QB No. 18: Jay Cutler

Jay Cutler appears as the 18th best starting quarterback in the NFL on my list. From the time Cutler became the man for the Denver Broncos, I had much respect for the guy. He had a big arm, and could make all the throws...Blah, blah, blah. What did it for me, though, was the fearlessness I saw in him. I've always respected him for that. He carries himself with a certain arrogance, a belief that he is the best quarterback, and can make any throw. He's willing to take immense punishment, but get back up and make the next play. He can "win" you games, unlike the previous two quarterbacks on my list, who are more "game managers".

However, there are still a lot of deficiencies with Cutler that prevent him from being ranked higher on my list. Although Cutler can "win" you games, he's nearly as likely to "lose" you games instead. Cutler has been a turnover machine much of his career, routinely throwing 14+ INT in a season. Plus, he fumbles way too much (24 times in four years with Chicago). Some of that could be blamed on the offensive line, who have allowed Cutler to be sacked 113 times in the last three years. But some of that is on Cutler himself for holding onto the ball way too long, looking to make the spectacular play. He makes too many risky throws, that pay off at times, but more often than not, fail miserably.

The other thing with Cutler is that for all his "talent", he's only made one Pro Bowl. Additionally, since coming to Chicago, Cutler's only managed one playoff victory, despite having a very talented defense backing him up. Now, it's true that until 2012, Cutler didn't have a truly viable option in the passing game other than his RB Matt Forte. But even when he got Brandon Marshall this past year, the Bears still couldn't make the playoffs.

I don't mean to rip the guy. Again, I actually like Jay Cutler. His toughness, arrogance, willingness to make the tricky throws, and fearlessness are all things I admire. But he's also wreckless. Which leads to him not being able to stay on the field for his teammates for a full season (hasn't played a full 16 games since his first year in Chicago). And the bottom line is that he commits too many turnovers and bone-headed mistakes for me to rank him higher.

Projections: 4,100 yards, 28 TD, and 15 INT