Denver Broncos Bunk: Dispelling Myths About Josh McDaniels

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos offseason has been painted in the press as everything from minor disaster to major apocalypse.

A lot of the analysis, though, has been based on abysmally poor reporting. Sadly, the local Denver media has exacerbated this by sensationalizing events in a very misleading way.

Here are a few of the myths and an account of how they’ve been misreported.

Josh McDaniels alienated Jay Cutler by seeking a trade for Matt Cassel

This is probably the most egregious example of poor reporting during this whole affair.  The funny part about this is that just reading the Rocky Mountain News’ and Denver Post’s own articles from the time of Mike Shanahan’s firing is enough to debunk this myth.

When Shanahan was fired at the end of the 2008-09 season, Jay Cutler told the Rocky Mountain News, "I'm disappointed, I'm shocked, I'm not happy about it, I'm not pleased with it at all.”  Cutler went on to state that he would leave if Denver’s offensive coaches were not retained, particularly Jeremy Bates.

The article also mentioned that after hearing about the firing Cutler consulted Shanahan about the offense.

Not long after that Josh McDaniels was named as head coach, McDaniels was brought in to pull Denver out of some of the ruts it had worked its way into.

The dilemma McDaniels faced is that in keeping Shanahan’s offensive staff, he would be keeping the same staff under which Denver’s offense had become stagnant. When the new head coach began replacing the offensive coaching staff, including Bates, Cutler stayed silent.

Cutler knew that if he tried to leave then he would rightly be perceived as unprofessional and his stock would go down.

Things stayed quiet for over a month until, on Feb. 26, a spokesman for the Patriots organization mentioned that the Broncos had considered a trade for Matt Cassel. The statement from the Patriots made no mention of who initiated the talks. Bill Belichick later issued a statement that the Patriots had shopped Cassel around prior to the trade with Denver, meaning that they probably initiated the call.

Cutler’s initial reaction was a little absurd, but got truly ridiculous when he claimed that he wanted a trade because McDaniels "wasn’t sorry" about considering a trade. 

Clearly the real reason for Cutler’s wanting out of Denver was the Shanahan firing and his fear of having to work in a new offense. McDaniels acted professionally by not kowtowing to a pampered player who wanted to control the offense. It’s doubtful that McDaniels ever seriously considered a trade for Cassel.

The Broncos gave up a franchise quarterback for a mediocre quarterback

First of all Cutler, by his actions, had shown he was clearly not mature enough to entrust with leading a football team. His first reaction in learning of Mike Shanahan’s firing was to try a power play, and when that failed he pouted until he forced a trade.

While Cutler has a world class arm that could compare with Elway or Favre, he has an attitude toward the game that compares more with Jeff George. A big part of Denver’s decline was Cutler’s poor decision making and predictability. 

Defenses could count on Cutler forcing the ball into Brandon Marshall in key situations.  The result was a slew of interceptions at key moments in key games.

Kyle Orton started as a rookie in 2005 after the Bears starting QB and backup QB had both been injured. Despite playing behind a weak offensive line and having poor receivers, Orton performed in that emergency role for 15 games until the starter was able to return. 

In 2008 Orton won the starting job and performed well again, despite being surrounded by a weak offensive team. In fact, Orton performed under such poor conditions and attained stats comparable to Cutler’s—even though Cutler was surrounded by much better talent.

At best, neither quarterback is a proven commodity. Orton is a better game manager and more disciplined player, while Cutler has a stronger arm but is prone to gambling.

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