Donovan McNabb calls Jay Cutler ‘Tony Romo of the Midwest’

Jay Cutler and Tony Romo are two of the more polarizing quarterbacks in the NFL.

Cutler has been viewed as a gunslinger with a rocket arm since he came into the league. He can fit a football in the tightest of windows and air it down the field with the best of them. However, Cutler has been prone to interceptions, like the 26 he tossed in 2009.

Romo lives under the brightest of microscopes. It comes with the territory of being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. For all of the gaudy statistics he puts up, Romo seems almost cursed with an unenviable knack of committing a turnover at the worst possible time.

On Thursday, the two were put in the same sentence by former signal caller Donovan McNabb. While a guest on the Kap and Haugh Show on 87.7 FM, McNabb likened Jay Cutler to Romo in a less than flattering way.

“He’s the Tony Romo of the Midwest,” McNabb said via the Chicago Sun-Times. “We can talk about arm talent, we can talk about being able to throw a ball through a wall. He can put up 280, 340 yards passing, but you look across the board he’s got two interceptions in a game that cost them 14 points or so. That hurts a football team.”

McNabb went on to talk about quarterbacks being judged on their postseason success and took a shot at Cutler not being able to lead the teams he’s been on to the playoffs.

“Then the question is why? Because you’re so talented, the potential is there, but why haven’t you been able to do it? You can only say for so long that it’s been the talent. They have some talent around Cutler, that’s never been the issue. Now can you put it all together? To be honest, the answer is no.”

During his career, McNabb posted a 9-7 playoff record (including a trip to Super Bowl XXXIX) so you could say he’s qualified to speak on the subject.

Jay Cutler and Tony Romo are clearly two of the more talented quarterbacks in the NFL. However, the position is judged by what you do in the playoffs, whether that’s fair or not. Donovan McNabb certainly isn’t the first to say that and won’t be the last. Until Cutler and Romo start to pile up wins after the regular season, they will likely continue to be lumped into the group of quarterbacks who are good but good enough to consistently take their teams to the promised land.

H/T Eye On Football