Broncos camp report: Will third year be charm for Cutler?
By Clark Judge | CBSSports.com Senior Writer Follow ClarkEditor's note: Clark Judge, Pete Prisco and Mike Freeman are traveling to every NFL training camp and filing daily reports and analysis. Next camp report from Judge: Cardinals
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Yes, Denver coach Mike Shanahan was serious last week when he told a local radio station he saw this year's Broncos as playoff worthy, but, c'mon, people: What was he supposed to say? That they don't have a chance?
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| Jay Cutler says, 'It's just nice to feel normal again.' (AP) |
If the 2008 Broncos are going to the playoffs, it won't be because San Diego will stumble. The Chargers are the best team in the AFC West and one of the best teams in football, and they have as much chance of setting in the West as Jay Cutler has of losing another 35 pounds.
But that leaves room for a wild card, and the Broncos are a possibility not because their defense should be better or because Shanahan has depth at running back or even because they might have company for Brandon Marshall at wide receiver.
No, the Broncos are a possibility because this is Cutler's third year as a starter, and it's time for him to start playing like the quarterback Shanahan envisioned when he traded up two years ago to draft the guy. In short, it's time for him to make something happen.
"If you don't take off in your third year," said Shanahan, a coach who should know, "normally, you're not very good or you don't have a supporting cast."
| Out of Nowhere Man |
 Safety Hamza Abdullah. Want to know why Denver was ready to move on without John Lynch? Meet Abdullah, who assumed Lynch's position last year after the strong safety bowed out. Abdullah, signed off Tampa Bay's practice squad in 2005, first drew attention in Denver with his special-teams play, finishing fifth in tackles in 2006 when he played in only 11 games. Now he's a starter on a defense that should be better under new coordinator Bob Slowik. Abdullah can run, is a big hitter and has decent range. Best of all: The Broncos like him so much they didn't blink when it came to making a decision on Lynch. |
| Who is your Out of Nowhere Man? |
Shanahan believes he has provided the supporting cast for Cutler. Yes, Darrell Jackson looks more like Edward Scissorshands than a wide receiver to me, too, but there's always third-down specialist Brandon Stokley and a marvelous rookie named Eddie Royal who looks like the real deal.
A second-round draft pick, Royal can run. He can catch. And he can return kicks. In fact, he will. At practice Monday, he made two significant catches -- one a leaping two-handed grab of a Cutler bomb; the other a snag on a crossing pattern in the end zone.
"I thought he was the best receiver in the draft," Shanahan said, "and he hasn't proven me wrong."
Sure there is concern about a three-game suspension for Marshall -- who had more than twice as many catches last season (102) as the Broncos' next-best receiver -- particularly with Denver facing division opponents in three of its first four games. And granted, Selvin Young isn't exactly a household name at running back, even though he gained 5.2 yards per carry last season.
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But the Broncos always seem to find a way to run the ball and score points. What they don't seem to do is find a way to replace John Elway. After his retirement following the 1998 season, the Broncos spent years looking for the next standout at quarterback -- and Cutler is supposed to be that guy.
Well, it's time he starts playing like it.
A year ago he was just a notch up from ordinary, but a year ago he was playing as an undiagnosed diabetic. He lost 35 pounds and was so fatigued at least one teammate wondered what was going on.
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Positives: Young has a good year of work under his belt in Denver and knows the Broncos' running attack like the back of his hand. Young also has excellent speed and good hands -- he had eight runs of 20 or more yards in '07 and a pair of 20-plus yard receptions -- so he's a versatile back. With Shanahan naming him the starter earlier this offseason, and with the club dumping veteran Travis Henry, Young has a lot to be confident about and shouldn't feel much pressure to perform during the preseason. Negatives: Size, durability and endurance are issues. Young is not built to smack between the tackles, he missed a game last year with a knee sprain, and he went from a 6.4 yards per carry average in the first halves of games to a 3.6 average in the second halves of games. But the biggest drawback to owning Young is that because he's not a physical runner, he's not a candidate to play at the goal line. Young scored one touchdown in 2007 -- a 20-yard run at Kansas City. Denver's pass attack and the other runners on board will cut into Young's touches. Outlook: The good news is that Young should be considered a mortal lock for a few touchdowns and 1,000 rush yards -- we see him getting a smidge more than that -- but anything more would be unexpected. With Pittman to take third-down duties and Torain to potentially get into the mix in a number of roles (he fits in really well with the Denver offense), the club doesn't have a stud running back you can count on for huge Fantasy totals. But Young is the closest you can get. Think of him as a No. 3 running back worth a pick between Rounds 5 and 6. -- Dave Richard RB: Selvin Young (66th overall) QB: Jay Cutler (77th overall) WR: Brandon Marshall (47th overall) TE: Tony Scheffler (120th overall) |
| 2008 Fantasy Draft Prep |
"You could see the guy was just worn out," Stokley said. "He'd be falling asleep before the games in the locker room. He was just absolutely worn down, and nobody knew why."
Well, they do now. And now they have Cutler monitored at all times, with an insulin pump waiting on the sidelines when and if he needs it. If there's an irregularity in Cutler's blood sugar level, either he or the team's medical personnel are on it. So far, so good.
"We've got four or five people out there watching me to check it," Cutler said. "We check it two or three times at practice just to make sure. I have people on the field to see where I am and where my levels are just to make sure it doesn't get low."
Result: Cutler feels great, his weight is back up and his energy is good.
"He's back to his old self," Stokley said.
The Broncos can only hope. With Cutler struggling last year, Denver floundered, losing four of its last six and fortunate not to have been swept by the Raiders. Worse, the Broncos got hammered 44-7 by Detroit.
A lot of the team's troubles stemmed from a rotten run defense, but Cutler seldom came to the rescue like No. 7. Now we know why.
"Last year was tough," Cutler said. "I didn't sleep a lot. I was always tired. I would come here in the morning and be tired. I would leave here and be tired. I would go to the game and be dead tired. It's just nice to feel normal again."
If Cutler looks as good as he did at practice Monday -- heck, if he looks as good as he has at training camp this summer -- the Broncos have a chance to return to the playoffs for the first time in three years. But he absolutely, positively, must be the quarterback we saw in, say, the third quarter of a loss at San Diego his rookie season.
He threw darts then. He throws darts now. And now is when Denver needs Jay Cutler.
"I'll be surprised if he doesn't have a great year," Shanahan said.
The Broncos' season might depend on it.
