The Jay Cutler Situation- An Outsiders Perspective

by TheRant on Mar 12, 2009 4:11 AM MDT Comment 14 comments

Although, I am not a Denver Bronco fan (hang with me), I root for Jay Cutler. This is one situation that has me so intrigued and entertained that every time I open a text from 79710, which is ESPN's NFL Update, I'm hoping it is a Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels soap opera story. It all starts with Mike Shanahan, who had to be the scapegoat in this NFL era where if you dont win every year someone must not be doing their job right. Shanahan was a quarterback when he played and he coached some of the greats like Steve Young and, of course, John Elway. After John Elway, he needed someone to bring his offense back to the glory days. He fell in love with a guy with a huge arm from Vanderbilt. Jay Cutler was a surprise pick by many after the team made it to the AFC Championship the year before.

Moving forward, Cutler took over the starting position his rookie season. The comparisons to Elway or the "next coming" of Elway started. (Cutler has said he has the best arm in the history of the Denver Broncos). After not finishing the season strong and not winning games in which they should have, Mike Shanahan is fired. This lies the problem because on Jan 11, 2009 Josh McDaniels is hired to bring the high powered offense back to Denver. But, McDaniels runs a system. The same system former Patriot offensive coordinator Charlie Weis installed as offensive coordinator of the team. The Patriots have run the Erhardt-Perkins system since 2000. Since its installation, they have won 3 Super bowls with some guy who slipped into the 6th round named Tom Brady. There is no doubt in my mind that New England saw something that Tom Brady could provide them in A SYSTEM that every other team passed up for 6 1/2 rounds didnt see. The Patriots did the same thing drafting Matt Cassell in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. Do you really think that Josh McDaniels is going to ditch the Patriot way and the Erhardt-Perkins system just because Mike Shanahan's Jay Cutler is a Denver Bronco. Absolutely not, McDaniels is going to do what he has learned in his brainwashing tenure with the Patriots and that is win with a quarterback who will run HIS system. If he feels Jay Cutler cant run what he wants to do to be successful, he will get rid of him. I dont blame McDaniels for trying to get the guy who got him his first NFL Head Coaching job in Matt Cassell. McDaniels is installing the Patriot way into Mile High Country and putting fear into players in the locker room rather than letting the players say this is their team. As Bronco fans, people should think whatever it takes to win and get back into the playoffs. If that means trading Jay Cutler for draft picks or some other need, then so be it. The Broncos have made some major upgrades to a suspect defense but it isnt going to be enough to take the Broncos immediately to the Superbowl. McDaniels knows this. Jay Cutler may need to take the backseat and just play football. McDaniels and Cutler could both suffer from this situation. Cutler may be unhappy playing in Denver if the situation isnt resolved and if McDaniels trades Cutler, he better start praying he has someone who is gonna win him some games or he will be scrutinized for years to come.

Unfortunately for Cutler, the NFL is a BUSINESS and its something he has to deal with. Either way, Cutler will still have to lace up the cleats and McDaniels will be pressed to win games whether Cutler is a Bronco or not.

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

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This is McDaniels' first open challenge to his authority

And it’s from the supposed leader of his team. Rule number 1 is that no one on the team is above the team or immune from being traded, and it just seems odd to discover that Cutler would think otherwise. I’m a fan of McDaniels and I’ll be following this ‘soap opera’, just to see how he continues to handle this and other challenges, but I’m convinced he’ll change the team for the better.

When Belichick cut fan and locker room favorite Lawyer Milloy near the beginning of his tenure with the New England it was hugely unpopular and the media was all over it. It spurred ESPN’s Tom Jackson to his infamous on-air quote about the Patriots players, “They hate their coach.” So, in spite of the immediate media reactions and fall-out, hang in their and wait for the dust to settle. It will, and the Broncos will be better off for it.

If Bill Belichick wanted to send a message that he is in charge, he sure did it in a big way. It’s hard to imagine a worse time to cut the captain and tone setter of a defense that was predicted by many (including myself) to be one of the League’s best this year. Cutting an all-pro, veteran safety like Lawyer Milloy five days before the season opener (against a division foe, nevertheless) is the perfect Webster Dictionary definition of a “distraction.” Tonight, do you think the Patriots players have their minds entirely on the Buffalo game plan or on the sudden, shocking release of Milloy? If you’re honest with yourself, you know the answer.

We won the Super Bowl that year.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 12, 2009 8:28 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Why was Milloy cut?

Was it an age thing, or did he challenge the new coach?

You can observe a lot just by watching. Yogi Berra

by bradley on Mar 12, 2009 9:13 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

like with most things

Financial considerations played the biggest part with that.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 12, 2009 10:55 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

You can observe a lot just by watching. Yogi Berra

by bradley on Mar 12, 2009 10:59 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it was more than that...

NE went out and signed Rodney Harrison and ultimately payed far more than they were paying Milloy. To me it looked like a value thing. Belichick didn’t think Milloy was performing commensurate with the $$ he wanted to be paid. NE sometimes gets a bad rap for being tight with $$. The truth is that they pay some players very well. I think NE doesn’t mind paying top dollar for top performers, but they aren’t willing to pay top dollar for players who are merely benificiaries of playing in a good system. Hence they let guys like Vrabel, Beisel, McGinest go but keep Bruschi.

by SlowWhiteGuy on Mar 12, 2009 12:30 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

absolutely

With Belichick, it’s all about value. Vrabel was due to receive a $1 million dollar bonus March 1st. He was going to be traded regardless if the Cassel deal went through or not, but it just so happened that it appeared he was bundled or thrown in with Cassel. Belichick cleared some cap room, so the Chiefs are paying Vrabel that $1 million instead, and Belichick effectively kept Vrabel from landing on another AFC East team which could have happened if he had just been released.

In 2009 Bruschi will be playing in the last year of his contract and his cap hit this year is much less than Vrabel’s which, in your words, is a better value and worth it to keep him.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 12, 2009 1:36 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The similarities are there but I don't like the Milloy analogy

Belicheck cut Milloy in 2003. The Pats won the Super Bowl in 2001. The players may not have completely bought into Belichek’s system at that point, but at least he had some credibility with the team since he had 3 years of history with them including a ring.

I see the McDaniels situation as more similar to Belichek in Cleveland. He does not have the respect or trust of his team because he has no track record. He may have the authority, etc to trade Cutler but there is no way to gauge the reaction from the rest of the team who are more attached to Cutler than McDaniels.

by MattR on Mar 12, 2009 11:23 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Milloy was a very vocal leader of the team

and I used him as an example strictly because of his popularity and because of the beating Belichick took in the media after cutting him.

Of course earlier, Belichick traded QB Drew Bledsoe, which might be more applicable here. Bledsoe was seen by the fans as the savior of the franchise and was an unabashed favorite of the owner, who referred to him as his fifth son. He had just been signed to a ten-year $100 million dollar contract, 2 years before it was due to be renegotiated. This trade was huge, but Bledsoe had already lost his job to Brady, and would have lost it to Brady regardless of the injury. The media had a field day with the QB controversy, with the two camps stubbornly in place, constantly throughout that entire season straight through the Super Bowl.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 12, 2009 11:48 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

But again, that Bledsoe trade was post Super Bowl win

Getting a ring gave Belichick the credibility and ability to make controversial moves (also see Shanahan, Mike)

by MattR on Mar 12, 2009 1:08 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Belichick kept Beldsoe benched

for the playoffs that year. He didn’t yet have the cred and he generated a firestorm of protest over it.

by SlowWhiteGuy on Mar 12, 2009 1:25 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see your point

Belichick didn’t get the ring until the end of that season where Bledsoe was benched. It would be similar to McDaniels trading or benching Cutler this year, enduring the media and fan protest, but winning the Super Bowl in the end.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 12, 2009 1:29 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Belichick may be

the dark lord, but he’s got a pair of brass ones.

by SlowWhiteGuy on Mar 12, 2009 1:38 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Belichick Can Only "Win" By Cheating

Yeah, and that awesome Belicheat system has won how many Super Bowls since they got caught cheating?

People forget after the infamous made up “Tuck Rule” game that it was because of Bledsoe that the patsies beat Pittsburgh to even get to that Super Bowl.

by CutlerWillWinTheSuperBowl on Mar 12, 2009 7:29 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Tuck Rule not "made up" (sigh)

Funny thing is that the Tuck Rule was called during the Patriots-Jets game earlier that same season, and the call went against the Patriots who thought they caused a fumble.

*December 2 @ New York Jets:
The Jets bullied the Patriots en route to a 13–0 halftime lead, but the Patriots stormed back, scoring 14 third-quarter points en route to a 17–16 win. During the game the Jets appeared to lose a fumble to the Patriots, but the fumble was reversed based on a rule that would become controversial in the subsequent playoffs – the Tuck Rule.

And while Bledsoe played like the Pro starter that he was, the score was already 7-3 when he came into the game. Bledsoe threw one touchdown pass to David Patten. Troy Brown recovered a blocked kick and lateraled to Antoine Harris for the next touchdown, and Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal for the final three points. What really won the game were the turnovers, Brown’s kick recovery and two Kordell Stewart interceptions in the 4th quarter plus two key stops on defense.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Mar 16, 2009 2:44 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs