In defense of Jay Cutler (and why he has to be traded)

that is the problem for me the story changes day to day

The cushiness of the “I have been misled by the organization” excuse is the only resolution that it seems there is for the Broncos to “prove” their loyalty – a new contract. I’m not 100% certain that is necessary, but the fact that Cutler insists Cook be part of any talks leads me to believe that is the case.

The Broncos just aren’t going to redo a deal that has 3 years left, especially this year that is extremely cap friendly. So, ’round and ’round we go…..

all this qb drama makes us underappreciate times when we are stable off the field and all we have to worry about are injury problems. u get me??

I really don’t blame Cutler. This has, for whatever reason, developed into a question of trust, which will destroy any marriage. It’s just too bad it had to come to this.

its a business.
The Broncos hold all the cards, Bus knows that, so now not only is he using Cutler he is using Shffler as well.
I find it ludicrous that most facts have come out to support The Bronocs account yet Bus and Cutler continue to beat a dead horse.
Its about money: a new contract here or somewhere else.
He has taken on nthe wrong organization!

People here seem to think Jay owes something here, the fact is I am sure Jay understands that any player is tradable in the hypothetical world, but I am also sure that Jay would be somewhat confused and pisse that this team would even entertain the idea. Again, I say what has he done to merit the idea:

1) Has he not perfromed well, seems like he went to the pro-bowl after his third season, that indicates he is pretty freaking good.

2) Has he been out beating women, partying, no he has been a model citizen and has tried to get involved in the community.

3) Has he been a problem for the past coaches, didn’t sound like it, he was in the film room and working with the staff to get better.

4) Is he a bad teamate? Sounds like he has spent offseasons working with his wideouts to get better, doesn’t sound like a bad teamate to me.

So if you have been put in a situation out of your control to some extent, in that he didn’t fire Shanahan, he didn’t choose the new HC or position coaches, of course you are going to be pissed, the Broncos and McD are messing with his livelyhood.

with how this team finished this past season ,ther are many areas that energys should be addressed . and last let me say that jake plummer isn’t looking so bad know . so lets stop talking about a boy in a mans world if he was such a leader he would bit his tounge and do what was best for the team.

so if the broncos want to do what the bengals did to chad johnson i am all for it let him sit if he wants to be a baby about it

I am literally exhausted from trying to catch this fluttering moth of a fiasco. I gave up wasting what little of my personal time I have hoping for Cutler and McDaniels to find some common ground. I’m mentally prepared for the worst case scenario to play out and am at peace with seeing a Chris Simms or “insert blank here” take center for the 2009 season.

As Guru so often says it, I AM A DENVER BRONCOS FAN. No matter who the quarterback is, I will continue to spill my guts out rooting for the Broncos every weekend.

I am sorely disappointed at how this has so badly come to fruition when it could have been resolved with all parties just coming to the table and acting like men. But whatever the end game is, I expect all 53 players running through that tunnel in September to have earned the right to have me and my 5-year old’s undying devotion. Right now, I don’t see Jay Cutler being one of them.

I can honestly say based on all the developments over the past 15 days, I’d rather root for 1 Chris Miller than 11 Jay Cutlers on my team.

Let’s get this resolved and press on. If it’s a future without #6 under center, then so be it. I’m done with this.

JMCD- Jay you are our QB and you are under contract! Nothing is concrete in this business so get on board and get ready to either take the snaps or hold the clipboard your choice.

JMCD- Jay you are our QB and you are under contract! Nothing is concrete in this business so get on board and get ready to either take the snaps or hold the clipboard your choice.

are you abel to corroborate that Cutler’s salary will be 1.035something-or-other, and that the only bonus money he will get this year is the $100,000 roster bonus?

The part about Klis’ article I have been ruminating over is the specific payday structure we are talking about here. I was thinking about the timing of putting the house up for sale…I never thought it was an indication that Cutler would move, but I did think he was trying to make a point. With the info that has come to light ont he contrracts, it is starting to make a lot more sense.

If Cutler was scheduled to make less than 1.5 million this year, with bonuses included, and Cook got wind that the Broncos were sniffing around Cassell, who is a $14million a year QB (avg top 5), i think Cook basically decided right then and there that Cutler was going to get a $14 million dollar+ contract for this year, hopefully as part of an extension. Cook feels like the ground is fertile and the timing is right for that kind of contract, since Cassel got paid.

So his move was to convince Cutler that he wasn’t just underpaid but that the Broncos tradetalks and alleged lying were indicators that Cutler didn’t need to feel obligated to his contract this year, and that the correct thing to do was play hardball and make the Broncos ‘prove’ they weren’t lying (how do you prove a negative? another impossible contradiction possible only in Bus Cook’s universe). For every statement the Broncos have issued saying that they absolutely aren’t going to trade Cutler (which are published facts now, that can be proven to be lies only if Cutler is traded. which makes the escalation of this a sticky situation…more later), there has been an escalation on Cutler’s side, including “unaccepts” of every meet-halfway point that has been offered. Whent he Broncos signed a backup QB for around 3 times what Cutler will make this season, Cutler’s extra houses went on the market (which, rather than being an indicator that Cutler was moving, are instead indicators that Cutler doesn’t have extra money to throw around, whether he does or not. Think of it like when the Broncos were firing employees at Dove Valley. It became clear what kind of money they would spend and what kind of players they would cut going forward.).

So far, according to Cutler’s criteria he and his agent have laid out, only one thing is objective enough to prove that the Broncos aren’t lying to him. Broncos tried to talk to Cutler personally, but that wasn’t good enough. Bowlen tried to contact Cutler and set it straight…not good enough. Right now Cutler has his agent’s fingers so far in his ears, that the only thing he can hear is the whisper of a pen scrawling out an 8 figure sum on a new contract for this year. The ONLY thing that will be considered proof by the Cutler camp is money.

So now the question becomes, what is the next step in the escalation, and who blinks first. The Broncos have $14 million they could pay Cutler, but it will make it difficult to get the rookies signed promptly. But it is doable. So it can be expected that Cutler still feels the Broncos are a viable option. But Cook is laying the groundwork for a trade, and the key there is a holdout.

Last night the Broncos tried to meet with Cutler again after Cutelr declined, for waht appears to be admirable reasons, to go to a staff function to honor the trainer. But the additional response, an almost unnecessary addenda, is that a leak is indicating Scheffler is now disgruntled too.

That is some serious escalation, and something I didn’t think Cook had in him. Cook is playing every ace he has, but like a good gambler he is preparing to fake having more. What that could be I have no idea. He has involved the player’s union in negotiations before, and he has shown a willingness to involve the league. The leverage seems so heavily oriented to the Broncos, that not just any move will work, but he has a little over a month (about 40 days or so) to figure something out. part of me worries that he will ge teh Broncos involved in messy litigation revolving around Cutler and these non-mandatory workouts, but it is just a feeling.

Basically, I am looking at next monday as just a single step in the drama, whichever way it goes. Even if Cutler reports, don’t be surprised if this isn’t over… A solid move by bluffers is to “retract before impact”. The main thing the Cutler camp seems able to accomplish at this point is only a trade, since to get the Broncos to budge, they have to prove that the Broncos lied in their statements (the actual media releases, not the sourced leaks), the ones where they said they “would not trade Cutler”. the only way to prove that is to force a trade. They are definently in a self-fulfilling epicycle, that can only end with Cutler gone, or wanting something different.

  I think the nearest solid date of relief is the draft, since at that point trades for picks would pretty much be off the table (though there could still be a trade for picks next year).

I won’t start feeling relieved about this being under control until the draft at the minimem

ESPN and Chris Mortenson just quoted Jay cutler via Bus Cooke as asking for a trade, JMcD confiming it, and Pat Bowlen saying that he is very disappointed, not only in losing the star QB, but in the whole situation. I haven’t commented on this so far, but this is it…. I am now completely pissed off at the franchise’s handling of this, and at Jay’s willingness to be led around by his nose-ring to satisfy the ego of a crooked agent. I will not be quite so pissed at missing so many games here in Iowa…. I may not catch any of them. I have (like all fans) waited so patiently for the Mastermind to get his groove back…. and to come so close, only to have a new administration give it away, and be QUOTED!!! as admitting that McD wanted Cassel….. I have no more words.

When the situation is already so obviously damaged, and your star QB puts you on the spot for lying about trade talks, and asks if he is still on the trade block… you can say something honest, but more tactful and solicitous than

“Other teams have called but we’re not interested in getting draft picks for Jay. I never made a statement [Saturday] that ‘you can be traded at any time.’ They asked a question and I told them it was the time of year when people inquire about your team. Your job, as a head coach and general manager, is to listen and not bypass any opportunity to help your team improve. I think most people [in the NFL] feel the same way. You make smart, educated decisions that are best for your football team.”

That may be what he said, and I don’t think anyone here would take issue with most of it as being realistic and true… but I could have handled that better in my sleep….. If I WANTED to keep a QB and re-assure him.
there is a time and place for taking ownership of a situation, and there is also an appropriate time to choose your battles.