Horse Tracks 4/1/09
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 1, 2009 5:40 AM MDT
in Horse Tracks
Email
Print
Well, in case you were offline last night, or just went to bed hoping to wake up and find it was a bad dream, I'll sadly be the first to ruin your day. Pat Bowlen has announced that the Broncos will trade Jay Cutler. It's April Fool's Day, but the joke is on us...
"Numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by Head Coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful. A conversation with his agent earlier today clearly communicated and confirmed to us that Jay no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos. We will begin discussions with other teams in an effort to accommodate his request to be traded.”
DP - Here's a timeline of the Cutler situation, courtesy of the Post.
DP - Jim Armstrong talks to local agent Tom Mills, who expects Denver to receive quite a haul in return for Cutler.
IN - Sam Adams thinks Pat Bowlen is doing the right thing.
DP - Klis cites a "source" who says Cutler never received any recent calls from the Broncos and was packing up to head to Denver for the next minicamp.
DP - Krieger has the nerve to speculate that this was all Josh McDaniels' plan all along - trade Cutler and lay all the blame at his feet, too.
DP - WR Chad Jackson said the players were getting tired of the Cutler situation. Meanwhile, Denver released RB Cory Boyd earlier in the day.
ESPN - John Clayton goes over the situation and discusses possible trade partners for Denver.
FOX - Jay Glazer calls in with his report. He's got a great point - teams that discuss trading for Cutler may end up ticking off their own QBs in much the same way Denver did...
DP - Lindsay Jones lists the trade bait that five teams have to possibly offer Denver. She also lists five possible replacements for Cutler at QB.
Y! - Here is Charles Robinson's list of teams interested in Cutler.
USA - USA Today also runs down a list of possible trade destinations for Cutler.
NFLN - If you want to watch/listen to Krieger, here's your chance...
SI - Here is Peter King's version of the story.
ESPN - James Walker says Denver must call the Browns. Tim Graham says the Jets must go after Cutler.
DFP - The Lions have another chance to acquire Cutler.
TT - What about Cutler to the Buccaneers?
CST - Don't forget the Bears! And here's their competition...
CDH - More from Chicago - no price is too high for Cutler.
N - Here is the first of what will be many stories out of New York for the Jets...
NYDN - And here's another one from New York.
NYP - From the New York Post...
DP - The Post got some fans' reactions, if 1,000+ comments on MHR aren't enough...
KCS - The Star has video of Chefs coach Todd Haley discussing the offseason.
NFL - Michael Vick is repaying $6.5 million of his bonuses from the Falcons.
NFL - Plaxico Burress' gun case has been adjourned until June 15th.
NFL - Police suspect that two men were murdered at the vacant Long Island condo of former Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma (currently with the Saints).
TN - Torry Holt is expected to visit the Titans this week.
NFL - The Eagles have re-signed OG Nick Cole.
Y! - The Vikins have re-signed DL Otis Grigsby.
Y! - Michael Silver profiled Falcons GM Tom Dimitroff in his Tuesday column.
NFP - Ravens D-Lineman Kelly Gregg wants to fight UFC Champ Brock Lesnar.
79 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Coaches and QBs
Yes, Jay Cutler is a bit of a baby. No, he’ll never be John Elway. But we have managed in a few short months to fire one of the best coaches and hire a cheater from New England. I know it is April Fool’s Day, but I wish the joke was over. Thanks a lot, Mr. Bowlen. Go home, Coach McDaniels. This is going to end in disaster.
Good Mornin nyc, I don't know about Jay--I guess its time to let him go,
anyway thanx for Horse Tracks…
Real Power, comes with the realization that One cannot change the Moment;
only ones perception of it: Atitude! JQM
bleh
Klis and his “destinations I won’t say” and “source” who has a story different than everyone else
Is Klis getting these details from his dog?
In another twist to the story,
850KOA reported this morning that Cutler and Cook have denied the Broncos allegations that Cutler refused to return calls or texts and are claiming that it was in fact the Broncos that refused to return calls to them. Cutler and Cook are claiming that they have been trying to set up a meeting with the Broncos for over a week and that their requests have been ignored. .
"C" is for Championship...that's good enough for meeeee!!!
BULLSH*T
Don’t for a second believe anything coming out of the Cook/Cutler camp.
Given their actions over the past month, I have no reason to believe they ever had any intentions of putting Jay back in a Broncos uniform. Do any of us really think they would react publicly with a resounding “YES!! WE DID IT!! WE GOT OUR WAY BY ACTING LIKE TOTAL A-HOLES!!”.
Of course they’re going to run spin control and make it look like they had every intention of turning up to avoid lessening Cutler’s value. They’re next play is to get that contract renewal right after their trade destination is confirmed.
Sorry Jay
If you had really wanted to have a meeting with Bowlen the past week, you wouldn’t be out-of-state while your team works out with the back-up. You’d have been on the first plane back. Nothing that comes from your side or your classified sources close to you makes any sense. And your calling the Broncos front office liars? I thought you just played for your teammates anyway. So much for that.
by Colorado_Kitten on Apr 1, 2009 8:05 AM MDT up reply actions
+1000
Well said, kitty cat.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 8:31 AM MDT up reply actions
+2000
Anyone who believes that Bowlen and McDaniels didn’t return calls needs to have their head checked. That makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
I don’t want breakaway speed. I want break-some-poor-fool-as-I-bowl-you-over power getting 6 yards off a play that should have been stopped for 2 at most.
+4000
Just because I had it to give. :)
Never argue with a fool, lest you take on his appearance. - my daddy
Yeah right
I don’t buy that for a second, what BS. They think people are stupid.
Sorry Busler, not buying it anymore.
by AllBroncsallday on Apr 1, 2009 10:10 AM MDT up reply actions
extraordinarily unbelievable
They’ve (McDaniels & Bowlen) been talking about their efforts to contact Cutler in articles posted here, and all you have to do is look to the right side of the page to find one. There have been previous reports, which I could post if needed, of past efforts throughout March to contact Cutler that were rebuffed. There have even been articles that cited Cutler as saying he didn’t want to talk to them, so……… after all that evidence we’re supposed to believe it’s not Cutler but the Broncos who’ve been rejecting contact?
I’ll put it another way; who isn’t in camp? It isn’t McDaniels. There have been a few who have been excused for various reasons but they received permission and are in contact with the staff. Can you guess who lost 100, 000 dollar bonus recently for missing the workouts?
This is madness...
Cutler is not who I thought he was.
Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.
by Tim Lynch on Apr 1, 2009 8:12 AM MDT reply actions 1 recs
+1
He’s got a great point – teams that discuss trading for Cutler may end up ticking off their own QBs in much the same way Denver did.
Frankly, I don’t see many other quarterbacks handling it the way Cutler did AT ALL.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 8:32 AM MDT up reply actions
Unless they're scheming for a new contract, too.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 8:34 AM MDT up reply actions
what is goooing on in denver right now
is this all cutler being a baby or is this the coach . it seems more and more this is on cutler
FOUR F'S FIND UM FEEL UM FUGUM FORGET UM.
It's all on Culter at this point.
When the owner tries to get a hold of you……..Answer the freakin phone. Ignoring the owner who pays you is unacceptable to me.
Madness??
THIS IS SPARTAAAAA!!!!!
Sorry, I had to… Oh, and “THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!!!”
Good combining of meme’s, Zap. rec’d.
I seem to have lost my future self.
Reasonable price
“Brady Quinn has agreed to a five-year contact with the Cleveland Browns worth $20.2 million, with $7.75 million guaranteed…”
why would Cleveland trade a stand up guy like Quinn who LOVES the Browns and wants to play there forever
for a guy like Cutler who has zero class and is a baby?
I think we will be lucky to get a second round draft pick for him now…what a tool he is.
Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.
hey Zappa...
Quinn is not Manginas guy……he is a McD style guy.
I think we could get Quinn and there 1st and 2nd rounder for Cutler or Quinn, Rogers and there 2nd….maybe.
Cutler is a tool…oh well, que sera, sera!!!
Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
I'd certainly take Quinn...dude has a strong arm and some moxy, but he takes less risks than Cutler.
Which means there will be less of a high reward..less exciting offense. Omg, I sound like a Favre lover!
Verbose in style, dispersion of thought, procrastination in life.
Not sure
about Quinn’s situation in Cleveland. Just exploring possibilities for a replacement. There aren’t a lot of quality QB prospects out there at the moment and I think Brady Quinn may at least have some potential. Maybe McDaniels can coach him up to be an effective QB. Regardless, it should be an interesting few weeks leading up to the draft.
Nice find Cletus...Quinn is our best option I think!
Those that cant coach, compete!
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
I'm leaning this way as well
but I’m not yet sold.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 8:33 AM MDT up reply actions
Wow... talk about "two sides to every story"
I have never seen a “story” that has had such disparate “sides” from the get-go. So incredibly frustrating…
Can I have my morning back now, please?
Need … to … get … to … work … must … click … close … on … this … browser … tab …….
lol... and guess what, I failed... big time. Still obsessively checking MHR.
Could you guys stop posting for a couple of hours? kthxbai.
"You're Jay Cutler?!"
“You suck, but my dad said you might be really good one day!”
-South Park
good riddance. i can’t root for prima donnas
That SP quote
would make an awesome siggy.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 10:06 AM MDT up reply actions
Busy day at the office, huh NYCB???!!
Great job as always…
"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."
"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams
by orange&blue_aussie on Apr 1, 2009 9:20 AM MDT reply actions
Though I am not ready to say that McDaniels wanted to get rid of Cutler from day 1
Krieger does make a lot of good points in his article.
Anyone else afraid to
watch ESPN these days? I can’t deal with speculation about Cutler, and am also afraid to find out what Denver eventually gets for trading him when that day comes. Sigh.
Btw, that Charles Robinson piece nyc linked above is the best so far on who is possibly in the mix — and why they probably aren’t — in any Cutler trade. Beats anything coming out of the DP anyway.
from the denver post
"Here’s a twist — while Bowlen was declaring the end of the Cutler era, Shanahan sank a hole-in-one, according to his former attorney Harvey Steinberg. Shanahan got his first hole-in-one soon after getting fired by the Oakland Raiders in 1989. "
um…..
What burns me personally
is that I took a ton of arrows for Jay, defending him from hater Charger fans on the Bolts from the Blue blog. This was back during the season, when we all assumed Shanny was going nowhere until he retired. I defended Jay’s personality to the absolute hilt, and now… whether this is a pride thing or a money thing or both, a victim thing or a sell us out thing, I don’t care. But he’s proved them right, and me wrong.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
Me too man.
Living down here in SD, I hear it all the time. My friends constantly call him a crybaby and everything. I now know what they are talking about. It is hard to look at things from my biased point of view.
+1
They were all like, “How can you root for a guy who pouts like a baby when he loses like that??”
And I thought I had the perfect answer, “Worked for LDT, didn’t it?” ; )
Except, now, it clearly hasn’t worked for Jay.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 10:25 AM MDT up reply actions
Can't we
not like either of them? None of this changes the fact that Rivers is a complete tool. He has also been to the playoffs, so I’ll give them/him that. But just because Cutler is acting like a dork doesn’t mean I have to like Rivers now. I hope they both end up banished to the UFL some day.
I just want this to go away
so we can start getting ready for the 2009 season with whoever our QB is going to be.
Amen, brother
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 10:44 AM MDT up reply actions
cheers
The fact that you posted you were wrong is awesome. I am new here so I have no clue what you may or may not have said in the past, but hopefully there are others similar to you on here =)
I love having opinions and expressing them — I hope I can say when I am wrong!
I have friends from SD
and I have defended Jay to the ends of the earth. Well, they won, and I have concieded defeat to them. Rivers may be a whiny little punk, but he looks like a pretty stand up guy right now compared to Jay. Thanks a lot Jay, for making me (and all other Broncos fans) look like a tool. Wish he wasn’t leaving, but the future is now and I’m moving on…
Smell you later Jay, smell you later forever!
Go Broncos!
13-3 baby (with the Spleen or whomever the Jedi has foreseen)!
by Royal With Cheese on Apr 1, 2009 10:41 AM MDT up reply actions
Thanks NYC
Funny how Bowlen’s story has an air of truth while Cook’s sounds like “well so what my mom can beat up your mom”
http://www.davusx.net/assets/db/la_la_land.gif
"We should have kept Seattle and dumped San Diego from the Division"
Davis and Sharpe to the Hall!
Sounds like sour grapes
It was soooo quiet on this over the weekend. What if Cutler was beginning to have the ever-so-slightest change of heart? Frankly, it would serve him right.
Also, I really respect Pat Bowlen. He has shown class, integrity, and fairness throughout. My gut is telling me that Pat may have made this decision and trumped McDaniels’ willingness to play it out through the summer.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 10:42 AM MDT up reply actions
Bus Cook will put Cutler in New York..
..and bring Brett Favre to Denver for a couple of seasons while a draft pick develops.
Bank it.
But why on earth
would the Broncos want to deal with a Cook QB again after this fiasco? I wouldn’t bank on that happening again for a long time. Plus I naively believe Favre has retired for real this time. ;-)
Nah
Fav-re is really done this time- the fiasco last year won’t be repeated.
by AllBroncsallday on Apr 1, 2009 10:50 AM MDT up reply actions
I'm not sure why
but for the life of me the only thing that may have made it go away imo was Cassel signing a long term deal instead of the existing one year deal in KC. With a one year committment he would have been hanging over our heads (and Cutler’s) the whole season.
I’ve been wrong before and it looks like we’ll never know.
The QB position is set.
Thanks NYC for the plethora of news as always
Nice video from Jay Glazer. That is certainly an intersting take on the whole thing because you know there is going to be a frenzy of teams wanting Cutler. I guess they will have to be careful of the whole thing and probably learn from our mistakes on how to deal with it.
I tend to agree with Kreiger's assessment
All I know is it is going to be hard to rationalize any trade now that will make us a better team this season or in the next three seasons, I have to wonder how much rope McDaniels has left, anything short of the playoffs and I am guessing he will be gone within a year.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the one with the gun, A-hole" - Ash from Army of Darkness
Crazy Scenerio 876
What if the following were to happen, Jay is shiped off to say a crap ass team like the lions, does reasonably well, Ford goes in the tank and Lions are sold to make money, new ownership wants to move the Lions to LA so they want to get rid of high price players so they allow Jay to walk after his contract is up. In the mean time, McDaniels like all other Belichek dicipiles, runs the franchise nose fisrt into the ground. Bowlen, fires McDaniels, rehires Shanahan as GM and Kubes as HC, Bates as OC, and sign Jay to the big deal. We all live happily ever after.
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the one with the gun, A-hole" - Ash from Army of Darkness
Or we would suck ass
with Shanny as the GM (???) and Bates as the HC. Oh, and Jayby as the QB. Yeah, we’d suck.
I seem to have lost my future self.
I didn't say it was a "good" scenerio, just a "crazy" scenerio
"Me fail english, that unpossible" - Ralph Wiggum
"Duffman is thrusting in the direction of the problem" - Duffman
"Good, bad, I'm the one with the gun, A-hole" - Ash from Army of Darkness
"Fiasco" seems to be the word du jour..
..but the Jets won more than twice as many games last season as they did the year before. Favre went to the Pro Bowl, and was the best QB in the league prior to tearing his shoulder muscle a month before the end of the season. How can you call that a “fiasco”? Jets management obviously didn’t concur, since they were quite vocal in hoping that Brett would return next season.
As for the “fiasco” “perpetrated” by Cook client, Cutler, hey come on? It was pretty obvious that it was only a matter of time once it became known that McDaniel (and presumably his bosses and employers) didn’t feel that Jay was the answer in Denver. The writing was on the wall, and whatever lame backtracking the Bronco’s did after their initial attempt to replace Cutler failed only exacerbated an impossible situation. You have to be a brain dead homer to try to pin that on Bus Cook. Or even Cutler to any degree.
Guess that makes me a brain dead homer
I tend to side with the man who has taken us to five superbowls in 25 years.
This boils down to Cutler’s bruised ego or his desire to make more than $1 million this year, or both.
"THIS IS SPARTA!!!" -- papigrande
"The cutsper gives up 100 000 dollars guy, come on custper you should show up and then give the 100 000 dollar to me so I can put down payment on the bronco cheerleader retire home where they can sit and eat all kind of pizza and chip and not have to worry any more about make for little waist in off seasnoal" -- Horvil Tiki
by broncosmontana on Apr 1, 2009 11:23 AM MDT up reply actions
With all due respect
I don’t think you know too much about this situation, or Bus Cook.
Read this, and then call everyone “brain dead homers”:
http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/3/11/794217/jay-cutler-bus-cook-and-th
by AllBroncsallday on Apr 1, 2009 12:06 PM MDT up reply actions
IMO - That article is way overrated
It lays out a lot of good info about Cook’s past clients but there is not enough evidence to justify the conclusion that Bus Cook is the master manipulator. As far as the McNair situation, I think he was in the right and that Cook did the right thing defending the rights of his client. And I don’t think Cook had a whole lot of control over things last year in the Favre situation. Cook was definitely involved, but I don’t think he was leading Brett around by the nose.
I see Cook as a facillitator for his clients, not a man who manipulates them. Similarly, while I don’t like Drew Rosenhaus, I do not really fault him for his actions. In fact his willingness to take those actions when necessary may be the reason that players sign him as their agent.
I was 'on' this from the beginning
Cook was clearly setting the stage for a planned holdout from the beginning, which was intended for the purpose of, either; obtaining a new, and higher paying, contract from the Broncos or a trade with a new, and higher paying, contract from the team Cutler was traded to. Cook’s demand (ostensibly Cutler’s) that Cutler receive a new contract was cited in recent articles.
It’s not that this issue is ONLY about money, and Cook’s “failure to retain offensive staff” rationale points to what upset Cutler initially, which is also at odds with earlier statements about being upset about being mentioned in trade talks. The entire ‘being mentioned in trade talks’ rationale was Cook’s machination.
Styg’s article doesn’t prove Cook was behind all this, but it sets the context that allows others to ‘connect the dots.’ Also, the term ‘prove’ is misunderstood. What we have is fairly overwhelming evidence of Cook’s involvement, but individual elements may fail to meet the standards for use in court convictions or scientific proofs. But taken in it’s totality, the evidence of Cook’s involvement is simply overwhelming.
To cite one fact — Cook’s initial statements regarding the insult of Denver’s trade conversations involving Cutler are significant. Cook was reacting to information that he, himself, had delivered to Cutler (reasoning by induction, an extremely high probability). So Cook’s posturing about wanting to know if it was true should be examined in light of the apparent fact that he was using this issue for some purpose. Cook’s ‘performance’ at this point reveals volumes about how he conducts himself and his eventual goals regarding Cutler.
An experienced con man can manipulate people in ways that most people would consider unbelievable. One of the biggest problems that bunko investigators have is getting people to come forward after they’ve been swindled. Part of the problem is embarrassment, since victims don’t like to admit they’ve been hoodwinked, but another part of the problem is the tendency of victims to continue in their beliefs even when all evidence points to the fact that they’ve been conned. I don’t presume that Cutler is pure of motive in this case, but there’s sufficient evidence to suggest that he was manipulated and unduly influenced by Cook.
good points
I should state for the record that I wasn’t intending to prove that Cook was THE man behind the mask, just that he was A man behind a mask, and that his camp was not to be trusted.
My purpose for the article was to show why the events were out of control, not what the cause was. I stated that when Cook was out of the picture, this mess would be gone. I think that still holds true, but my slim hope that somehow that would mean Jay got rid of Bus, is pretty much in the crapper. When Bus leaves, the problem will be gone (the problem being the constant media manipulation and the backtracking of storylines and statements that comes out of the Cutler: “I’ll play, I won’t play” “I’m a team guy, I don’t want to work with the team” “I want to talk, i don’t want to talk” I don’t want to talk, hey they won’t return my calls.") but now that also means Jay is gone as well. So be it.
Amnesty, the idea that you can forgive transgressions against you, gives as much to one side, as it does the other. It has the noble quality of bestowing mercy to both parties.
There is no army so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 1, 2009 2:08 PM MDT up reply actions
I did not mean to imply that YOU were making that conclusion
But most of the time I see someone link to your article, it is to reinforce the idea that this is all Bus Cook’s fault.
Agreed
that was frustrating, because it was being used wrong, but I didn’t know how to address it. I suppose that’s why I’m here, in a community where I can keep in touch with everyone and not trying to work for the MSM.
Amnesty, the idea that you can forgive transgressions against you, gives as much to one side, as it does the other. It has the noble quality of bestowing mercy to both parties.
There is no army so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 1, 2009 4:44 PM MDT up reply actions
to be clear
I avoid long posts, which may surprise many here, because the full treatment stretches the average reader’s patience past he breaking point.
You’ll have to pardon the logical structure implied in my comment. I wasn’t trying to use the fact of what your original treatment ’wasn’t’ to form an argument, I was alluding to the fact that there was much more on Cook that would be part of the ‘full treatment’ of the subject, and I was aware this evidence from the beginning.
What most people consider “proof” meets the standards of an ironclad court case, so complaints about the lack of such evidence are often attempts rationalize a growing body of evidence that points to a certain conclusion — in this case, Cook’s machinations surrounding the ‘they wanted to trade me’ slight that Cutler used as his casus belli.
Experienced investigators are attuned to certain diagnostic signals that eventually lead to successful court cases but those cues are often not what is presented in court as ‘proof.’ The distinction here is between evidence that would drive an investigation forward and evidence that would be included in a court case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cook was indeed the instigator of the PR firestorm over Denver’s (alleged) attempts to trade Cutler.
As you point out, Styg50, the changing storyline behind Cutler’s holdout is highly significant (my conclusion), and I consider it to be the type of evidence that’s extremely damning. Cutler & Cook’s story began to fall apart early on and showed severe discrepancies that were never re-mediated and became worse over time.
The evidence of Cook’s instigation on this issue is overwhelming from an investigator’s point of view but it still falls short of that needed for an ironclad legal case.
A percentage of the population will believe in their cherished beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. No amount of evidence will be considered sufficient to prove Cook’s involvement, and statements about the lack of proof are rationalizations rather than conclusions drawn from the evidence.
However devious you may think Cook is...
…I don’t think he mindwarped McDaniel and the Bronco F.O. into making a pitch for Matt Cassell back in February. They can’t blame that one on the family dog. From the point in time that news leaked, the writing was on the wall. Jay was (at best) his employer’s second choice to lead the team. Perhaps not even that.
Who is to say that they won’t pull the same stunt in the future, particularly if he has a rough patch? Every QB has them, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner, Favre, all had some terrible stretchs last season and likely will have them in the future. If you’re coach doesn’t have full faith in you, the pressure becomes impossible to deal with. There are a litany of talented QBs who have lost it completely in recent years once the coaching staff lost confidence in them. Some never recovered.
If the Broncos can come out of this with Brett Favre and a mid first round draft pick to spend on a future QB they should probably take it and run.
I want to nit pick
I don’t think he mindwarped McDaniel and the Bronco F.O. into making a pitch for Matt Cassell back in February. They can’t blame that one on the family dog. From the point in time that news leaked, the writing was on the wall. Jay was (at best) his employer’s second choice to lead the team. Perhaps not even that.
Back that up. Show me where McDaniels says “I pulled the trigger in the trade talks”
Cassel was on the Market, people knew what Josh did to him last season. He “looked” like quality for McDaniels. Cassel may have said “Hey Bill, I need a back up want to send me Matt for a 5th rounder?” but that is probaly not true either.
Bill said they “didn’t make an offer worth considering” which to me says if there was an offer made than it wasnt good enough.
I am cool with opinion but if you come out and state it as FACT you better have some DAMMING EVIDENCE
http://www.davusx.net/assets/db/la_la_land.gif
"We should have kept Seattle and dumped San Diego from the Division"
Davis and Sharpe to the Hall!
the storyline
The ‘faithless coach’ storyline is one of the sillier aspects of this story. It’s more at home in a soap opera.
Cook recently stated the ‘real’ reason (we can only hope, and finally) for Cutler’s disenchantment with the Bronco’s — he was unhappy with the coaching change. This is understandable, and believable, unlike the earlier histrionics over trade talk. One problem with this story is that it invalidates the earlier story, although the Bus does indeed try to connect the two through a highly implausible explanation.
The persistence of a belief after it’s lost all credibility is an interesting phenomenon. The story of the “emperor’s new clothes” is an example of this psychological dynamic. Real world examples of this dynamic can often verge on the pathological — such as Germans who refused to believe in the Holocaust and even invented fantastic reasons to explain away what they regarded as unthinkable.
The “offended by the trade” story and all its adjuncts, which rely heavily on character assassination against McDaniels, strained credulity past the breaking point long ago. McDaniels’ always wanted Cutler as his QB, it was other teams who perceived that he might like Cassel, but the only reason those offers were worth listening to was because multiple first round picks were part of the offer — not because Cassel held any great attraction.
The so-called “pitch” for Cassel was never made. This was Cook’s scam, and it succeeded far past anything he probably expected. Cook himself said that he didn’t know if the Broncos had actually made an offer for Cassel early on (we didn’t, but intermediaries tried), but he continued to stoke the issue through repeated contacts with sports journalists and off-the-record comments (cited as “a source close to Cutler”) that were designed to portray Cutler as an aggrieved victim in order to justify a later holdout and/or demand to be traded.
These disinformation techniques are part of the standard arsenal of an unscrupulous personal injury lawyer. Cook probably didn’t count on the media piling on to such a degree and the blowback it caused, when people started to question the original storyline and wonder about Cook’s possible involvement.
The current situation is one in which Bowlen has lost all patience with the character assassination against his new head coach (besides Bowlen himself, since Cook also labeled a liar in his “assurances” rationale for Cutler’s disgruntlement) and avoided the damage Cook & Cutler’s holdout would have on the team. Cutler’s leaving was apparently deemed an eventuality and Bowlen decided to act now rather than wait. Cutler wanted to go to a new team and his agent was successful at producing this result. This is what they wanted to do all along,
Just to be even more clear
The scam that Cook runs is quite transparent, although there’s always a startling number of fans who jump to the aid of their favorite players — an understandable psychological dynamic.
Notice how Cook’s modus operandi is same in past controversies involving his clients. LINK
But one veteran agent with several high-profile NFL clients said that everything that has unfolded in Denver regarding Cutler in the past three weeks fits nicely under the heading of a "classic case of an agent trying to get his guy traded.’’
Another longtime agent I talked to said few are better than Cook at "busting a guy out of there’’ when a player wants to be traded, and that he has a history of using maximum leverage against a team.
"If the client wants out, then he’s doing the will of his client,‘’ the agent said. "And Bus’ M.O. is to play it out very publicly. If this was another agent, things could be done behind the scenes and you wouldn’t be hearing about it. But just like coordinators have their own schemes that they like, so do agents. By now, teams should have seen film of Bus, and scouted him well. They know what’s coming when he has a client who wants out.’’
The football-speak may sound funny when talking about an agent, but it’s true in Cook’s case. I talked to a Packers official who said the organization gleaned valuable insight during last summer’s Favre showdown from what happened between McNair and Tennessee in 2006. He said the "whole Steve McNair playbook’’ helped the Packers because they were determined not to give Cook any reason to claim that the team had shown Favre any disrespect when he returned to Green Bay during training camp.
The ‘slighted Cutler’ motif that played so heavily in the Cutler was offended by trade talks story was Cook’s scam with McNair and Favre. Cooks clients always become slighted in some strange way (some street scams use this technique) before they are traded.
And by splitting up into two halves of the same camp
they try to gain the benefits of “”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausible_deniability" target="new">plausible deniability."
Amnesty, the idea that you can forgive transgressions against you, gives as much to one side, as it does the other. It has the noble quality of bestowing mercy to both parties.
There is no army so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 2, 2009 5:03 AM MDT up reply actions
I thought your first post was clear
but thanks for the additional clarification. i agree completely, I just felt like I needed to ‘officially’ state my purpose to the article, not to rebuff, but get a timestamp on it before it was too late.
Amnesty, the idea that you can forgive transgressions against you, gives as much to one side, as it does the other. It has the noble quality of bestowing mercy to both parties.
There is no army so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
by Jeremy Bolander on Apr 1, 2009 4:46 PM MDT up reply actions
favre and cutler
led the league in interceptions last season. both of their pro-bowl bids are a joke
Favre helped turn a 4-12 team into an 11-5 team..
…and was at or near the top of the league in all QB rankings when he suffered the muscle tear in his throwing arm. Maybe it was too much of “Brett being Brett”, and he should have shut it down at that point, but he was having a great run through the 3/4 pole last season.
11-5?
Umm, the Jets went 9-7 and missed the playoffs…
by Douglas A. Lee on Apr 1, 2009 8:11 PM MDT up reply actions
They won nine?
wow I thought they went 0-16 o wait that was Detroit!
http://www.davusx.net/assets/db/la_la_land.gif
"We should have kept Seattle and dumped San Diego from the Division"
Davis and Sharpe to the Hall!
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Getting Social With MHR
Web Stuff
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Video: Tim Tebow asked to Military Ball by Louisiana Airwoman
- We’ll see how Brandon Jacobs’ football skills translate to the squared circle
- Bill Belichick wore a hoodie to a golf tournament
- Eagles reportedly will franchise DeSean Jackson, but should they?
- Wife of Chargers tackle Tommie Harris dies at 29
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
