out the young crew of QBs the Jets have here in anyway. Probably. But not definitely, and that's my problem with it. See, I don't know that Cutler is going to be a better QB than, say a Brett Ratliff down the line. Or even in 2009. It might look like it now...sure seems like a lock, but I don't know, and trading for Cutler ensures we won't find out for another year at least or longer, if Cutler is somewhat successful. Maybe Ratliff, or Clemens, would end up being a better fit for this team. If you think this idea is off, consider the scenario we all point to as "bad luck for the Jets." Now it's not a trade scenario, but it's the same idea...the "sacred cow" concept. A player deemed "above competition" because of where he was drafted and what he had achieved thus far. Tom Brady, 6th round pick, backing up #1 pick, Patriots superstar, Drew Bledsoe. Does Brady get off the bench if Mo Lewis doesn't blast Bledsoe during the 2001 season? Maybe. Maybe the brilliant Belichick does know what he has in Brady and does have the brass balls to bench a healthy Bledsoe for Brady, but I don't think it happens that year, maybe in 2002. Sacred cows weaken a team because they kill competition and can prevent the best players from taking the field. And sometimes when the best players don't take the field soon enough, they get traded and end up becoming great players elsewhere. And that's the real franchise killer.
I'll take the 25 year old that just threw for 4,500 yards over the 2 QBs that we have on the roster. I have a lot of hope and faith in Ratliff, but even I can't pass up on someone like J. Cutler.
Is this a joke? Cutler is a Pro Bowl QB. Ratliff is unproven. Clemens has little more football ability than a pile of dog shit. What are you trying to get at?
So using that same logic, you wouldn't trade for Peyton? Drew Brees? A perhaps better example, Ben Roethlisberger? By trading for Cutler you get a guy whos proven. A guy who is more talented. We have absolutely no idea what to expect from Ratliff, a guy who threw more INTs than TD in high school got passed on by all 32 teams throughout seven rounds of the NFL draft, and has not thrown a real NFL pass, or Clemens, a guy whos looked very poor in his limited play time, albeit in a very poor situation. Do I think Ratliff will be/can be good? Yes, I do. As good as Cutler? Probably not. Its more of a risk to go in with the guys we have now than it would be to go in with Cutler.
Why does the Tom Brady/Bledsoe comparison always come up. christ people!! this isn't a common occurence. At this point in time...anybody who would pass on Cutler in favor of Clemens/Ratliff should really look themselves in the mirror and ask if they really want the Jets to win.
A sacred cow... the guy was/is the cornerstone of the second best offense in football last year. His physical abilitites are far beyond any QB on the roster. He's smart, has a fantastic arm, is mobile and is a pretty tuff guy. Anyone that can play with diabetes is a winner in my book. There is no question he would beat the QB's on our roster out for the starting spot. The only thing that can go wrong right now with getting a QB like this, is we really don't have a playmaker at the receiver position. Cotchery is good, but we still haven't really addressed the gaping hole we have at WR. After Cotchery... it's a bear cubby!~ come on man... I usually agree with a lot of what you have to say, but I think your pretty way off on this one. Ellis
I think you guys have misinterpreted GSourJrs post. What hes getting at is that we may already have a franchise QB already on the books , truth is none of us really know. Yes, Cutler coming to us looks a picnic does to ants , enticing. But again the OP was hinting that IF competition is taken away , would Cutler be at 100% , again we just don't know. I'm all for getting Cutler , but not at any price , and I would still want an open competition in TC.......think he'll come ?
So you pass on Cutler because there's a CHANCE that MAYBE you have a solid QB on the roster? That's like saying you won't take a promotion at work because theres a chance that you may win the lottery. Doesn't sound like a very reasonable logic to me.
i just don't get what so many on this board see in ratliff and get a hardon over.... he played well against third string scabs and right away some want to anoint him our savior.. there have been many third string qb's from different teams that played well against 3rd stringers, but couldn't hack it on the next level. if the jets get cutler, there will be no need for competition, being that cutler is indeed a franchise qb.. you don't score all the points denver scored without having talent. denver just got outscored more because of a joke for a defense.. cutler can sling it with the best of them, he just needs good tutoring from a quality coaching staff...
If the Jets have a shot at scoring cutler, who will be the franchise qb for any nfl team outside a few... NE,Indy,Pitt, NYG etc.... You take it. You cannot pass on having a great qb for the next 10 years. He's only 25 people. His ailment is the only thing that concerns me. But you cannot risk passing on him if you have the chance to get him. Plus it would be awesome if we had grabbed 3 1st round picks from that talented draft class. Brick, Mangold, Cutler
You simply can't pass on a franchise QB in hopes that one of your young QBs steps up. That is just silly. Although, with that being said, you can't mortgage the future by giving away too much for one player, even if he is a franchise QB. Trying to figure out what the break point price is the hard part that faces any team.
There were already rumblings about Brady playing and rumblings about BB's job being in jeopardy. I think Brady would have started sooner rather than later but maybe it's a few games later and they don't win eneough to make the playoffs that year? He would have been playing soon though.
agreed. If there is a comparison between the two, it is no doubt I'll take Cutler. But from what I understand, It would take ALOT, and i mean multiple high draft picks to get Cutler, and I am just not fond of that idea.
Successful coaches only build their team with competition if at least one of the players involved in the competition for a position is really good. If the existing options are all bad -- and they may be -- all the competition in the world won't produce one good one. If you trade for Cutler, yes, he's the starter. But if he's clearly and decisively outplayed by say Ratliff, unlikely as that might be, that's not necessarily a problem. It means maybe you have two desirable quarterbacks, as opposed to only one (or possibly, none). I see people hesitant to give up multiple high picks, and I understand that. But at least consider that it's possible you'll spend multiple high picks looking for a quarterback anyway over the next few years, and still won't find one capable of playing at a high level in the NFL. How many high picks have the Lions, 49ers, Browns, et al used on quarterbacks over the last decade? How many good starting quarterbacks do they have for all those picks and all that effort? The truth is the Jets could use their first-round pick on a quarterback in two of the next three years and not end up with a quarterback half as good as Cutler. I'd probably draw the line at a first and a second myself, but again, why assume you'd end up with a better quarterback (or better players, period) with those picks? You might not.
so how do the Patriots, Colts and Giants, and many other teams, succeed when they don't have to have a QB competition every season if success is directly tied to it?
I should have known that when I clicked on this thread it would not be a good one. I was hoping for somethign along the lines of "the cost in players and picks" or "Rex will want a game managing QB not a gunslinger" or even "Rex and Tanny do not want an attitude problem". Instead we get the OP wiht the competition BS. Guess what, no matter who we get they are going to have to compete every week against NFL players. If thats not enough to drive them they have no place in this league.
No its not a joke. Sadly Sour is either one of the biggest F'n morons that post here or one of the worlds greatest trolls. I'm not really sure whcih it is.
