Six Things I Still Don't Understand About the Jay Cutler Trade

Oh, this is boring and embarrassing, but as a Bronco fan, the pain of the Cutler trade is not going away. And I cannot let it go yet.

Some people are saying we got the edge on the deal.

Quite simply we didn’t.

Some people are saying we will be able to rebuild our defense and draft a quarterback with all the picks we got from Chicago.

No we won’t.

I still don’t understand the following things: And I would love someone in the know to explain them to me. I always welcome comments. Today, I am officially requesting them. And long ones at that...

Things I don’t understand No. 1

(i) You get Mike Klis, a journalist with the Denver Post saying with absolute certainty, before Cutler had gone anywhere, that he would not be returning to Denver. You had analysts on NFL Network saying the same thing.

How could  Klis and others been so certain of this? What am I missing here? Cutler was UNDER CONTRACT.

Let me repeat, he was UNDER CONTRACT. Unless Bronco personnel decided to move him am I not right to say that Bowlen could have kept him and benched him for three years and destroyed his career and Cutler would not have been able to do a blind thing?

The point is not that Bowlen would have ever considered doing this, but that he could have quite simply stayed quiet, stayed patient and smoked Cutler out.

Correct?

Things I don’t understand No. 2

If that is the case what was the rush in trading him? I read that as the deal went down with the Bears there was a brief period when the Broncos counter offered what Angelo initially offered for Cutler.

Angelo tried to call Denver’s bluff and said the counter offer sounded a bit steep and that he would get back to them. When he attempted to contact McDaniels again, the coach was actually occupied meeting a prospective draft pick, and wasn’t prepared to answer his cell.

The no contact made Angelo panic and he apparently sent McDaniels the following text message. “We need to do this. What will it take to get this done?”

What does that text message tell you? It tells me that the Bears had a firm grasp of Cutler’s extraordinary potential, and were absolutely desperate to get their man. Why, at this stage, didn’t McDaniels, Xanders just sit back and consider everything for a bit and realize that they could have stretched the Bears further?

Things I don’t understand No. 3 (Connected to No. 2)

What is the obsession with draft picks? Seriously? The draft is a crap shoot. For every player that is a success in the NFL, there must be three that fade into total obscurity. The Broncos now have the 12th and the 18th pick in this years draft and a low first round pick next year.

To give you an indication of how random the draft can be consider who was picked last year at No. 11 and No. 17. Leodis Mckelvin and Gosder Cherilus. These guys aren’t busts. But they are no Jay Cutler. Not by a million miles.

So my question is; why weren’t Denver looking to trade Cutler for proven and elite NFL starters? Take the trade with Chicago.

I am not particularly familiar with the Chicago Bears roster, but would I be the worst General Manager in the world, or wholly unrealistic if I was to make the following consideration before trading Cutler: The Bears want our best player...who is their best player? Regardless of position.

And can we have him in return please? And if the Bears elite player doesn’t fit or still isn’t a match for Cutler...you ask for their second best player as well...plus draft picks...when they say you are being ridiculous and hang up, you wait for them to call back. If they don’t, you walk away.

The point is until you get a trade for Cutler which absolutely guarantees you return for a proven player, you simply don’t trade him. Draft picks are a poker hand, a speculation, a roll of the dice. Just look at the smile on Angelo’s face if you don’t believe me. Go find him, the guy is still grinning.

Things I don’t understand No. 4 (Connected to No. 3)

Why didn’t Bowlen and McDaniels just play hardball? Try and get an absolute blockbuster package for Cutler and if there where no takers have Bowlen call him up mid April and leave the following voice message:

“Hi Jay look I have tried to indulge your request and if I could trade you for something of real value and I could afford it, I would…but I can’t...So turn up and play or so help me god you can sit on the sidelines for as long as you want.”

Things I don’t understand No. 5

I guess this is the main point. I just don’t understand where Cutler’s leverage in all this came from. I really don’t. I even heard that the Browns where interested but they weren’t a player because Cutler would have refused to play for them. The reason? Because Bus Cook is also Favre’s agent and Favre had a rough time with Mangini.

Did he...? Last time I checked Favre just played very badly in the second half of the season, and the coach and the retired QB remain on such good terms that Favre may even come to the Browns training camp to do some coaching himself.

I speculate, but I think the real reason Cutler would have refused a trade to Cleveland is that the Browns are not a particularly glamorous franchise and Cleveland is a bit of an NFL graveyard. I reckon Cutler just didn’t fancy it...so Bus Cook came up with some hokum about issues with Mangini.

Now the Browns are interesting. They actually have elite starters that the Broncos could use. Shaun Rogers and Braylon Edwards to name two. They also have a serious draft pick -No. 5- and at that end of the scale you are talking less of a throw of the dice.

Oh and they also have not one but two quarterbacks. But to repeat, Cleveland was not a factor, because Cutler, though under contract in Denver and refusing to play for them, didn’t fancy it in the Dawg Pound either.

At which point you have got to ask...who the hell does this kid think he is? Or more to the point Bowlen should have asked that question and taught the kid a lesson. That lesson? Just see my imaginary voicemail above.

Here’s one really important point that I think was overlooked. And no one has said this yet.

For me something seriously major that has been overlooked in this thing was the removal of Jeremy Bates. I don’t think Cutler liked the Shanahan firing, but he understood it. I don’t think he liked the hiring of McDaniels, but he accepted it.

But I reckon Cutler threw a genuine mini-tantrum  when Jeremy Bates was moved on and did say to someone in the Bronco’s organization that he wanted out.

When I watched NFL Network the other night, just after the trade, Rich Eisen was giving a beaming Cutler a nice gentle going over.

But he did ask him directly, “is it true that you originally requested a trade out of Denver when Jeremy Bates was fired….” Just for a second Cutler hesitated before giving the standard “I don’t want to go back over the whole episode line…” His momentary pause said it all.

All the confusion about this has ensued (I think) because Cutler’s request (at the time anyway) was a half hearted one, and by the time McJaygate actually broke, on February 28, Cutler had relaxed somewhat.

But McDaniels had clearly felt the quarterbacks antipathy, and realized that he and Cutler where going to have some problems. Trading Cutler never would have really entered his radar, but when Cassel came up for grabs, McDaniels was ready to listen.

And this was straw that broke the camel’s back. Cutler was obviously miffed by Shanahan’s firing, perplexed by McDaniels hiring, and downright angry at Jeremy Bates departure. And then when he heard that McDaniels was considering shipping him…he spoke out. We all know the rest.

But the point remains...I really believe it WAS Cutler that first requested a trade and if this is true it makes the subsequent finger pointing at the Broncos and McDaniels all the more jaw dropping.

The time lag between the Bates Firing which led to Cutlers’ first bout of petulance and the actual start of McJaygate, has been lost in the fire.

What we’ve Lost

Let no one think I care who is right and wrong in all this. I don’t. I am a Denver Bronco football fan. I want them to win the Super Bowl. And I want to watch them do it with an exciting Elwayesque quarterback. I thought I was well on the way.

I don’t care if off the field a player is a bona fide angel or worships satan, all I care about is; Can he play...? Cutler is an amazing talent. Absolutely amazing. And he is no longer a Denver Bronco. So here is the sixth thing I don’t understand...

Things I don’t understand No. 6

If you caught Jay Cutlers’ face in his first press conference as a Bear I presume you noticed how happy he looked. Jerry Angelos’ mug was a picture of satisfaction as well. Lovie Smith? Check. All of them sat there...beaming. Absolutely beaming.

The Bears personnel didn’t look like they where missing Kyle Orton too much. They didn’t look like they where that bothered about those late first round draft choices the Broncos will have to struggle with. Or the third round choice either. It was a city wide celebration.

Did you catch Josh McDaniels? There he was. Facing the press. On his own. Didn’t look to thrilled to me.

So the last thing I don’t understand is how did Jay Cutler get exactly what he wanted.

This is cynical but I think Pat Bowlen is too nice.  He obviously reached the end of his tether last week, lost his temper (and in my view his composure and smarts) and announced enough was enough. But he didn’t get nasty, and he still did the gentleman’s thing...he granted the player his wish.

Indeed this whole article springs from the fact that I still think the Broncos messed this up. Utterly. Cutler is an outright thoroughbred. Bowlen and McDaniels should have taken all emotion out of it and treated the player as a pure commodity.

A commodity under contract. They shouldn’t have rushed and they should have squeezed every last drop out of whatever team was willing to come up with the goods in terms of current elite players. If they couldn’t get a blockbuster deal for him...they should have kept him.

The Browns (who may have had Braylon Edwards, Shaun Rogers, Derek Anderson and the No. 5 pick to offer) should have been players. The Lions with the (No. 1 and 20 picks and Calvin Johnson on the books) should have been players.

The Broncos should have been asking the world of these teams and then acquiescing on the off chance they said yes…and otherwise walking away. Instead they made a trade that the more you look at it, the more it seems like a stale predictable deal which isn’t as good as it first sounds.

I guarantee you if a Bill Parcells or a Bill Belichick had a player of Cutlers’ calibre under contract, they would have traded him for the entire Pittsburgh Steelers defense or they would have kept him and told him to shut up and play or risk ruining his career.

Pat Bowlen and Josh McDaniels should have been nastier. And they should have been shrewder.

But still I don't understand how Cutler had so much power in the whole thing and ended up going exactly where he wanted. If I am missing something...Please, let me know.