STRONG POINTS

Cutler is a good athlete with the ability to make plays with both his arm and legs. When he strides into throws, he can get rid of ball quickly and throws with good accuracy and zip. He has a good over-the-top delivery, but needs to avoid arm throwing as much as he does. He can make all the throws with good zip and accuracy. He is a smart young man who learns well and consistently has shown patience to come off the primary receiver to find the second and third receiver. He does a very good job of keeping his head up and eyes down the field when flushed from the pocket, which helps him to find a man to throw to when on the move.

WEAKNESSES

Cutler does not consistently stride into throws, often either throwing with legs on the same yardline or just becoming an arm thrower with bad technique. When he does not stride into the pass and tries to put zip on the throw, his passes tend to zip and dip right before they get to the receiver. He does not consistently sense/feel backside pressure coming and it leads to him taking some hits he shouldn't. Because Vanderbilt was almost always the worse team, Cutler developed some bad habits of trying to force some passes into tight coverage, leading to interceptions. Due to the reasons listed above, Cutler has struggled to consistently convert key/important downs into first downs.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

Grade Category Comments/Description 5.5 Technique When he is on, his technique is very good, but too often he has bad footwork and throws without striding. 6.5 Arm Strength He has a very strong arm and can really get very good zip on passes when he strides into throws. 5.0 Convert Pct. Despite production, he struggled to consistently step up and convert the key down into a first down. 6.0 2nd Lives He has the quick feet and athleticism to avoid the sack, buy a second chance and make something out of nothing. 6.0 Accuracy Short in Pocket He's a very accurate thrower when he strides into throws, but he tries to just arm throw too often on short passes. 6.0 Accuracy Long in Pocket He throws a very accurate deep ball, but struggles to consistently throw on target when his footwork is off. 6.5 Accuracy on the Move His arm strength helps him to throw accurately on the move even though he does not set feet consistently. 7.0 Big Plays Cutler has shown a knack for stepping up and making big plays down the field -- 3.88 big plays per game. 6.0 Under Pressure He stays poised in the pocket with pressure all around him and can make quick throws to beat the blitz. 6.0 Leadership/Poise Cutler is a quiet, leader type and is not a vocal take-command type of leader, but he always shows poise in pocket. 6.5 Read Defenses He reads the defense consistently well and can find the open receiver consistently. 5.5 Big Errors He does not make a ton of big errors, but he will try to force some passes which lead to interceptions.

ATHLETIC ABILITY	Section Grade: 6.0
Cutler's good athleticism is a big part of the reason that he was able to be a productive quarterback at Vanderbilt despite constantly being under heavy pressure and having to create something when the play breaks down. He has the quick feet to step up quickly in the pocket to avoid the wide rush and has shown ability to buy a second chance and make a play outside of the pocket. He has the quick hands and feet to set up and get rid of the ball fast. He is very smooth and fluid athletically, which helps him to consistently throw accurately on the move despite not setting his feet and throwing with good footwork/technique. He is a very coordinated athlete for a quarterback, which has enabled him to keep his feet and make good plays scrambling with the ball. Helacks elite speed, but has enough to consistently scramble for the first down.
Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0

COMPETITIVENESS	Section Grade: 6.5
Cutler is an extremely tough quarterback who has consistently taken a heavy pounding behind Vanderbilt's offensive line, but stayed in the lineup and continued competing as if he had never been hit. At times he has shown that he has "it" and has stepped up and made some big plays when Vandy desperately needed it. However, he did not always step up and make the key plays -- in the games that were graded, he only converted 55 percent of important downs into first downs, which is not good for an elite-level quarterback prospect. His overall production has definitely been good, basically carrying their offense on his back for four seasons. He was not, however, a consistently productive player and his play really varied -- very good vs. Florida and Tennessee and just adequate vs. LSU -- and much of his inconsistency can be traced to his not using good footwork and technique throwing the ball on every pass. Too often he threw with his feet flat on ground and did not stride into throws. At times, his feet were actually on the same yardline when he threw and his accuracy really suffered when his footwork was off. He was definitely an excellent team player at Vanderbilt when you consider that he could have transferred to a much higher profile program after establishing himself during his firrst two years at Vandy, but he chose to stay and tried to carry their football team on his back. He is a highly competitive player who always gives an excellent effort on every play -- sometimes his competitiveness gets the best of him and it causes him to try and force some passes that he should just throw away.
Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit 8.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 8.0 7.5

MENTAL ALERTNESS	Section Grade: 6.0
Just the fact that Cutler graduated from Vanderbilt while playing varsity football tells you that he is smart, but it's a concern that his throwing technique is not consistently good. He has good instincts in regards to what he sees downfield and his ability to consistently react to the different things that defenses try to do to him. However, he does not show the same good instincts in the pocket when it comes to sensing/feeling the blindside rusher coming and at times gets sacked without even pulling the ball down. He must play with good concentration to be productive when he team is so overmatched, but he loses his focus at times and it leads to his throwing technique getting sloppy and to him trying to force some throws he knows he should never make.
Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration 6.5 6.0 6.0

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION	Section Grade: 6.5
Cutler has very good size for a quarterback -- good height with a very good build. His size, strength, toughness and competitiveness will help him to be a durable NFL quarterback because he will not take the same pounding in the NFL as he did at Vanderbilt. He is an explosive player who can burst out of the pocket when he takes off scrambling and the ball shoots out of his hand explosively when he strides into throws. He has very good playing strength for a quarterback, which helps him to stay on his feet while defenders try and sack him, and he can break free and scramble for positive yards. He runs strong with the ball and has shown strength to drag tacklers for an extra yard or two.
Body Type Durability Explosion Play Strength 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.5