Anyways, a friend of mine blurted out the comment "Jay Cutler is not a good rushing quarterback". In his defense, he is a Lions fans and does not watch Cutler. He, like most football fans in America, only sees the interceptions Cutler's putting up and nothing else. I on the other hand have watched at least 95% of Cutler's game in Chicago and I can tell you that out of all his fault's, rushing is not one of them. I blurted back, "He's at least a top five QB rusher, maybe top ten." I didn't know off hand nor had I created a list to determine where Cutler ranks, but I knew Cutler was a good rushing quarterback. All I knew is that after three years seeing Cutler running away from pressure because his offensive line had more holes than a sieve, I knew he was a good rusher.
So where does Cutler rank among QB in terms of rushing?
I limited this this list with two caveats: 1) Is the quarterback starting for their team in Week Six / Will they start for their team in Week 7 because they are on a bye right now and 2) How good is that player right now. I will give you a sneak peak- Donovan McNabb is not on this list. He is one of the greatest QB rushers of all time but due to his age and decline of passing skills, he's terrible right now so I left him off.
10) Tarvaris Jackson (SEA)
Through five games in 2011 Jackson is fifth among quarterback in terms of rushing yards with 78 in order to go along with a rushing touchdown. Jackson has five career rushing touchdown and a career 4.5 yards per carry.
Jackson has the mobility to move and is often forced to move because he lacks the accuracy and passing skills needed to be a passing quarterback (a big factor I take into account) and because of this he lacks the ability to hit his receivers while on the move.
9) Jason Campbell (OAK)
Jason Campbell reminds me of an improved Tarvaris Jackson. Campbell has better rushing skills and better passing skills. Campbell will get into stretches where he's a really good passer and sink into long stretches where he just stinks- although this forces him to run more often.
Campbell ranks 9th this year with 44 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns (and Campbell actually has a top five running back on his team in Run DMC, which Jackson does not) and ranked 8th last year in terms of rushing yards with 222 and one rushing TD.
Campbell has 6 career rushing TDs and a career 4.9 YPC.
Campbell can actually makes plays on the run and can be accurate and throw long distances while on the move which is a big factor I take into account rather than just running a lot.
8) Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF)
Fitzpatrick doesn't fit the mold of a prototypical rushing quarterback but can run and run effectively on any given play. Just because he doesn't run as much as say a Tarvaris Jackson does not mean he can't be just as effective as Jackson can.
Last year Fitzpatrick was fifth among quarterbacks in terms of rushing yards with 269. Fitzpatrick has barely run at all through five games in 2011 but that's because he has been so good through the air he doesn't need to run. As the scouting report on ESPN states:
[Fitzpatrick] can improvise and move the chains with his legs but is best in the pocket7) Jay Cutler (CHI)
All you do is have to watch Jay Cutler to see how good and mobile he is. As mentioned at the top of the post, Cutler is often scrambling because his line or members on the line are poor at blocking and thus he's forced out of the pocket. When Orlando Pace was with the Bears it seemed to be that every other play Cutler was forced to roll to his right (because his left tackle couldn't block a stationary bike) and make plays- and Cutler is above-average on those type of throws while on the run.
While the numbers do not really bear it out that Cutler is a runner, it is because he has a pass first mindset and only runs when he ABSOLUTELY needs to, and because Cutler is so cocky that he think he can make every single throw imaginable he rarely feels like he has to run.
6) Tim Tebow (DEN)
This selection was tricky. If you think Jay Cutler is a bad passing quarterback, look at Tebow's numbers (Under 50% completion percentage). I do not want this list to be full of QBs who tend to run a lot but do so because they are terrible passers, however Tebow has had an extremely small sample size throwing the ball and he's just been freaking amazing at running the ball that I moved him ahead of guys like Cutler and Fitzpatrick.
Last year, with only three starts, Timmy Tebow had 227 rushing yards (good for 7th in the NFL behind Cutler and ahead of Campbell and Big Ben) along with six rushing touchdowns. SIX! That rivaled only Michael Vick's nine rushing TDs as the most by a quarterback in 2010. With that kind of great rushing ability I had to put him this high. And this is just his floor.
As hinted at earlier, Tebow needs to prove himself to be a better passer and not pull an Atlanta Falcons Michael Vick in the sense of running first because he can't complete a throw. Like I said, anyone can run the ball but it takes a special skill to complete passes as a quarterback along with the great ability to run.
5) Josh Freeman (TB)
Last year Simmons' boy Joshy-Poo-Twinkle-Toes had the second most rushing yards of any quarterback with 364. Plus, what makes Freeman better than the rest was that he was effective at throwing the ball. He had 25 touchdowns (which was second best among the top 13 quarterback in terms of rushing yards) and only 6 interceptions. That's good for an outstanding 4.167 TD/INT ratio.
This year Freeman ranks fourth among all quarterbacks in terms of rushing yards with 106. He has six less than third place (Chad Henne) but 28 more than fifth place.
The only reason Freeman ranks so low is because of how great the other four are, not because how terrible Freeman is.
4) Cam Newton (CAR)
Newton ranks second right now this year in terms of rushing yards with 160 along with five rushing touchdowns. That's crazy. Newton has more rushing touchdowns than: Matt Forte, Michael Turner, Frank Gore, and Darren McFadden (just to name a few). Newton is such a great runner that his offensive coordinator said that Newton is his goal line back.
3) Ben Roethlisberger (PIT)
In terms of rushing Big Ben is the superior Jay Cutler. Roethlisberger is 6'5" and 240 and shifty as shit. He is probably the hardest quarterback to bring down. Ben may not be the best runner, but he's most certainly the extremely mobile. Like with Jay Cutler, watch Roethlisberger play football (especially this year considering how terrible his offensive line is). No matter who is coming after Big Ben, Roethlisberger can outmaneuver any defender coming his way.
2) Aaron Rodgers (GB)
What can't Aaron Rodgers do? Seriously. The dude's a beast. 'Nuff said.
1) Michael Vick (PHI)
Was their really any doubt in your mind?
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