I would rather have Cassel than Cutler just based on what I know. But I'm not an NFL GM.
And as a Charger fan, maybe I'm just hardened by how AJ Smith typically handles things, but I don't think McDaniels did anything wrong. Cutler's being a baby.
Can you unpack this a bit? Why?
The bolded probably explains where his opinion comes from the best.
Well MT is a pretty smart guy, but I'm just wondering what he knows that we don't. Cassell didn't start a single game in his college career and was drafted in the 7th round. Cutler started 45 games in his college career, for a bad team in the SEC, and was drafted in the first round. In one year playing 16 games, Cassel completed 63.4%, had a TD% of 4.1, an Int% of 2.1 and a Y/A of 7.2, all with a team that went 11-5. In his first year playing 16 games, Cutler completed 63.6%, had a TD% of 4.3, an Int% of 3.0 and a Y/A of 7.5 with a team that went 7-9. He followed that up in his second season going 62.3%, 4.1, 2.9 and 7.3 in those categories for a 8-8 team. What am I missing?
I'm basing it just on what I know (or believe) which is nowhere near the level of information McDaniels, Pioli, et al. have.To me, one of the most important attributes in a QB is his leadership. He has to have a strong will, a positive attitude, and the respect of his teammates. A strong arm is nice, but is not nearly as important as a lot of people seem to think. JMHO.
I've heard (I forgot where) that a lot of Cutler's teammates don't really like him. They consider him to be arrogant.
From what I've seen of him myself in interviews, I don't think he has a great attitude, and I also find him arrogant. And a bit whiny.
His reaction to this stuff helps confirm my previous beliefs about him.
Cassel, meanwhile, has excellent mechanics and is apparently capable of running a complicated offense. He showed
huge improvement over the course of the 2008 season, while Cutler did not. If anything, Cutler looked worse at the end of the season than he did at the beginning. (Cutler seems to make particularly bad decisions in the red zone, from what I've seen.)
I understand that people love Cutler's arm and athleticism. He's another Elway in those respects. But I personally don't think he's currently on the right track to be winner in the NFL. In spite of his obvious physical skills, I'd rather have a guy with better leadership skills and attitude. I could be wrong about Cutler. Like I said, I'm just going by my own admittedly very limited info.