Matt Gutierrez

[psychoPat]

Here's an article on Gutierrez ....

edited excerpts:


By Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff

FOXBOROUGH -- A few weeks before the draft, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels ventured to De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., to work out quarterback Matt Gutierrez, an alumnus of the Northern California Catholic school. De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur was eager to put in a good word about Gutierrez, who helped De La Salle set the national record for consecutive victories (151).
"I said, 'I can't tell you anything about his mechanics. You know that stuff better than me, but I can tell you about his character,' " said Ladouceur. According to the legendary coach, McDaniels replied, "We know about his character. We think he's a lot like the guy we have now."
That guy is Tom Brady.

It's easy to scoff at the notion that a 22-year-old undrafted quarterback from Idaho State is worthy of being compared to Tom Terrific, but the two have a lot in common. Both are from Northern California. Both attended the University of Michigan -- Gutierrez was a much-ballyhooed recruit of the Maize and Blue and spent four years in Ann Arbor before transferring to Division 1-AA Idaho State to finish his college career. At Michigan, both battled freshman phenoms who wore No. 7 (Drew Henson for Brady, Chad Henne for Gutierrez).

And in the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction category, the principal of De La Salle is Brother Christopher Brady, Tom's uncle.
....
Gutierrez's talent -- like Brady's -- can't be measured simply in numbers, said Ladouceur, who watched Gutierrez go 37-0 in three seasons as De La Salle's signal-caller, leading the school to back-to-back mythical national titles.

"I think [Brady] is a great competitor and a good athlete and he has tremendous intangibles," said Ladouceur. "I've always believed that about Matt, too. He doesn't have a rifle arm or the great running ability, but he's the whole package. He's smart. He's a winner. He's courageous. I think he's a lot like Tommy Brady."

Ladouceur said that, just like Brady, Gutierrez commanded the respect of his teammates at De La Salle, including Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams, and Ravens wide receiver Demetrius Williams, who was the pass-catcher for Gutierrez's workout.

"The kids treated him like he was another coach," said Ladouceur. "If he told a kid that a route was too short, they listened. If he said the effort wasn't good enough, they listened. He was critical of himself, too, when his passes were off target."

....

"It was very humbling," said Gutierrez. "The game of football has been known to humble people. That's what's great about it. It's a hard game and I had to go through those experiences to grow and become a better person and become a better player."

Gutierrez said he has no ill will toward Michigan or coach Lloyd Carr. He cited getting his degree from Michigan and the opportunity to play at Idaho State as great life experiences. However, when asked if he felt it was a fair competition, Gutierrez said, "It was what it was. It's in the past and now I'm here and I'm going to come out here and compete every day."

....

Gutierrez probably isn't the next No. 12. But before Brady was so big that his choice of baseball cap was front-page news, he was an unheralded quarterback with an uncertain future, too. Sometimes you never see it coming. Just ask Drew Bledsoe.
....

 

[the taildragger]

Gutierrez said, "It was what it was."
....

I'd missed that the first time

brilliant

 

[arrellbee]

I don't think your scenerio is correct, but its no far from the truth. Cassel is on the fast track to somewhere else because he'll be a FA at the end of next year. However HE is the second best QB on the team, and I don't think a first say selection is enough of a temptation to risk an entire season, especially the way QBs go down these days.

I think you are right about Gutierrez though, but he's a few years away from being an NFL QB. He looks the part and may even have the skills, but QB is a production position, and even at Idaho, his production wasn't great.

Here is what I think will happen. There are a number of experienced QBs still out there, so I think Gutierrez will be safe on the PS. The Pats will go into the first game with 2 QBs on the roster. There are just to many good players on this roster to give one up to a guy who will never play. What they will do is they will have Vinnie standing by the phone just in case there is an injury, but THIS year more than ever, they aren't going give up that roster spot to a #3 QB

For training camp I'm pretty sure they are going to bring in a 4th arm, just to keep everyone's arm fresh, who knows I know Kliff Kingsbury isn't doing anything. During the season Gutierez will be the 3rd arm for practices

I hear what you are saying, and it certainly makes sense. However, I have, over a period of years, come to think that nothing the Patriots do will surprise me and certainly what they have done in the past is almost meaningless as an indicator. Really fun and interesting to observe.

In this case, however, I have a feeling that the Patriots might carry Gutierrez IF he is showing some definite promise. History being a poor indicator and all that, the Patriots did carry 4 QBs to start the 2000 season: Bledsoe, Friesz, Bishop, and that long shot Brady. I don't feel as though Belichick is for sure locked into having a veteran QB if he has a fledgling QB with capability. And another factor is how far along Cassel has come - which would be hard for us to know, but if he is developing as a solid backup, he might fill the role of 'veteran'. If Gutierrez make the 53, then we may not be able to really know which aspect gave him the spot. And if he doesn't make it, we won't know for sure whether is was the strategy of having a veteran that forced him out or whether he just wasn't good enough.

While we have seen Belichick take the risk of putting any number of players on the practice squad which we fans might have thought would be of interest to other teams, I have the feeling developed over time that there have been an interesting number of other players that he has kept on the 53 that surprised us and one of the assumptions might be that he felt there was more of a risk than we might figure that he would lose them before the coaching staff had a chance to be sure about what the player could do. I don't have the time to go back and look right now, but prime candidates for that possibility would have been rookie/UDFA players who were carried on the opening 53 but then were cut a few weeks into the season.

/cheers

 

[VJCPatriot]

You might well be right - but if Brady got hurt before a playoff game, I would have as much confidence in Vinny as I would in Cassel - and I like Cassel but with his almost non existent experience at any level above high school, he's more upside than solid, sure thing at this point.

Of course Cassell isn't a sure thing. But having a guy experienced in our system that we've groomed for several years ready to go is WAY more valuable than adding a 4th round pick.
Talking about Gutierrez as a successor to Cassell is fine and dandy... but expecting him to play at Cassell's level given his experience... I just don't see it.
Has anybody considered that Cassell might get a contract EXTENSION? It seems like everyone is hellbent on ditching Cassell when BB has already expressed some confidence in him by keeping only 2 QBs last season.
Remember how the 49ers transitioned from Montana to Young? I'm not saying that Cassell is Steve Young obviously, but it really helps a team to have continuity and depth in terms of QBs.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Of course Cassell isn't a sure thing. But having a guy experienced in our system that we've groomed for several years ready to go is WAY more valuable than adding a 4th round pick.
Talking about Gutierrez as a successor to Cassell is fine and dandy... but expecting him to play at Cassell's level given his experience... I just don't see it.
Has anybody considered that Cassell might get a contract EXTENSION? It seems like everyone is hellbent on ditching Cassell when BB has already expressed some confidence in him by keeping only 2 QBs last season.
Remember how the 49ers transitioned from Montana to Young? I'm not saying that Cassell is Steve Young obviously, but it really helps a team to have continuity and depth in terms of QBs.

I think I speak for many of us Cassel fans when I say that the issue is not that we want to get rid of him, but rather that he may well be too good a player to be "stuck" behind Brady for another N years. But if he's OK with it, and the Pats are OK with it, I'm all for having Cassel around for another decade or so.

If I were BB, I sure as heck wouldn't trade him for a 4th, but if somebody offered a Matt Schaub-style deal next offseason, I'd give it some serious thought.

 

[Michigan Dave]

It's all on the shoulder. The intangibles are there. Gutierrez was a team leader at Michigan even as an injured, backup QB. He transferred only after getting his degree. He struggled with a very bad team after seeing no significant action in 4 years. If the shoulder is better, he can be a serviceable NFL quarterback.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I think I speak for many of us Cassel fans when I say that the issue is not that we want to get rid of him, but rather that he may well be too good a player to be "stuck" behind Brady for another N years. But if he's OK with it, and the Pats are OK with it, I'm all for having Cassel around for another decade or so.

If I were BB, I sure as heck wouldn't trade him for a 4th, but if somebody offered a Matt Schaub-style deal next offseason, I'd give it some serious thought.

That's it in a nutshell. He's likely too good to not want a shot at parlaying his 3-4 years in this offense as a primary backup into a shot at starting somewhere. BB is never going to pay him the even marginal starter money it would take to keep him with Brady on the roster - God willing for another several years. So he'll flip him next year for something really worthwhile, but only if Gutierrez pans out or some other younger than 40 something vet with upside somehow falls in our laps. Otherwise Cassel will play out his 4 year deal here with year 4 security at the position outweighting the value of a package of draft picks that despite Belioli's best efforts might never amount to a hill of beans.

I don't know why so many here struggle with the concept of the backup QB and what they now know to look for in one for this system or how much others might want a crack at one we feel (timing or resume or draft position aside) might fit that bill.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I can't wait for training camp. I saw Brady at his 1st camps and was seriously impressed. I saw Kingsbury and Davey and was depressed. You can get a fairly decent read on QBs at camp, not regarding real NFL game readiness, but you can easily spot the guys that should be cut and forgotten. If Guts looks decent, he may have a shot at the 53 given that we're not overburdened by a glut of young potential 2nd teamers filling up the slots. A nice conflict to have.