Why Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins are a Perfect Marriage
Adam Gase has already proven he can reduce Jay Cutler’s turnovers and maximize his abilities, making the Dolphins a perfect fit for Cutler.
Marriage is largely about sacrifice, trust and growth.
That is precisely why Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins are a perfect match for each other. In fact, they are so perfect for each other that Matchmaker.com should scramble to include the pair in its next cheesy TV commercial, but we digress.
Cutler postponed his post-retirement broadcasting career with Fox Sports to sign a one year, $10 million deal — including up to $3 million in incentives according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter — with the Dolphins on Sunday, reuniting him with Adam Gase, his offensive coordinator with the Chicago Bears in 2015.
Gase and the Dolphins signed Cutler to replace injury-plagued starter, Ryan Tannehill, who suffered a non-contact injury last week in training camp. Last season, Tannehill threw for 2,995 yards and 19 touchdowns, while completing 67.1 percent of his passes. He also threw 12 interceptions in the 13 games he started before sustaining a season-ending injury against the Arizona Cardinals.
The 2015 season was one of Cutler’s most impressive, although still pedestrian when compared the league’s top quarterbacks. Cutler started 15 games that season with Gase as his offensive coordinator, throwing for 3,659 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions along with a career high 92.3 passer rating. His nearly 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio is what stood out about Cutler, who is notorious for his turnovers and nonchalant body language. He also completed 64.4 percent of his passes, the second-best percentage in his career.
In only throwing 11 interceptions during the 2015 season, Cutler illustrated that he is capable of growth on the field when paired with the right coach or coordinator. Gase believed in Cutler’s abilities and elevated his performance on the field and even challenged him to morph into more of a locker room leader.
However, the NFL is a year-to-year proposition and success does not translate from season to season. Although the Dolphins made the playoffs last season after surging to nine victories in their final 11 games, they were arguably a statistical anomaly. Eight of their victories were decided by one possession and a handful of plays. How many of those games will they win this season?
All that is seemingly irrelevant to Gase, who may be putting his coaching job on the line if the decision to sign Cutler backfires, especially when Colin Kaepernick was another legitimate option available on the quarterback market.
The trust in his ability to transform Cutler into a winning quarterback is what is most telling about Gase’s reunion with Cutler. Gase’s job as the Bears’ offensive coordinator is what propelled him to a head coaching job in the NFL, so it should come as no surprise that he was comfortable in luring Cuter out of retirement and back onto the field.
In addition, Cutler is risking his body’s health and reuniting with Gase for a shot at making the playoffs in Miami. He only played in five game last season because of thumb and shoulder injuries. He also suffered a torn labrum in his right throwing shoulder and underwent surgery in December. While his durability is a cause for concern, all signs point to Cutler being healthy heading into the 2017.
Cutler will also have an improved receiving corps compared to his thin arsenal with the Bears last season. Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker will probably be Cutler’s main wideouts, while running back Jay Ajayi should also line up in some receiver sets when he doesn’t carry the football.
What also makes the move intriguing is the amount of time Cutler presumably spent studying film of opposing teams in the NFL in preparation for his broadcasting gig at Fox. As a quarterback, Cutler is already engineered to study the entire field and how opposing defenses line up. That will go a long way in helping him transition back into playing shape both mentally and physically.
One cause for concern for the Dolphins, however, is Cutler’s poor record against division rivals and defending Super Bowl champions New England Patriots. Cutler has faced the Patriots three times and his teams have lost all three times by a combined score of 128–37. He is not the first quarterback to be embarrassed by the Patriots and he won’t be the last. The Dolphins — along with the rest of the NFL — are chasing the Patriots.
Even with Tannehill, it would be unrealistic to expect the Dolphins to dethrone the Patriots as AFC East champions. However, making the playoffs is certainly the least of the Dolphins’ expectations and with Cutler and Gase reunited, it should be an attainable goal.
The framework for success is in place. Cutler, Gase and the Dolphins have professed their love for each another. The only remaining question is if it will end in an ugly divorce for Cutler and the fans in South Beach.
