FanPost

Is Chris Simms better than Matt Cassel?

With all the drama that has surrounded last year's starting QB, something occurred to me. Since the deal for Cassel fell through, the Broncos brought Chris Simms to backup Jay Cutler at a pretty hefty salary for a clipboard carrier (and worth it as he's an upgrade over Ramsey). Here's what I know about Chris Simms - he played for about a year and lost a spleen during a game. I couldn't speak intelligently about any aspect of his mechanics, arm, or mental capacity to run a playbook. Maybe someone here can. 

Did he benefit from the Tampa D (of course), to what extent? Was he coachable (Gruden, the QB Collector...)?

I don't think too highly of Matt Cassel as a guy who can take a team on his back and lead them to wins. I know he is smart enough to run McDaniels' offense, take care of the ball, and get better (much better) as the season progressed. I think Matt Cassel would have done well in Orange and Blue, he's going to struggle in KC for a whole lot of money.I think what McDaniels is trying to do in Denver is build a situation where the QB doesn't have to go out every week and try to take the team on his back like Cutler was forced to do much of the last 2 years. That may mean taking a step back at the QB position and gaining in a lot of other areas.

If Jay Cutler or Bus Cook want Jay playing elsewhere in 2009 and beyond, I'm fine with that, he has handled the situation poorly in my opinion. I'd prefer him to stay, all else being equal though.

So here's my thought - if Jay wants out and the Broncos decide to move him, can the team be better off with Simms and several draft picks? For instance, would the Broncos deal Jay to the Lions for their #20 and 2nd and 3rd round draft picks (no one wants the #1 overall pick)?

I'd have to think long and hard about that trade. If you think Simms could run the offense, you jump at that, we'd own 3 of the top 33 picks, and could probably trade down from either the 12 or the 20 spot for more 2-3 round picks, or move them to stock up for next year.

I have to believe that the Broncos Braintrust have thought about life without Cutler, they'd be stupid not to at this point. Hopefully someone can enlighten me further on the capabilities of our backup QB. Does anyone else think that Simms+#20+#33+3rd (either #65 or #82) round would make the Broncos a better team overall than staying with Cutler?

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.