On Wednesday, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was asked about the Miami Dolphins during his normal press conference. When it came time to discuss the Dolphins quarterback, McDermott raised a few eyebrows with his comments on Jay Cutler.
"I mean, he's one of the top quarterbacks around the league, I would say," McDermott said. "I don't think much has changed over the years. You mentioned this year, with his transition there. Strong arm, extremely versatile in what he can do obviously moving with the ball in his hands in terms of his feet in the pocket and has great vision for the field and pinpoint accuracy. I mean, he's as good as there are out there and you saw that Monday night."
Uh, what?
In October, Dolphins head coach Adam Gase had to come out and publicly back Cutler because he was playing so terribly during the Dolphins inept scoring streak.
Cutler is 11th in completion percentage but 27th in passing yards per game, 22nd in passer rating, 32nd in yards per completion, 31st in yards per attempt, and 31st in interception percentage this season.
The Dolphins signed Cutler in the beginning on August after their quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, was injured in practice. He’s a fill-in starter and has been serviceable in that role. One of the best in the league?
Speaking specifically for Monday night, Cutler had a great game against the New England Patriots. He was 25-of-38 for 263 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. That’s an anomaly on his season, though, as he’s thrown a pick in eight of his eleven games.
The Bills certainly aren’t taking him lightly.
"Well, Jay has weapons and when Jay has weapons, I've seen in the past, he's able to make some big plays," Bills safety Micah Hyde said. "He just gets it in their hands and they're able to create some big plays for them.”
Hyde played against Cutler while the safety was with the Green Bay Packers and the QB was with the Chicago Bears. Defensive lineman Jerry Hughes also praised Cutler
"With Cutler you've got that gunslinger mentality," Hughes said. "He's never really out of ball games. He's going to keep chipping away. Now you see how he's able to get those young guys the ball. He's very efficient. For someone to not have an offseason or training camp and grasp the whole playbook. He's making checks as if he's been in the system for a couple of years."