Cutler's grit makes him sensible pick: Other NFL notes

By JEFF LEGWOLD
Scripps Howard News Service
05-MAY-06

There are certain givens in Southeastern Conference football.

Alabama and Auburn will force people to choose sides. Florida and Georgia will divide the hotels in Jacksonville, Fla., for the Cocktail Party. And Vanderbilt never, ever, ever beats Tennessee.

Well, almost never, anyway.

So, connect all the dots _ the history, the traditions and the zealous followers of SEC football _ and that's why Jay Cutler was the 11th pick of the NFL draft.

It's why Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan looked at all there was to see of the quarterbacks in this year's draft and proclaimed Cutler the best of the bunch.

That's because Cutler played quarterback at Vanderbilt. Every autumn weekend, his team, one outfitted by a small, private, academically stringent university, did its business in the heart of a league that pushes football toward theology.

So, that said, the Commodores don't win much.

And, those who used Cutler's career record as a starter as a pre-draft criticism of his play _ and there were plenty jotting down that winning percentage _ simply don't have an understanding of what football is like in the SEC.

Because on Nov. 19, Cutler pushed, prodded and yanked the Commodores as far as his right arm would carry them.

And it carried them to a 28-24 victory over the Volunteers in front of 107,487 folks in Tennessee's Neyland Stadium, most of whom had pulled the orange gear out of the closet only to sit in rather stunned silence when Cutler and the lads from Nashville turned the trick.

Cutler drove Vanderbilt 63 yards in only three plays, capping it with a 5-yard touchdown pass that left a vapor trail to freshman receiver Earl Bennett with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining in the game.

It was the first time since 1982 that Vanderbilt had defeated Tennessee at all, the first time since 1975 the Commodores did it in Knoxville.

So when the chattering types on the tube kept wondering exactly how Cutler had elevated himself into discussions that previously involved only Vince Young and Matt Leinart, they merely needed to look at that November game for an answer.

Young played on a Texas team with five other players who were drafted last weekend, as well as three who were selected in the 2005 draft that included Cedric Benson, who won the 2004 Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back.

Leinart played on a Southern California team that had 10 other players selected last weekend and five the previous year. The Trojans' 2006 draftees included a Heisman winner (running back Reggie Bush), an All-American at guard (Deuce Lutui) and a two-time 1,000-yard rusher (LenDale White).

Cutler was the only Commodores player drafted last weekend, and only two Vanderbilt players were selected in 2005 _ defensive end Jovan Haye and offensive lineman Justin Geisinger. Both were selected in the sixth round and they were the first Vanderbilt players drafted since 2001.

Despite the criticisms, Cutler knows what he did at Vanderbilt.

"That Tennessee game was big," he said. "But I think the last three games before that were big as well, but that was kind of a decisive game. . . . You look at it, I don't know if that changed people's minds or not."

And when the scouts were looking in earnest, as the 2005 season came down the stretch, Cutler became the first Vanderbilt quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in four consecutive games.

In road games at South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee among those final four games, he threw for 339 yards, 361 (and four touchdowns) and 315 (and three touchdowns), the latter in the win against the Volunteers.

Toss in a home win over Kentucky with 395 passing yards and five touchdowns, and you have the makings of a guy getting the NFL's attention at the right time.

"And you flip that Florida Gators film on and he put Vanderbilt on his back, (then) went to Tennessee and beat them there . . . ," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden said. "It was a showcase of talent. . . . Without him, I'm not sure what those scores would be, but they wouldn't have looked anything like they did. People may have to see what that offense looks like when he's gone to appreciate what it looked like with him in it."

Also, Cutler was hit, harassed and hounded in and out of the pocket far more than Young and Leinart could have possibly imagined. Yet, Cutler didn't miss a game in his career.

"I took some shots . . . ," Cutler said. "But I tried to stay in the weight room; I think that's how I stayed healthy."

Still, make no mistake, playing quarterback for the Broncos in the post-Elway era tends to be a difficult proposition _ it always will be as long as those who saw Elway play still sit in the stands on Sundays.

And expectations already are running in the fast lane simply because the Broncos moved up to take Cutler, even though he has yet to do anything with the team's jersey, other than hold it for photos.

He'll need poise in the years to come. He'll need help from those both inside and outside the team's walls to keep his head level enough to handle it all.

But rising to a challenge?

Well, he already has that covered.

BIG 2, SMALLER 10

Eight Big 12 Conference teams won at least seven games last season, but the NFL personnel gurus didn't see that kind of parity. Oklahoma and Texas had 12 players drafted combined, six each, or 41 percent of the conference's total of 29:

School, record, 2005 players drafted.

Baylor, 5-6, 1.

Colorado, 7-6, 4.

Iowa State, 7-5, 1.

Kansas, 7-5, 0.

Kansas State, 5-6, 1.

Missouri, 7-5, 2.

Nebraska, 8-4, 4.

Oklahoma, 8-4, 6.

Oklahoma St., 4-7, 1.

Texas, 13-0, 6.

Texas A&M, 5-6, 2.

Texas Tech, 9-3, 1.