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And Matt?
Cutler does well in debut for Broncos
/ Associated Press
DENVER (AP) - Jay Cutler made a nice first impression, not that it will allow him to unseat Jake Plummer anytime soon.
The 11th pick in the draft was 16-of-22 for 192 yards and a touchdown in Denver's 20-13 loss at Detroit in its exhibition opener Friday night.
"I felt relaxed, things went well for me," Cutler said. "You'd like to win the game, but I played well and didn't make any mistakes and I'm pretty happy so far."
Cutler knows better than to make too much out of a preseason game, though: "The game plan was simple coming in. We didn't see anything complex in their defense."
Indeed, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was reserved in his praise for his rookie quarterback.
"He played well, executed the offense," Shanahan said. "Both teams were very vanilla in their approach, so you don't get too excited. But a guy's got to go out there and perform and I thought he showed a lot of poise and did an excellent job."
Cutler was the last of the "Big Three" quarterbacks chosen in the first round of the NFL draft, going to Denver one slot after Southern Cal's Matt Leinart went to Arizona. Vince Young, who led Texas to the national championship, went third to Tennessee.
While Arizona and Tennessee drafted high because they finished toward the bottom of the league last year, the Broncos moved all the way from the 29th overall pick in the first round to the 11th through a series of trades.
Cutler was glad to join a winning team after going 11-34 at Vanderbilt, where he was selected the league's MVP despite a pocket of protection that was wretched and compe ion in the SEC that was brutal.
Still, he knows he's going to be spending much of his rookie season on the sideline, barring an injury to Plummer, who is coming off his best season in the NFL, one in which he led the Broncos to the cusp of the Super Bowl before having a bad performance in the Broncos' loss to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship.
Cutler drove Denver on two field goal drives in the first half and then threw a touchdown pass to a wide-open David Kircus that gave Denver a 13-10 lead in the third quarter.
"I did some things wrong, and I'll see them on the film," Cutler said. "But this is a start."
A good one at that.
And Matt?
Gonna be the best QB of this draft class, by a long way.
Gotta agree with that one, even if it means giving the Broncos some props.
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