In The End, It Got Personal
The Denver Broncos would probably win more games in 2009 with Jay Cutler than they will without him. Doesn't matter anymore.
A 25-year-old kid who - as they say around the league - hasn't peed a drop has ignored, talked down to and utterly disrespected the man who signs the checks in Denver. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. Bowlen's the guy who put his posterior and wallet on the line 25 years ago and saved a franchise that was taking on water financially. He died a thousand deaths every time his Broncos got eviscerated in the Super Bowl but he saw it through, won two, built a new stadium, said goodbye to a quarterbacking legend in John Elway and went through a painful divorce from Mike Shanahan this offseason.
And now Jay Cutler won't return his phone calls? For weeks? Will say that if Bowlen wanted to see him, he knew where Cutler was a few weeks back when he sat down with new head coach Josh McDaniels?
So tonight he raised a middle finger in Cutler's direction and saying, "This one's...for Jay!"
The text of Bowlen's statement once again: "Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by Head Coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful. A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos. We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accomodate his request to be traded."
And that, as they say, is that. While the world keeps spinning, the chance that Cutler remains a Bronco mustn't be ruled out entirely. But that sliver of a chance will no longer be aided along by Bowlen and McDaniels going hat in hand to try to appease a player and an agent, Bus Cook, hellbent on going down as the worst, foot-stomping, arms-folded, I-won't-and-you-can't-make-me baby in modern pro football history.
It's hard to figure out on Cutler's side if this is about pride, respect, money or just plain delusion. He'll get his way, no doubt. The Lions can look to move one of the second of their two first-rounders to Denver now and that may be enough. Or the Jets can step forward and get suckered by Bus Cook the way they were last year with Brett Favre. Some team will probably be stupid enough to give Cutler the new deal he and Cook are sure to lobby for before he gets dealt.
But Jay Cutler's not going to get out of this with his reputation intact. Maybe Bowlen made a mistake trying to couple a 32-year-old head coach like McDaniels with such a needy and stubborn player. Maybe McDaniels went about it all wrong. Probably did, actually. But Cutler's the one who comes out of this looking badly.
Sometimes, decisions made by a football team are about more than just football.
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Drilling deeply into the mantle layer of America's Passion, NBCSports.com's Tom Curran offers up quick hits and insights on all things NFL.
McDaniels should have found out where this crybaby was hiding out and sulking, gone to the place and walked right in for a face to face.
Cutler - grow up
As a huge Bronco fan, this is just sickening. If Bowlen hires Spags from the Giants or the guy from Tampa Bay, this whole thing never happens. In three years, when the Broncos are still stuck in mediocrity, a newly-fired but still young 35 year-old McDaniels will look back and say I guess I made a big mistake. And then he will move on to coach somewhere else. It's the fans that get screwed here.
This I have to agree with McDaniels just shot the fans for at least the next two or three years. This really hurts I was hopping Jay was the next guy to try and fill Johns shoes but thats not the way it will be.
McDaniels did not make "a huge mistake." Trading Cutler might have been a huge mistake. But it didn't happen, because the cost was too high. Every single player in the league gets interest from other teams at one point or another.
I'd call Jay a crybaby, but that would be giving him too much credit. This is about nothing except Bus Cook sabotaging yet another contract so he can get his client under a GM that might be dumb enough to give Cutler a record setting deal in the next couple years.
I've always liked Cutler from a talent perspective. He helped me win a few fantasy leagues last year, but man is he acting like such a girl in this saga. I had always viewed that feud between him and Phillip Rivers as Rivers being a jackass, but now I'm not so sure.
Way to go, Mr. Bowlen. I'm glad that you won't accept mediocrity. I think rolling the dice with the "unproven" guy who coordinated the best offense in NFL history and turned Matt Cassel into a franchise quarterback is the right move instead of letting a 17-20 quarterback who never won anything in college either hold YOUR team hostage.
i am so glad that the cry baby is leaving town. hear that you can buy a house in detriot for 1000 bucks. shouldnt have any problems finding a place to live. maybe even get a house or two for his ego. it is one thing to demand things when you are a winner, but Cutler was 17-20 and never had a winning season on college. it cant always be the defense's fault, unless you listen to whiny-boy!
see ya cry-baby!
A man stands by his word (existing contract) and takes his shots on and off the field. That's part of this game for which he is financially handsomely rewarded. In three years he could make a change and no one would think the lessor of him. What a wuss. As it is he makes my 7 year old grandson look mature. Thank god we do no have a team in LA...he might have ended up here.
Die Hard Denver Fan!... but no one player is bigger than the whole. I now agree with Bowlen, no point having a player (leading the team) that wont stop banging on the high chair! Get the best players on both sides (that WANT to play) in Denver and lets play! I would rather watch new players with heart and see them lose (did that for years and enjoyed it!) than have a player who quits or wants out and wont give 100% on Sundays because his Pride is too big!
Trade for Brady Quinn!!! F Cutler
I don't blame Cutler at all. If the broncos defense could hold people to 21 points he would have been one the winnest coaches period. He has a serious disease but he goes out there and plays awesomely. Where is the loyalty? I guarantee you, marv levy never said lets trade jim kelly. It may be a business but there has to be some loyality. Cutler had earned that loyality.
McDanials is a back stabber from his first job as janitor to running the club in 30 days. Back stabbing Cutler is his normal mode of operandi...Denver isn't going anywhere until McDanials leaves...once a scumbag always a scumbag...
This is stupid! I couldnt give a rat's @rse about Matt Cassel's W/L record a year ago. He's not that great people! TIME will expose who the REAL quearterback is. Trade talks at this stage of a new head coaching position was WRONG on EVERY level. NO justification! Part of being a good head coach is knowing when you've F'd up, making things right THEN moving FORWARD! McLovin' is NOT Belichick and the sooner this A-hole realizes that the sooner we can have hope in this team again. Sad, its like watching George W. Bush's "pullin' on the locked door" routine. This idiot just cost the city of Denver 10 more years of mediocrity! Can't you just vision the Chris Simms Jersey's flying off thye racks? What a PATHETIC JOKE!
Hmmm...
17 - 20 overall but 13 - 1 when the defense can actually sorta stop somebody?
And the one loss coming on a long TD strike...because the defense didn't stop anybody?
So, management thought the answer might have been a new QB instead of sticking to retooling the defense?
I guess the Bengals and Lions didn't completely corner the market on idiocy.
Jay, don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out. Maybe your next team will hire someone just to change your diaper and give you a fresh binky (What's Bus doing).
He has Favre's or Elway's arm and Ryan Leaf's fragile ego and a high school girls maturity level. Great draft pick Shanahan. You ran Jake Plummer out of town (and the NFL) for this clown??
What a dirtbag article this is! I tell ya what the problem here is Curran. Mickey Daniels is a moron. Are you gonna ask Bowlen on a date, Curran? He can save you like he did the Broncos. It'll be like in Pretty Woman. Or maybe, he can pork you like he's now porked Bronco fans by getting getting rid of a quality coach and qb. Either way, just like Pretty Woman.
Sigh. You call this journalism?
Can't Believe some of you fans are still with Cutler! No one man is bigger than the team.
Cutler has a great offensive line, great receivers, great TightEnds and a played in a quarterback friendly system too.
It wasn't just Cutler who made the offense he was a sum of all the parts.
If McDaniels can make a 6th round draft pick (Tom Brady) into the player he is today and perenial backup (Matt Casttle) into a highly rated qb. Then he deserves a chance!!!
Imagine if Castle bombs on Kansas! What will that say about McDaniels coaching ability?
Lets get the draft picks, dump the gimp and move forward!
Enough drama already.
Bronco for life
Robert - haha. Thank you. I'm a Raider's fan, so I have no room to talk about front office stupidity, but let's be serious. Jay Cutler's 17-20 win/loss record is not as glaringly mediocre as you idiots are making it out to be.
Robert was spot on - 13-1 when the defense does its job. 14-0 when the defense does its job EFFECTIVELY (denying an 82 yard... 82 YARD!!! touchdown pass from an ageing quarterback who flaked out the following season).
Jay Cutler is solid. Yea, he whines. Yea, he complains. Yea, he is being given negative press. Guess what - IT'S COMPLETELY UNDESERVED.
He has EVERY RIGHT to be offended. Loyalty???? Where's the loyalty from the front office to a quarterback who did his job on office trying to keep up with a lackluster, pathetic, miserable defense. It's funny that ONLY NOW are the Bronco's trying to retool that defense that would have made Jay Cutler look like John Elway's replacement, and furthermore Joe Montana's & Terry Bradshaw's lovechild (for those who are sports illiterate, they are tied for the most superbowl wins as a QB).
Good luck Jay. Hope you end up in Oakland. Where ever you end up - you'll be much better off because the front office will actually WANT you to succeed.
Curran,
You need to check that bucket of water you are carrying for Bowlen and McDaniels, it smells more like a bed-pan.
Hey, at least you and the rest of the "management is always right"succophants willcontinue to have access to the club house so you can keep feeding your pie-hole.
As a Browns Fan I know a lot about quarterback issues. This Jay Cutler thing is ridiculous though. Football is a man's sport and Cutler obviously does not belong. The 13-1 thing is way overrated too. To say Cutler is a great QB because he would have a great record if he did not have to score over 21 points a game is just stupid. When a guy would only be a good QB if he played for a Ravens or Bears defense they really are not all that good. After all this crying Cutler has done the only football he deserves to be playing is QB of the Victoria Secret Super Bowl halftime game.
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Matt Cassell took a championship caliber team and led them to an 11-5 record; where's the proficiency in that? I think this will go down in history as McDaniels' worst mistake in his (short-lived?) coaching career! However, I do think this agent is a big part of it, as well. Suffice it to say, my heart's broken...bleeding orange and blue!
I think the record issue is an unfair thing to tote... whether it is something you use to defend Jay (13-1) or something used to attack him (17-20). Football is a team sport. Even Peyton Manning couldn't "win the big one" until his defense stepped up. It takes a whole team to win, not just one player. So, lets leave the record out of it. Lets look at the facts. The coach and management have a responsibility to their players. They did not communicate with Jay like they should have. Jay was an idiot. He dealt with this using the media and should have kept it a team thing. He didn't deal with it very maturely. Does Jay deserve some blame? Yes. Does the final responsibility fall on the coach and management? Yes. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the coach and management to set the tone and dictate the pace of a team. They did that poorly. They were deceitful and ran to the media just as much of as Jay. Do you think Tomlin would have allowed a media frenzy with this or would he have squelched it right away?
Yeah defend the unproven coach and 'my way or the highway' owner.. it's a business and Cutler doesn't want to play in Denver.
Gus Frerrote, Jake Plummer, Brian Griese, etc.--the mediocrity list goes on and on. It's been over ten years since Elway and then Denver finally lands a franchine Q a few years ago. Then the new coach fritters him away! Doesn't his guy realize what he has done to the fans? Does he not know the history of the Broncos? If Cutler goes to Detroit, the Lions will probably end up with a better record next year than Denver! On top of this Bowlen allowed this to happen! I think the fans should revolt by not buying tickets to home games anymore. Perhaps then McDaniels and Bowlen will see the error of their ways. I am looking forward to the day when Bowlen sells the teams and the new owner moves the club to LA. Serves them right.
Send him to Buffalo! He and TO deserve each other!
Bowlen can do whatever he wants because as Tom says he is the man that signs the checks. Cutler disrespected his boss, McDaniels, and his bosses boss, Bowlen, and in turn will be showed he door. Do you ignore your bosses phone calls for 10 days and still expect to have a job after wards? Sure maybe they talked about getting rid of you, but did they? No they didn't for whatever reason and you still have a job so you still have the responsibility to answer to your boss because they pay you.
Just like the dictator of a softball player/manager I have to answer to.
The most important job for any head coach is develop and maintain a relationship with his star player. Ask the Lakers coach. The new Denver head coach has failed at his number one responsibility before one snap was taken. The owner is siding with his new coach out of pride. I say good luck to Jay. Hope you succeed with your new team and find a coach who will work with you.
Priceless
Reality check here. 1) Jay Cutler is not the QB many think he is. he is a demonstrated loser on the field (Vanderbilt & Broncos). and he is a Hall of Fame, insecure whiner, who has an ego as big as his insecurity. Think T.O. in paleface and as a QB and you get the picture. 2) Josh McDaniel is not the coach Bowlen thinks he is or that Denver deserves. I live in Boston and have watched him up close. He is very talented, but not yet remotely ready for prime time(same can be said for Cutler). Think Charly Weis, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini and you get the picture. Life without Belichick can be hard. McDaniel didn't even coordinate the offense after Weis left. Belichick did. That was an under-reported fact. Josh had just started to grow into that role.
My long range prediction is this: Cutler is a very talented loser who will continue to lose (think Archie Manning). McDaniel is a very talented project who will win at his next NFL stop (think Belichick).
"..hellbent on going down as the worst, foot-stomping, arms-folded, I-won't-and-you-can't-make-me baby in modern pro football history."
Wasn't that actually John Elway (circa 1983) to the Baltimore Colts?
McDaniels had better have a winning team because thats why we got ride of Mike after not making the playoffs. If we don't make the playoffs then it will be time to tell McDaniels to hit the road and thanks for giving away or Quarterback but if he wins then maybe he was right in this matter!!!
Cutler is right to be pissed off. the author here acts as if there is no reason for Cutlers behavior when really there is a perfectly legitimate reason. HIS COACH TRIED TO STAB HIM IN THE BACK. Cutler should be pissed and he should make sure he goes to another team because the trust that was there (in the brand new relationship) is no longer there and we all know that trust is essential. I say GO cutler, stick it to this piece of trash couch and teach him a lesson he won't soon forget.
Any real Bronco fans wouldn't accept this crap from Cutler or support him. He's done nothing, and led a spectacular collapse this fall.
The Broncs will get a first rounder and a stalwart defender for him, and will be a much better team.
Personally, as a Pats fan, I hope cutler ends up on the jets. Mediocrity for another decade, baby.
With all the orange juice spilled over the streets a mile high, how can any Bronco fan call this glorious! Hmmm. seems most of us have been living in a shell the past 10 years with our Elway posters and McCaffrey's mustard all over our face. It's about time this city toughen up, and what better opportunity than now? I think Cutler poooed himself and lost his glucometer in the pool again! I guess Phillip Rivers was right when saw this a while ago, when most of us denied his allegations he was a cry baby. Bring on Garcia, Anderson, Quinn, Campbell, Grossman, or Orr- just not a quitter or fake.
Never piss off the guy who signs your check.
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