I don't think Mangini wanted any parts of a possible QB controversy and that's why they passed on the blue chip QB's this year. Figure the non-competition for QB into the equation and you had to figure unless Chad lost his entire arm on the 50yd line, he was gonna be the QB come hell or high water anyway. Just another reason why there isn't a single gamechanging player on this roster. Then again, these ARE the Jets we're talking about here..
He wasn't the only one but yeah as of now he looks to be right.. Alot can change though.. I certainly remember a bunch of posters that were really high on Cutler & a bunch of posters that said no way can he be drafted in the 1st round..
I think that is complete nonsense.. The QB competition would not have been any different if Qb was selected in the 1st round instead of the 2nd round. It still would have been Pennys job to lose until the rookie Qb was ready to take over, just like it is now..
You and I both know that we can't go back and review years of videotape to determine which quarterbacks had great arms and which didn't. The point is, weak armed qb's like Pennington and Brees have been successful, and that, most often, accuracy is far more important. Cutler wasn't particularly accurate. Go back through history and look up the long list of guys with great arms that never became anything. You'll find a corellation between their lack of college accuracy and their pro standing. Overrated in relationship to brains, achievement, and accuracy, three areas in which Cutler was lacking. Certainly, the guy who drafted Marcus Nash, Willie Middlebrooks, and Ashley Lelie with first round picks is pretty much solid gold when it comes to talent evaluation. -X-
Bull.. Lets take a real look at the "competition" in camp and see if your argument holds water.. If the Jets had drafted a true, blue chip QB like say, a Cutler or even Leinart, the competition would have been alot fairer than against Ramsay and Bollinger. Clemens was never in the mix anyway no matter what BS Mangini put out there.. The expectation would have been entirely different if say, Cutler had outperfomed Pennington in TC. Then the pressure would have been on Mangini to start a rookie QB over Chad. The only reason why it was Chad's job to lose was that there was NOBODY on the roster, drafted or signed, that was better than a mediocre armed QB coming off his second shoulder surgery..
Pennington is definitely not without his flaws, but his intelligence, work ethic, and dogged determination to come back would have made him a challenge for anyone, particularly a first year guy. Moreover, his contract, and the state of this team in general, made this a good year to give him one last shot. -X-
I'm not arguing that Chad didn't have real competition in camp but I think Mangini would've handled Cutler exactly like he is handling Clemens with the idea that they will take over when the season is for all intents over..
A very compelling argument why Cutler or Leinart wasn't drafted as well..:wink: We really can't go into the possibilities but somewhere along the line, I think we're gonna be re-living old Jets history. You DO remember drafting O'Brien over Marino?. One's in the HOF and the other? Living a quiet, successful life somewhere I hope..
Pennington and Brees between them as starters for 8 years in the NFL have exactly 2 double digit win seasons between them. You could make a strong argument that the Chargers had the most talented team in football last year and didn't even make the playoffs. The Jets under Pennington clearly feasted on the NFL dregs and hardly moved the ball at all against the Pats or the Steelers in four attempts. The fact that Shanahan like every one has picked up busts doesn't really make the case for picking a "potential" franchise QB who has a weak by any standard NFL arm after all the only average armed HOF QB that even comes to mind is Montana and he was a third round pick.
And in the event Cutler had been drafted, we may be spitballing here a bit but what happens when the Qb inevitably evolves? Does a 1st year HC really need the headaches? How do you think Mangini would have handled it IF Cutler had outperformed Chad during TC? As it is, there are more than a few that think Clemens outperformed Chad during TC..
If we have the season everyone expects we will end up with Brady Quinn, so who would you rather have Cutler or Quinn?
Not just picked busts. Picked monumental busts at a rather high rate. Marcus Nash was out of football before you could say "Mo Clarett." Middlebrooks was just released by San Fran. Lelie is Lelie. I only brought it up because you were using his talent evaluation as a point in favor of Cutler. I think the record shows that Shanahan's talent evaluation skills are not something that guarantees the success of Cutler, one of the most clear "boom/bust" picks in recent years. Secondly, there's a difference between a weak by any standard NFL arm and a weak arm. Chad Pennington is certainly not Danny Weurfel, even after two shoulder surgeries. The point of my argument was, you don't need a dominant arm to be successful, particularly with the advent of the West Coast Offense. If given the choice between drafting a guy who has an adequate arm, great accuracy, good numbers, and good decision making skills, I take him over the guy who can "run really fast and throw really far" any day of the week. Re-read the article. "The Jets should have taken Cutler because he's big and can throw it far. Really far." Is Mortensen going to follow that up with "Jeff George- Hall of Famer?"
I think that's a little harsh CMan. It might just be they had enough doubts about both Cutler and Leinart that they didn't want to blow an early first on them? They may have felt Ramsey was better than they thought based on tape? Hard to tell but I seriously doubt they were afraid of a QB controversy.
I have a feeling that Ramsey was really, really bad. I think they're looking for intelligence, and while Ramsey's arm and instincts sometimes help him make good plays, he is, for the most part, prone to really bad, Testaverde-esque decisions. -X-
For what it's worth, Kellen Clemens would have been a 1st rounder on the draft boards if he didn't get the injury in his senior year....
That may be true WB, but being as risk-adverse as this CS seems to be, I just don't think they wanted any controversy at all coming into their first year. Particularly a QB controversy. If they had doubts about both blue chippers, then I don't understand why they took a QB at all this season. They could have simply waited until next year and drafted Quinn if they truly was interested in a blue-chip QB. I just don't think they are. I think this team's last drafted blue chip player was Vilma and before him, Keyshawn? Is that right?
The bottom line is, part of the reason Jay Cutler looks so damn good in Denver is because Denver has a NASTY offensive line. This is the reason that Jake Plummer, who averaged 19 INTs a season for 6 seasons in Arizona, has managed to cut that down to an average of 11 in 3 years with the Broncos. Great offensive lines make good offensive players great, and good offenses great. The Jets had a QB who is one shot away from his career being over and Pete Kendall/Brandon Moore being the only dependable OL starters going into this years draft. We could've drafted Cutler and Leinart, and maybe even done so by trading down and acquiring a few extra draft picks, thus getting other o-line... which is fine and all, except then the player with the biggest upside in the rookie class is the QB and not the LT. The Jets need was to acquire a LT with superstar upside... D'Brick, while he may not turn out to be the best, has the best upside of any of the OL in the draft. If he turns into the superstar the Jets are hoping and think he can be, then the Jets offensive line is 1/5 closer to being so good that ANY qb can succeed behind it.
