Who would you rather have, Jay Cutler or Matt Ryan?

This post is coming a bit late, but watching the Bears-Falcons game made me wonder: Who would you rather have, Jay Cutler or Matt Ryan?

Age isn't much of a factor here, as Cutler, 26, is just two years older than Ryan. Cutler is essentially two-and-a-half years into his career, while Ryan is seven games into his second year in the league.

I didn't compare their stats before starting this post, I just realized as I watched them battle on Sunday Night Football that I honestly wasn't sure which signal caller I would rather have on my imaginary football team.

And it turns out this is, in fact, a really good debate. Both players were highly touted and highly drafted (Cutler 11th, Ryan 3rd), and here are some statistical comparisons:





QB--------Comp. %----Yds/game-----Avg.----TD/seas.-----Int./seas.-----QB rat.
Cutler------62.6------------243------------7.3----------24-----------16.7------------87.1
Ryan-------62.0------------219------------7.8----------19-----------11.5------------89.8

It doesn't get much tighter than that. The only significant variance is that Cutler has a bit more of a gunslinging mentality: he tends to throw a few more touchdowns, but he gives defenses a few more gifts as well (he is, after all, from Santa Claus, Ind.). Translation: Cutler has the better arm, Ryan the better head. Cutler, by the way, is on pace to set a career high in interceptions this year.

Another similarity: both are rather adept at avoiding the rush, but disinclined to take off and run down the field.

And one final stat for you to chew on, the one that makes all the difference: Ryan is 15-7 in his young career, while Cutler is 20-23.

So who would you rather have if you were starting a team?