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ATLANTA – Thoughts on the Atlanta Falcons’ 45-24 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

What it means: The Falcons are 10-6 and in the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history. The Falcons are in as the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs. They’ll play on the road against the winner of Sunday night’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. The Buccaneers ended their season in dismal fashion. After starting off 4-2, they lost their final 10 games and weren’t even competitive in most of those.

Momentum found: The Falcons bounced back nicely after a bad Monday night loss to the New Orleans Saints. Yeah, they were playing the Bucs, who might have become the worst team in the NFL, but the victory should create a positive vibe for the Falcons as they head into the playoffs.

Record Turner: Michael Turner broke Gerald Riggs’ team record for career rushing touchdowns with two in the first half. Turner now has 50 rushing touchdowns since joining the Falcons in 2008. Riggs set his record over the course of seven seasons. Turner also tied Riggs’ team record with his 25^th 100-yard rushing game since joining the Falcons. Too bad Turner doesn’t play for the Saints. Sean Payton would have kept feeding Turner the ball and given him a shot at a 500-yard day.

Roddy’s records: Roddy White became Atlanta’s all-time leader in receiving yards. He passed Terance Mathis’ previous record of 7,349 yards. White also had his 100th catch of the season. That makes White the first player to have two seasons of 100 or more catches.

Farewell, Jeff George: Quarterback Matt Ryan surpassed Jeff George’s 1995 record for passing yards in a season (4,143).

The Morris Watch: If Tampa Bay’s ownership hadn’t made a decision about the future of coach Raheem Morris before Sunday, another embarrassing loss couldn’t have helped his case. This game was over almost as soon as it started and it’s stunning to remember that the Bucs beat the Falcons in Week 3. As has been the case through most of the losing streak, the Bucs looked like a team with no direction. At some point in the next few days, the Glazer family, which owns the Bucs will have to break its silence and let the world know if they’re sticking with Morris or going in a different direction.

What’s next: The Falcons have to wait until the end of Sunday night’s game between the Giants and Cowboys to find out where they’ll travel to for the first round of the playoffs. The Buccaneers will get a top 10 draft pick and an offseason that’s sure to be filled with change even if Morris stays.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 17:

High-powered offenses: Assuming the Saints play their starters, and they say they will, their game with the Panthers may look like a mismatch at first glance. But, look again. The Panthers are a much better team than they were earlier in the year. They’ve won four of their past five games and they’ve scored 164 points in that span. Since Week 12, only the Saints (189 points) and the Patriots (171) have scored more points. Carolina also has won three straight road games after snapping a 12-game road losing streak.

Bright spot: The Falcons can take a bit of good news out of Monday night’s loss to New Orleans. They’re very good at bouncing back from a loss. The Falcons have not lost back-to-back games since 2009.

Erasing Jeff George: Like the Saints, the Falcons also are saying they’ll play their starters. Let’s hope that’s true and let’s hope Matt Ryan at least plays long enough to throw for 73 yards. If he does, he’ll set the franchise record for passing yards in a season. The record is 4,143 yards and it was set by Jeff George in 1995. No team should have George at the top of its record book for 16 years.

Last dance? I don’t think the Bucs are literally playing for coach Raheem Morris’ job on Sunday in Atlanta. I suspect ownership already has made a decision and one game isn’t going to change it. There’s been some speculation Morris could stay if he replaces himself as defensive coordinator and makes a change at offensive coordinator. It’s possible, but I think it’s highly unlikely. The Bucs have crumbled during a nine-game slide. If this were Morris’ first or second year, he might stick. But this is his third year and, by that time, you should be seeing progress -- not major regression -- from a youth movement.

Stats are for losers: Let’s put Tampa Bay’s nine-game losing streak in perspective. It’s the longest active losing streak in the NFL. It’s Tampa Bay’s longest losing streak since losing 11 consecutive games between the 2008 and ’09 seasons. The last time the Bucs lost 10 straight in a single season was 1977, the franchise’s second season, when the Bucs lost their first 12 games. If the Bucs lose to the Falcons, Morris will join John McKay and Leeman Bennett as the only coaches in franchise history to have more than one 12-loss season.

Now that we’re getting down to some real football, I’m happy that I can start interacting more with my friends at ESPN Stats & Information.

They supply some wonderful stuff, much of which you can’t get anywhere else, and we’ll lean heavily on them during the regular season. Heck, we’ll start it a little before the regular season.

Now that we know for certain Cam Newton will be the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on opening day, it’s time to look at some history.

Here’s a look at quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall (since 1966) who started a season opener and how they fared in that game.

• 2010: Sam Bradford, Loss
• 2009: Matthew Stafford, Loss
• 2002: David Carr, Win
• 1998: Peyton Manning, Loss
• 1993: Drew Bledsoe, Loss
• 1990: Jeff George, Loss
• 1989: Troy Aikman, Loss
• 1983: John Elway, Win
• 1975: Steve Bartkowski, Loss
• 1971: Jim Plunkett, Win
• 1970: Terry Bradshaw, Loss

None of the above finished the season with a winning record as a starter. In other not-so-encouraging news in this department, all rookie quarterbacks starting an opener since 1970 are a combined 10-16. But, hey, there’s one bit of good news for Carolina fans. One of those 10 wins came by Carolina with Chris Weinke in 2001.

How long has it been since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw an interception? The Jets were considered the team to beat in the AFC.

If that seems like a long time ago, you're right.

Brady hasn't thrown an interception since Week 6 against the Ravens, a stretch of 268 attempts. That ranks sixth all-time.

He would climb into second place with 27 more interception-free attempts Sunday night against the Packers.

Here's the list of longest streaks:

• Bernie Kosar, 1990-91 for the Browns -- 308
• Bart Starr, 1964-65 for the Packers -- 294
• Jeff George, 1993-94 for the Colts and Falcons -- 279
• Rich Gannon, 2001 for the Raiders -- 277
• Jason Campbell, 2007-08 for the Redskins -- 271
• Tom Brady, 2010 for the Patriots -- 268

Brady has tied the NFL record with six consecutive games of at least two touchdown passes and no interceptions. In his past eight games he has 19 TDs, zero interceptions and only two ratings under 100.

The Patriots have a league-leading plus-18 turnover ratio and haven't committed any in five straight games, which is an NFL record.

Now that the signing of Albert Haynesworth has blown up in Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's face, there's been some discussion about whether it was the owner's worst move in free agency. From my perspective, that's sort of a cheap second guess, although I support most cheap second guesses.

Were Snyder and the exiled Vinny Cerrato supposed to anticipate that Haynesworth would shut things down if they made a coaching change after the 2009 season? The thing folks have forgotten is that Haynesworth finished the season complaining about former defensive coordinator Greg Blache's 4-3 scheme. All this talk about him being upset about the scheme change under Jim Haslett seems rather hollow.

Haynesworth has come across as a brooding child who is now trying to force his way out of a situation he's never given a chance. Our friends at SportsNation asked readers to vote for the worst free-agent signings during the Snyder administration. Here are the results so far:

With 12,175 votes accounted for, 46 percent voted for Haynesworth. But I think those are "anger" votes. Jeff George is second with 27 percent of the vote and Adam Archuleta (15 percent) is attempting to hold off Deion Sanders (12 percent). So who would you guys select as the worst free-agent signing for Snyder?

If Haynesworth never steps on the field again for the Skins, he'll obviously move to the top. But based on the knowledge Snyder had at the time, that Archuleta signing was pretty ridiculous. Anxious to hear your thoughts.

The St. Louis Rams need not look far to see what can happen when an overmatched NFL team mishandles a quarterback drafted first overall.

The division-rival San Francisco 49ers are still trying to recoup their investment in 2005 first overall choice Alex Smith.

The Rams probably will not change offensive coordinators every year for the next five seasons, as the 49ers improbably did in Smith's first five, but they still need to be careful with rookie No. 1 overall choice Sam Bradford.

Early indications suggest the Rams would like to follow the plan Philadelphia took with Donovan McNabb back in 1999, when Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was coaching the Eagles' tight ends. Doug Pederson opened as the Eagles starter that season, allowing McNabb to ease into the starting role. McNabb got some reps off the bench before taking over as the starter in November.

In setting expectations for Bradford, I looked at production by rookie quarterbacks since 1970. The list featured several older players, some with experience in the CFL or USFL. I filtered out those players by focusing only on quarterbacks who were 25 or younger as NFL rookies. A quick look at them by games started:

16-game starters

There were only five, in part because the NFL season spanned only 14 games until 1978.

Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Rick Mirer and David Carr pulled it off. All but Flacco, chosen 18th overall by Baltimore in 2008, were drafted among the top three overall choices in their class.

The ones who took the most sacks as rookies -- Carr (76) and Mirer (47) were the only ones to absorb more than 32 -- had the poorest careers. That might suggest the players had a hard time recovering from the beatings they took early in their careers. It also might reveal something about the quarterbacks' ability to process information quickly enough to get rid of the football before trouble arrives.

Offensive lines tend to take disproportionate blame for sacks, in my view. Quarterbacks are often responsible for them as well.

11- to 15-game starters

None in this group threw even 20 touchdown passes in a season (Manning and Dan Marino are the only rookie quarterbacks since 1970 to reach that barrier as rookies).

We should expect modest production from Bradford even if he starts most of the Rams' games.

Ben Roethlisberger was a rarity among this group by completing at least 60 percent of his passes, but rookie completion percentage wasn't a reliable indicator for career success overall.

Some quarterbacks ranking lower played when teams ran higher-risk offenses and rules made it tougher to complete passes.

6- to 10-game starters

Hall of Famers Marino, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw and Dan Fouts fell into this group.

This group featured a solid middle class headed by McNabb, Eli Manning, Bernie Kosar, Jim McMahon, Neil Lomax, Steve Beuerlein, Pat Haden, Doug Williams and Rodney Peete.

There were a few disappointments -- Ryan Leaf, Cade McNown, Kyle Boller and the 49ers' Smith, who still has a shot at redemption -- but this seems like a reasonable number of starts for a quarterback drafted early.

Matthew Stafford and Josh Freeman fell into this category last season.

3- to 5-game starters

Some high picks fell into this category, including Bert Jones, Vinny Testaverde, David Klingler, Tony Eason, Rex Grossman, Akili Smith, Jay Cutler, Tommy Maddox, Jim Everett and 1984 supplemental choice Steve Young.

This group produced relatively few true stars, however. Young was an obvious exception. Boomer Esiason was a good value.

In looking at the list, though, my sense is that a really good quarterback -- particularly one chosen early -- will start more than five games if he gets a chance to start at all in his first season.

2 or fewer starts

Hundreds of rookie quarterbacks failed to start a game and 69 did not attempt a pass. The latter group featured Tony Romo and in-the-news quarterbacks Kevin Kolb and Charlie Whitehurst, but Daunte Culpepper, the 11th player chosen in 1999, stood out as a rare high draft choice among the group.

Unlike Carson Palmer, who sat out his rookie season as a high choice in Cincinnati, Bradford is going to play as a rookie unless he gets hurt.

It's reasonable to expect Bradford to start at least half the games, putting up modest numbers. He'll probably struggle some, and that is OK, but it's a bad sign if the Alex Smith comparisons apply by season's end. Smith tossed one touchdown pass with 11 interceptions as a rookie. He wasn't ready and his supporting cast gave him little chance. That's a bad combination.

Hopefully you got a chance to listen to Brian Billick’s interview Tuesday morning on ESPN Radio, especially the segment where he discussed Jay Cutler’s first season in Chicago.

Most notably, Billick said Cutler is “beginning to feel Jeff Georgish.” Yikes. The reference, of course, is to former NFL quarterback Jeff George -- the No. 1 overall pick in 1990 who was known more for his strong arm than he was for winning games. His career record as a starter was 46-78.

Billick isn’t the first person to make that comparison, but his stature as a Super Bowl-winning coach brings a level of credibility to the observation. Here’s the full quote, spoken after Billick worked Sunday’s Green Bay-Chicago game as a FOX analyst:

“I was a huge Jay Cutler fan, and I’m not ready to bail on him yet. But I’m going to make an analogy here that’s going to scare a lot of people. He’s beginning to feel Jeff Georgish. Tremendous talent. The two interceptions, two touchdowns in the game [Sunday]. The interceptions, you just scratch your head and say, ‘Where exactly were you going with this ball?’ And then the two touchdown throws … there is probably not four guys in this league that could make the kind of throws that he made to get those two touchdowns. So it’s a head-scratcher. Obviously huge, huge potential. But right now, it’s only potential I think.”

More importantly, what do you think? Cutler has started 50 NFL games and has a record of 22-28. Based on what you’ve seen this season, do you think he’s going to make it? Will Cutler be a winning quarterback in Chicago? The bounty the Bears gave up for him, along with an October contract extension, suggests he’ll get every opportunity to do it.

I’ve provided Cutler’s rankings in key quarterback measurements below. Let me know what you think in the comments area below. As always, I’ll publish a representative sample, along with my own take, Friday morning. Have at It.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

There is no question that the Denver Broncos got good value by trading quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears on Thursday afternoon.

	Jeff Hanisch/US Presswire
	Kyle Orton is not a suitable replacement for recently-traded Pro Bowler Jay Cutler.

But it is way too early to say if it was a good trade for Denver.

The problem is that Jay Cutler should have never been on the trade block. That is the bottom line. It is absolutely insane to think the Broncos just traded a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback who has just 37 NFL games under his belt. The guy isn't even in his prime yet.

That's why Chicago gave up so much to get their new franchise quarterback. Here is the trade breakdown: Denver gets the Bears' No. 18 overall pick this year, their first-round pick in 2010, a third-round pick in 2009 and quarterback Kyle Orton. Denver gave up one of its fifth-round picks this year in addition to Cutler.

Indeed, the Bears gave up a lot for Cutler. But he is worth it. Teams are built around quarterbacks. That's why the Bears made this deal.

Now, Denver has to go find its new franchise quarterback. You know, like it did three years ago when it traded up in the draft to get Cutler, who did his part by developing quickly. Now, new Denver coach Josh McDaniels, who started the Cutler saga in late February by trying to trade for Matt Cassel, has to figure out who his new quarterback is going to be.

McDaniels clearly has an eye for quarterbacks and he needs to identify one in this draft. The Broncos have the No. 12 and No. 18 picks. One of those picks should be spent on USC's Mark Sanchez if he is still on the board, which may be wishful thinking. I don't think Denver should package both picks to secure Sanchez or Matthew Stafford. Denver has too many needs on defense that have to be addressed.

It will be tempting for Denver to take two defensive standouts at No. 12 and No. 18 or to package the two picks (perhaps all the way up to Seattle at No. 4) to get a defensive star such as Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji.

But I don't know if Denver can ignore its quarterback position for a year. I'm sorry, but Orton is not the answer.

He is serviceable. He is an accurate thrower who you can compete with. Orton is a game manager but he is not special. Cutler is special. Cutler always gave Denver a puncher's chance because of his strong arm and his overall abilities.

McDaniels is a system coach and Orton is a system quarterback so maybe this can work to some extent, but Denver will need to score a lot of points with a young defense. I'm not sure if Orton can be a scoring machine even with a solid supporting cast. Cutler shined with Denver's weapons.

With Cutler entering his prime, Denver was ready to compete now, at least on offense. The Broncos are already young. They didn't need to get younger. They needed to get better. I'm not so sure the Broncos are better today without Cutler on the roster. Yes, they got draft picks but often draft picks don't pan out.

While this trade certainly downgrades Denver's quarterback position, it does deserve a hat tip for getting so much out of Chicago. There were several teams pushing for Cutler and Denver squeezed as much as it could. In the proposed Cassel trade, Denver was going to trade Cutler straight up for Cassel, so the Broncos did better in the end.

It was likely the third-round pick Chicago gave up that made this trade possible. Washington and Tampa Bay just couldn't compete with the Bears' offer.

On paper, this trade looks good for Denver. But it still has to find its quarterback. You just can't trade Jay Cutler and move on. A capable replacement is needed. Now, Denver has to go find him.

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

Perhaps the best year of Jeff George's career, and certainly the most tranquil, came in 1999 when he led Minnesota to nine victories and a playoff berth in 12 starts. He got along with his coaches and teammates. Beat reporters found him to be down-to-earth and honest. Fans loved his gunslinger mentality.

	Jonathan Daniel/ALLSPORT
	Jeff George last saw game action with the Redskins in 2001.

That's why I'm a bit surprised and saddened by George's continuing campaign to convince the Vikings he should still be their quarterback. He told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports last week that the Vikings would have won the Super Bowl had they paired him with tailback Adrian Peterson, and he followed up by providing this quote to Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

"Wouldn't the fans at the Metrodome want to see if I can do again what I did in '99?. That would be all [coach] Brad Childress, for bringing me back. It would be a storybook ending. It would be unbelievable."

Just a calendar update here: 1999 was 10 YEARS AGO. That's an eternity by NFL standards. Not many players pick up where they left off a decade earlier. George hasn't thrown a regular-season NFL pass since 2001, another eternity in this league. I don't doubt that he still has a strong arm, but George must know there is more to playing quarterback in the NFL than that.

To suggest the job would be "easy" with Peterson in the lineup is an alarming overstatement. Quarterbacks still have to avoid the pass rush. They still must absorb hits. They still must read defenses that have changed dramatically over the past 10 years. And I have a hard time imagining George in the Vikings' strict version of the West Coast offense. Isn't he best matched with a downfield passing game?

As a reporter, I always appreciate when a player honestly expresses his thoughts. But fair or otherwise, NFL teams do not. Thoughts and quotes like the one below are why the league largely moved on after his departure from Washington in 2001:

"I've been trying to figure out how to get back in, and it just amazes me that I'm not on somebody's roster. I've been throwing two or three times a week, and every time I go out there to throw, I can't believe I'm not a backup somewhere. I know it's a young man's game, but you can't tell me I'm not better than some of the quarterbacks that are out there. I look at teams like Minnesota or Chicago, and I want to scream at the people in charge, 'What are you thinking?' "

The Vikings and Bears deserve their share of criticism for the way they've handled their quarterback situations in recent years. But did they err by not signing Jeff George? I can tell you that most NFL coaches don't want a backup quarterback who so directly expresses his superiority over the likely starter. A backup's job is twofold: He must prepare to start, but in the meantime he must accept his subordinate status. There's nothing in George's current sentiments that suggests his aptitude for that role, which really was his only ticket back into the league.

The truth of the matter is that the Vikings wanted George to return in 2000. They spent almost two months trying to negotiate a contract that would allow him to be their starter while also recognizing that Daunte Culpepper, drafted No. 11 overall in 1999, would eventually get his chance. George balked at that arrangement, choosing instead a more lucrative offer from Washington.

We'll never know for sure. But if George had re-signed and continued playing at a high level, it's hard to imagine the Vikings jettisoning him the following year in favor of Culpepper. Receivers Randy Moss and Cris Carter loved playing with him and a mini-dynasty -- at least offensively -- could have occurred.

But George made a business decision, the type that gets made every year in the NFL. It didn't work out, and thus his rocky career ended on a down note. But by continuing to push the Minnesota angle, he's diminishing the most positive legacy he produced in the league.

George is a proud man whose exasperation is understandable but ultimately unfounded. The last time he took to the public airwaves, Childress unnecessarily suggested he should attend a fantasy camp to continue playing. My suggestion is that he disconnect his phone. That way, he won't answer the next time a reporter calls to ask if he thinks he should still be playing. It's time for everyone to move on.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

The agent for Kansas City running back Larry Johnson, who has requested a trade, said the player plans to attend the start of the team's offseason conditioning program Monday.

Johnson's stance, apparently, is he will work out with the team as long as he is part of the team. This is a good faith move that could lead to the two parties coming together. After all, Johnson's beef was with the Chiefs' previous regime. So, maybe something could be worked out.

Also from the AFC West:

• Jay Cutler has been compared to Jeff George in the past. And apparently, George isn't too thrilled about the comparison.
• The Raiders have set up pre-draft visit with safety Chip Vaughn. The team will likely address that area sometime during the draft.
• The word out of San Diego is that the Chargers are still hopeful to get a long-term contract extension finalized with quarterback Philip Rivers before the start of the 2009 season.

	Byron Hetzler/US Presswire
	Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler has formally asked Denver to trade him.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

A large part of the intrigue of the Jay Cutler fiasco is that it is so rare.

Sudden divorces between young, standout quarterbacks and their teams seldom occur. When teams get ahold of young, talented quarterbacks, they usually try to hang onto them. Every team's goal is to get a franchise quarterback.

The Denver Broncos, who drafted Cutler with the No. 11 pick in 2006, clearly thought he was that player to lead them for the next decade-plus. Now, thanks to the mess that began with Denver considering trading him three weeks ago, which resulted in Cutler publicly asking for a trade, that plan is in jeopardy.

What seemed inconceivable three weeks ago could now happen. A 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback who isn't in his prime yet (he has started only 37 NFL games) could be traded. It just doesn't happen much.

Here is a look, going back 15 years, at some of the QBs who were traded in the middle of their careers and how it worked out for them and their new teams.

We will start with Jeff George, who is the most comparable to Cutler because of age.

George

Jeff George

• Year traded: 1994
• Age: 26
• From where to where: Indianapolis to Atlanta
• Cost: Two first-round picks and a third-round pick.
• How it worked: George had some success in Atlanta, but he didn't live up to the trade cost. He got his passing yards in the Falcons' run-and-shoot offense and the team made the playoffs in his second season in Atlanta. But the George-Falcons marriage fell apart in 1996, his third season with the team. He was shipped to the Raiders in 1997. It began a vagabond NFL life for George. He ended up playing for seven teams in 17 NFL seasons.
• Compared to Cutler: Cutler will be 26 next month. George was 26 when the Colts traded him. He was considered a young gun as Cutler is now.

Johnson

Brad Johnson

• Year traded: 1999
• Age: 30
• From where to where: Minnesota to Washington
• Cost: First-, second- and third-round picks.
• How it worked: Johnson played well in 1999. He blossomed into a star and he had one of the best seasons ever by a Redskins quarterback, making the Pro Bowl. It seemed as if Johnson was worth the steep price, but he made a lot of mistakes in 2000 and fell out of favor. He was traded to Tampa Bay after the 2000 season and won a Super Bowl in his second season with the Buccaneers. Johnson, released in the offseason by Dallas, has had an average NFL career and he wasn't worth the bounty the Redskins gave up for him.
• Compared to Cutler: Not a very similar situation because he was already 30 and the Vikings had Randall Cunningham when Johnson was dealt.

Mirer

Rick Mirer

• Year traded: 1997
• Age: 26
• From where to where: Seattle to Chicago
• Cost: Mirer and a fourth-round pick were traded for a first-round pick.
• How it worked: Mirer was a high-pick flameout in Seattle after four years and his career didn't take off after the trade to Chicago. He barely played in Chicago and was cut the following year. The Bears gave up plenty for Mirer and he never was worth the cost. Mirer flopped around the league, playing for five more teams after being cut by Chicago.
• Compared to Cutler: Yes, Mirer was young when he was traded, but he already was a failure as a starter. Cutler is establishing himself as a premier player.

Green

Trent Green

• Year traded: 2001
• Age: 30
• From where to where: St. Louis to Kansas City
• Cost: Green and a fifth-round pick for a first-round pick.
• How it worked: Pretty well. While Green was injury-prone often in his career, he was a solid player for the Chiefs. He was a legitimate starter in his six seasons with Kansas City and the Chiefs were regular playoff contenders. Green wasn't a star, but he was a solid player and he gave the Chiefs a chance to win. 
• Compared to Cutler: Not very similar. Green was older, but he wasn't as established as Cutler -- he had started only 19 games before he was traded.

Schaub

Matt Schaub

• From where to where: Atlanta to Houston
• Year traded: 2007
• Age: 25
• Cost: Two second-round picks
• How it has worked: Schaub has the look of a solid player. He has been a starter since going to Houston. He has battled injuries and growing pains. But the Texans remain committed to him and he seems like he could have a good future. It appears that it was a worthwhile trade for Houston.
• Compared to Cutler: Schaub was young, but he was a backup with very little game experience when he was traded, so his situation doesn't compare as well to Cutler's as George's does.

If you want to go further back, you can look at Brett Favre and Steve Young being traded, but again they don't compare to George and Cutler.

Favre had almost no game experience when he was dealt from Atlanta to Green Bay in 1992. Young, who was 25 when he was traded from Tampa Bay to San Francisco in 1987, was a backup for several years after he was dealt. And, of course, there is Matt Cassel, who played a central role in the Cutler fiasco. He was traded to Kansas City along with linebacker Mike Vrabel from New England for a second-round pick after one effective season with the Patriots. But we have no idea how that will play out.

Quarterback trades are not completely foreign, but their success rates vary and the reasons usually have to do with age and skill level.

Cutler is young and has shown he can play at a high level. Thus, as you can see, there are few trades involving quarterbacks that compare directly to Cutler. That's why this situation is so rare.