600 pass attempts in a season is a very signficant statistic. It has only been done 22 times in NFL history.
It signifies one-dimensionality and I postulate leads to a higher ratio of interceptions and a lower ratio of touchdowns as defenses are more prepared to defend the pass.
I also hypothesize that it signifies poor defense and deficit situations which also helps pass defenses and hurts the passers' effectiveness.
Here is a cursory look.
*Key career=career interception
% Offense=percent of pass plays of all plays called
Defense=Rank in points then in yards allowed
Year Player Interceptions Int %(career) Td % (career) % Offense Defense
2005 Favre 29 4.8 (above) 3.3(below) 62 19/7
2006 Favre 18 2.9 (below) 2.9(below) 60 25/12
1991 Moon 21 3.2 (below) 3.5(below) 68 6/9
1994 Moon 19 3.2 (below) 3.0(below) 63 13/5
1995 Moon 14 2.3 (below) 5.4(above) 61 27/20
2002 Brady 14 2.3 (below) 4.7(below) 57 17/26
1994 Bledsoe 27 3.9 (above) 3.6(below) 60 12/18
1995 Bledsoe 16 2.5 (below) 2.0(below) 60 25/28
1996 Bledsoe 15 2.4 (below) 4.3(above) 61 14/19
2002 Bledsoe 15 2.5 (below) 3.9(above) 64 27/15
1986 Marino 23 3.7 (above) 7.1(above) 65 26/26
1988 Marino 23 3.8 (above) 4.6(below) 65 24/26
1994 Marino 17 2.8 (below) 4.9(below) 60 17/19
2007 Brees 18 2.8 (above) 4.3(below) 63 25/26
2008 Brees 17 2.7(above) 5.4(above) 62 26/23
2002 Gannon 10 1.6(below) 4.2(below) 61 6/11
1981 Fouts 17 2.8(below) 5.4(above) 57 26/27
2005 Cutler 18 2.9(below) 4.1(below) 62 30/29
Results
-QB's at the 600 attempt platueau threw less interceptions than on average(73%)
-QB's threw lower % of touchdowns than their career averages (73%)
-Pass Attempts accounted for more than 60% of the offense in all but 2 cases
-Defenses were ranked above 20th in points 41% and in the top ten only twice
-Defenses were ranked above 20th in yards in 38% of the time and were in the top ten only three times
Conclusions
-Jay Cutler had the worst defense of any 600+ attempt passer
-Cutler was only the third second year starter to throw more than 600 attempts, the others were Bledsoe and Brady
-Jay Cutler led all 600 pass attempters in rushing yardage
Jay Cutler had more asked of him than any other second year starting QB in NFL history. He had a higher percentage of drop-backs to offensive plays than any one else with his level of experience.
Consider the pressure put on him by a deficient special teams, one of the worst defenses in NFL history and no reliable running back. All of those things are factors in his decision making and aggressiveness throwing to not only score points but to keep his offense on the field. Cutler was not asked to be a game-manager this year and was given the freedom to take risks. Clearly, not being able to move the ball was riskier than throwing balls one may consider small windowed.
It's why I think when you contextualize Cutler's season you understand he had an unbelievable even historic campaign.
Sometimes your perceptions get clouded becuase of how the media treats players via what they say, their persona, the age of sound bite. People relate him to Favre and it sort of brings a negative connotation. They see his int. totall "OMG he is interception prone." You'll notice that other volume passers do not get this perception, though many of them share a similiar int% and some even have a higher int%. Remember, Cutler is bieng asked to consistently make small window throws, so there may be a misperception that he mistakingly throws into coverage.
When Cutler throws into coverage, it's not the same as when others throw into coverage becuase of the velocity and accuracy Cutler has in the intermediate throwing zones.
Does Cutler need to get better? Absolutely
Does Cutler make mistakes? Of Course
But for his experience Jay Cutler had one of the most impressive seasons in NFL history. And let's all remember we are grading him on an extremely high scale. For as good as Jay's mental and physical tools are, he is exceeding expectations for his experience even on the scale he's on. That's saying a ton.