Denver Broncos’ Jay Cutler: Armed and dangerous

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Say what you will about Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, but the guy doesn’t lack confidence. In the latest issue of Sporting News magazine, which hits newsstands today, Cutler boasts that his throwing arm is ‘hands down’ stronger than John Elway’s.

In fact, Cutler told the magazine, his arm is in a league of its own.

‘Brett Favre’s got a cannon,’ he said. ‘But on game days, there’s nobody in the league who’s going to throw it harder than I am at all.’

Of course, success in the NFL is measured on the scoreboard and not by a Jugs gun, but Cutler’s not doing so bad there, either. The Broncos are 4-1 with a two-game lead over San Diego in the AFC West, and their offense is ranked second in the league.

It’s also worth noting that Elway, too, raves about Cutler’s arm -- but doesn’t concede Cutler’s cannon is better than his ever was.

‘Joe Montana, Steve Young, Brett Favre -- they all could get outside and make big plays,’ he told the magazine. ‘Cutler is either more athletic or has better arm strength than each of them. His arm is pretty special, might even be as good as mine when I was his age. Certainly, it’s better than mine was at the end.’

For more Cutler and Elway comments from the magazine, keep reading:

JAY CUTLER’S TAKE

— On whether there is a team in the AFC with a better chance to reach the Super Bowl than Denver: “I don’t think so. With Tom (Brady) out, I think there are three, four, five teams that have a legitimate shot of getting there.”

— On how surprised he’ll be if the Broncos don’t win the AFC West: “At this point, pretty surprised. Very surprised, actually.”

— On his expectation that the Broncos will score every time they have the ball: “I think we can score 30-plus points a game. I don’t see why we couldn’t.”

— On his battle with Type 1 diabetes: ‘I lost 35, 36 pounds. I was always tired. My mouth was always dry. I didn’t really want to play football. I didn’t really want to go out there. I was tired before the game and exhausted after the game. I’d sleep all the time.”

JOHN ELWAY’S TAKE

— On Cutler-Elway comparisons: “Some people have asked how he compares to me. He’s closer to me physically than personalitywise. But even I struggled a bit with expectations and the Denver spotlight when I was his age. It can be overwhelming. Once he wins some big games, he’ll start to feel like he belongs. It didn’t happen for me until my fourth year, when we went to Cleveland and won ‘The Drive’ game. It was a big boost for me to win the AFC championship game, especially on the road.”

— On what’s next for Cutler: “Cutler just needs to keep growing. His teammates’ confidence in him and the coaches’ confidence in his abilities have grown by leaps and bounds this year. It’s obvious. Hey, everybody follows a winner. And he’s going to win a lot of NFL games.”

-- Sam Farmer