Nonstopdrivel
15 years ago

Change is hard as the face of an NFL franchise 

Pressures on Cutler, Favre to mesh with new teammates, learn plays, move

ASK THE NFL EXPERT

By Dan Pompei

NBCSports.com contributor

updated 7:53 p.m. CT, Thurs., Sept . 10, 2009

When veteran quarterbacks change teams, the guy in the upper deck isnt affected much. Might have to adjust his fantasy roster a bit. Or even add or subtract from his jersey drawer.

But for a quarterback like Jay Cutler who went to the Bears from the Broncos, changing teams means a complete upheaval of everything in his life from where he lives to who he deals with, to what he wears to what he is asked to do.

And it isnt always an easy transition. Putting a quarterback on a new team isnt as simple as screwing a light bulb into a different socket.
Story continues below advertisement | your ad here

Its more like taking a delicate marine fish and putting him in a different tank. You have to be concerned about if the water temperature will be a shock to his system, if the salinity, PH, calcium and phosphate levels are right for him, and whether or not the other tank inhabitants will get along with him. And then you have to worry about if he will be negatively affected by the activity outside of the tank.

Asked about making the transition to a new team, the first thing Cutler and Kyle Orton brought up was something the public rarely thinks about the hassle of physically moving.

Moving your family is difficult, said Orton, who went to Denver in the Cutler trade. My wife was in Chicago for a couple years and she started to make some good friendships. To pack up and leave, for her, was tough. Shes adapted well though.

Orton was surprised to find out he was traded on April 2. On April 3, he left his home in suburban Chicago for Denver. More than five months later, he has yet to see that home again.

No one likes to move, Cutler said. That whole process takes time. Its a struggle. Then you have new teammates, new coaches, new offense, new city. There are a lot of different elements involved in changing teams.

Learning a new offense can be the most daunting challenge. It certainly was for Brett Favre when he went from the Packers to the Jets because the Jets had a completely different offense from the one he played in for his previous 16 years in Green Bay. The transition from the Jets to the Vikings was much easier on Favre because he is going back to what he did for so long.

Its the same system he knew so well, Vikings coach Brad Childress said. Its like being back in France and speaking French. It all comes back to you pretty quick.

It wasnt the same for Orton, who left a West Coast based system for Josh McDaniels offense, which is completely different and arguably one of the most complex in the NFL.

It was a struggle learning it, Orton said. Its a very complex offense, especially after being in one system for four or five years. You develop a comfort level. You have favorite plays, everything you like. You have to learn everything from scratch, even operation at the line of scrimmage and calling the play in the huddle.

The transition has been easier for Cutler, who went from Mike Shanahans West Coast based offense to Ron Turners West Coast based offense.

It hasnt been as hard as I first imagined it, he said. There are similar protections, similar routes. There are only so many different ways to put guys in different spots on the football field. Its come fairly easy, but Im still learning.

Besides learning a new system, a veteran quarterback changing teams has to hope he fits the new system. They dont always. When Kurt Warner went from the Rams to the Giants, he wasnt anywhere near as effective because the system did not complement his abilities. But when he went to the Cardinals, he looked like the old Kurt Warner in part because he fit the offense so much better.

The veteran quarterback also has to hope he clicks with new teammates. Cutler and tight end Greg Olsen seemed to hit it off immediately, both on and off the field. But Cutler and wide receiver Devin Hester dont appear completely on the same page yet.

Favre never seemed to completely be in sync with Laveranues Coles after they were put in the same aquarium in New York last year. Jets running back Thomas Jones made some publicly critical comments of Favre late last season.

Favre hopes he melds better in Minnesota, both in terms of personally and on the field. A big factor will be getting used to our guys, how they run their routes, who are the fastest, who wiggles open, how do you throw Sidney Rice the ball, Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell says.

Looking sharp in purple is one thing. Playing sharp in purple is another.



I'm digging deep within my soul to muster some compassion or sympathy for these guys . . . and failing utterly. I hate moving more than anybody, but rather than bemoaning the fact they have to move, perhaps they should be rejoicing that they can actually afford comfortably to own homes in multiple states.

I'm definitely looking forward to this shakeup in the NFC. I still see it breaking down thus:

Packers
Bears
Vikings
Lions

And I think the Lions will be serious contention within two years, if not next year.
UserPostedImage
Fan Shout
Zero2Cool (11h) : Jaire played in just 34 of a possible 68 games since the start of the 2021 season
Zero2Cool (11h) : reported, but not expected to practice
Zero2Cool (11h) : Jenkins has REPORTED for mandatory camp
Zero2Cool (12h) : I really thought he'd play for Packers.
buckeyepackfan (12h) : Packers releasing Jaire Alexander.
Mucky Tundra (8-Jun) : (Context: he wants his defense to create turnovers)
Mucky Tundra (8-Jun) : Giants DC Shane Bowen tells players to “be a damn pirate."
dfosterf (6-Jun) : Semper fi !
Cheesey (6-Jun) : This is why I have so much respect for those that have gone through battles
Cheesey (6-Jun) : I can't even imagine what that would have been like
wpr (6-Jun) : "Come on, you sons of bitches. Do you want to live forever?"
wpr (6-Jun) : Facing a line of machine guns 2 time medal of Honor recipient, First Sergeant Dan Daly told his men,
wpr (6-Jun) : Another detachment went into the Belleau Wood.
wpr (6-Jun) : On the 6th the Marines took Hill 142 but suffered terrible losses.
wpr (6-Jun) : It’s time to remember dfoster’s Marine brothers in Belleau Wood. The battle went on from June 1-26. Nearly 10,000 casualties.
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : Nick Collins and Morgan Burnett have signed with the PACK
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : he won't be wearing #12, maybe he will wear number two
packerfanoutwest (6-Jun) : He will fail this season, should have retired
Mucky Tundra (5-Jun) : Thus the cycle of Hall of Fame Packer QBs going to the Jets and then the Vikings is broken
bboystyle (5-Jun) : Rodgers to steelers on 1 year contract
Zero2Cool (5-Jun) : It's the cycle of civilizations. Get lazier, lazier, softer, softer and vanish.
Martha Careful (5-Jun) : great point. every aspect of society, including art, culture and sports has degraded.
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Green Bay sweep meant something to society about stopping pure excellence. We have the tush push now
dfosterf (4-Jun) : We old Martha.
Martha Careful (4-Jun) : *front four
Martha Careful (4-Jun) : Re frout four, I wish we had some Green "People Eaters" or a fearsome foursome
dfosterf (4-Jun) : *directions*
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Just don't ask him for driving direct
dfosterf (4-Jun) : Jim Marshall was an all-time great DE for the Purple People Eaters. Didn't like him. That's a compliment. RIP
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : ooppppss
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : “Kenny Clark played all of last season hurt by the way and got surgery to fix it in January”
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : @ByRyanWood How much did the injury affect him last fall? “A lot.”
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : @ByRyanWood Kenny Clark said he had foot surgery in January. Injured his foot in opener against Eagles and played through it all year.
Zero2Cool (3-Jun) : Golden is wearing guardian cap again. I bet he plays with it on too.
Mucky Tundra (3-Jun) : All the stuff I'm reading from Lions fans are pointing at his toe; he more or less has permanent turf toe in one of his big toes
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Kenny played through it, and a shame he gets little credit for that, imo
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Big men. I hope it's not the undoing of Kenny Clark
dfosterf (3-Jun) : Probably his toe. Pretty much a great center. Toe injuries are brutal to bigen
Mucky Tundra (2-Jun) : Lions All-Pro C Frank Ragnow retires
wpr (30-May) : It's all good.
beast (30-May) : Yeah, and I enjoyed your comments and just attempted to add to it. Sorry if I did it incorrectly.
wpr (30-May) : Beast I never said Henderson was the salt of the earth. Nor even that he was correct. Just quoting the guy.
Zero2Cool (29-May) : What did you do??
Zero2Cool (29-May) : Whoa
beast (29-May) : OMG the website is now all white, even some white on white text
beast (29-May) : Henderson, who admits to taking cocaine during the Super Bowl against the Steelers, might dislike Bradshaw as he lost two Superbowls to him
wpr (28-May) : Hollywood Henderson said Bradshaw “is so dumb, he couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the C and an A.”
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Cooper stock=BUY BUY BUY
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : Also notes he’s playing with more confidence.
Mucky Tundra (28-May) : @AndyHermanNFL MLF says there was a time last year where Cooper was at 220 pounds. Now he’s at 240 and still flying around.
Please sign in to use Fan Shout
2025 Packers Schedule
Sunday, Sep 7 @ 3:25 PM
LIONS
Thursday, Sep 11 @ 7:15 PM
COMMANDERS
Sunday, Sep 21 @ 12:00 PM
Browns
Sunday, Sep 28 @ 7:20 PM
Cowboys
Sunday, Oct 12 @ 3:25 PM
BENGALS
Sunday, Oct 19 @ 3:25 PM
Cardinals
Sunday, Oct 26 @ 7:20 PM
Steelers
Sunday, Nov 2 @ 12:00 PM
PANTHERS
Monday, Nov 10 @ 7:15 PM
EAGLES
Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00 PM
Giants
Sunday, Nov 23 @ 12:00 PM
VIKINGS
Thursday, Nov 27 @ 12:00 PM
Lions
Sunday, Dec 7 @ 12:00 PM
BEARS
Sunday, Dec 14 @ 3:25 PM
Broncos
Friday, Dec 19 @ 11:00 PM
Bears
Friday, Dec 26 @ 11:00 PM
RAVENS
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 11:00 PM
Vikings
Recent Topics
31m / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

2h / Green Bay Packers Talk / buckeyepackfan

7-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / Mucky Tundra

6-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

5-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

5-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

1-Jun / Green Bay Packers Talk / wpr

29-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Martha Careful

27-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / Zero2Cool

27-May / Random Babble / Martha Careful

24-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / greengold

23-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / earthquake

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / beast

22-May / Green Bay Packers Talk / bboystyle

Headlines
Copyright © 2006 - 2025 PackersHome.com™. All Rights Reserved.