Horse Tracks 7/26/09 - Camp tomorrow; lots of great reading today!

and the Legwold article on Ayers that was a good read also.

Totally agree.

and 3 are on the East Coast. I smell ratings bias.

Giving up 47 sacks doesn’t get them into my top 5,

This is just an excuse to preserve sources (i.e., Rocky Mountain News) which are hard to come by.
[SEE YOU AT THE BOTTOM]

Cutler on Shanahan firing: ‘I’m not pleased with it at all’
By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published December 30, 2008 at 5:31 p.m.
Updated December 30, 2008 at 5:31 p.m.

ENGLEWOOD — Broncos owner Pat Bowlen stunned people across the NFL Tuesday by letting Mike Shanahan go.

And count a surprised, angered quarterback in Jay Cutler among them.

"I’m disappointed, I’m shocked, I’m not happy about it, I’m not pleased with it at all," Cutler said by phone Tuesday. "We had zero inkling this was going to happen. I didn’t have a clue."

Cutler said he met with Shanahan for about 30 minutes Monday before leaving town to discuss offseason plans as well as the direction the offense would take in the 2009 season.

This year, Cutler was selected for his first Pro Bowl after he set single-season franchise records in passing yards (4,526), total offense (4,726 yards), attempts (616) and completions (384) to go with 25 touchdowns, which tied him for the third-highest single-season total in Broncos history.

Cutler compiled those totals despite the team’s injury woes at running back. The Broncos placed seven running backs on injured reserve this season, five of whom had started at least one game.

It resulted in the lowest rushing total — 1,862 yards — in Shanahan’s 14-year tenure as the team’s coach. The previous low had been 1,864 yards in 1999 when the Broncos finished 6-10.

"I think with the offensive staff we had, we were moving ahead," Cutler said. "I had just met with Mike to go over everything, talk about the things we wanted to do, make sure we were going the right way on offense."

Cutler was particularly interested to hear what the fate of current quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates would be. Bates just finished his first year as the team’s play caller on game day.

Bates also recently turned down an offer from Lane Kiffin to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee after Shanahan had extended Bates’ contract for two more seasons, through 2011.

"And he had an option to go to Tennessee, and maybe that’s still on the table for him," Cutler said. "But to lose all of our offensive coaches, too, that would be a big thing. Guys like Jeremy (Bates), (receivers coach Jedd) Fisch, that would be a step back for us, in my mind."

Already Tuesday, rumors were running rampant through the league the Broncos were going to seek a replacement with a background in offense to continue grooming Cutler.

The quarterback was the team’s top draft pick in 2006 and Shanahan said last week he believed Cutler’s season had been "incredible" and that the 25-year-old had the makeup "to win big games and be the kind of guy people in Denver are going to be happy to have for a long, long time."

"I hope it all works out," Cutler said. "But I know I’m disappointed, I’m not happy, and it’s a lot to think about. I just want to continue the things were able to do this year on offense and get better all the time."

I wanted to post this before it became irretrievable. The RMN site is no longer accessible.

Part of the reason McDaniels was accused of being a liar by many fans was because Cutler said he was one. Cutler’s accusation was never proved, moreover. his agent, Bus Cook, told a different story. Cook specifically stated that he did not know if Denver was trying to trade Cutler, but he went on to speculate about the dire consequences if Denver had been trying to trade him. There are many things I could say at this point but what’s significant here is that Cook, a lawyer who could be disbarred for lying, is sticking the facts as they were known while Cutler didn’t have have to.

One other significant article that I’ve yet to post is an interview with McDaniels on NFL.com:

http://bit.ly/pxRMG

The question of how Cutler came to believe that there was an attempted trade (attempted in the sense that it was discussed) is answered here:

McDaniels also said it wasn’t true he didn’t clue in Cutler to the trade talks that sparked this firestorm. The coach said he informed Cutler and his agent, Bus Cook, on Feb. 28 that he had received a phone call that morning asking if he’d be willing to part with the quarterback in a three-way deal.

“That morning, we told them that there were some people that had called about an issue with Cassel, that we had talked to them, that we did not initiate the contact, that that’s where it stood,” McDaniels told The AP.

The new reports placed the trade discussions in this time frame, and the news became public when Cutler and Cook immediately responded by asking Denver for permission to negotiate with other clubs on their own. Adam Schefter’s report is also produced on this day [ALSO HERE]. Also, the Broncos immediately announce on that afternoon that although there have been reports, the Broncos have no interest in trading Cutler. LINK

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen declined an interview request Sunday. The team’s official stance is that McDaniels addressed the matter to The Denver Post on Saturday [February, 28] and will issue no further comment. – Denver Post, March 2, 2009

Curiously, when asked about McDaniels’ statement that he informed Cook and Cutler of the trade talks shortly after they occurred, in a phone call on Saturday, February 28, 2009, Cook denies there was any contact.

Last month, Cook told The AP he hadn’t been informed of the trade talks right away. He didn’t return a phone message Friday.

There is no question that Cook heard of the news at this time, since he immediately reacts by requesting permission to talk to other teams, and then holds a press conference on Monday (?), so there’s no question that Cook found out at this time. However, Cook has never stated how he learned of the trade talks and has instead insisted that he merely heard rumors. LINK.

“I heard the rumors like everybody else, and I placed a call to the Broncos,” — Cook, March, 1, 2009

I’ve written on this subject many times; the piece of evidence that I wanted to preserve was the RMN’s original article in which Cutler states his dissatisfaction at the time of Shanahan’s firing, and ‘tips his hand’ over how he’ll react if the coaches aren’t retained. That line of argument is eventually settled on before his trade to Chicago, and becomes his and Cook’s prime reason for why the falling out between he and the Broncos developed.

before i read the comments on the DP
when i make a million dollars im gonna make sure MHR is circulated to the homes of the naysayers untill the end of time!

I was angered by some of the comments by so called Denver fans I saw on the DP. Now I’m not a Kool aid drinker, and I have concerns about the overall talent level of our team….

…but to actively root against the team to see McD fail before he has even coached a single game. It’s insane and perverse. Surely we all want our team to win – not lose so we can fire the coach who we have no real idea about yet. Crazy. Therre was one fan (who claimed to have been supporting the Broncos since the 70s) claiming that he would even root for the Raiders against Denver in order to see McD fired. I was tempted to call him out, but people like that have lost any sense of rationality. So I guess here was no point.

Anyway boy am I hoping to be proved wrong in September. And I do think McD has done an excellent job so far. He has inspired a lot of confidence in me and I think the team is going in the right direction. In the meantime hopefully the next few years will sort out the fairweather fans from the real ones.

if I hear him call the coach “McKid” one more time.

BUT….. just give it time. I’m sure this was a rare moment of lucidity for Kisla and most likely will not last. He’ll undoubtedly once again be worthy of our scorn and condemnation soon enough. But for today, yes, he deserve props for that article. I hope Broncos fans who aren’t lucky enough to have found MHR read it and take it to heart.

And no, I don’t think there’s a problem yet. While this year it’s Xanders and not Goodman (who had a strong record of getting everyone signed and in camp on time), there are a lot of factors that cause this ‘wait till the last minute’ signings. And, personally, I don’t think this year is any different, as has been seen by the news of a number of players signing over the last day or so. There are no guarantees, but I strongly feel that everyone will be signed and in camp on time (or worst case scenario you have a holdout or two, but they’re in camp within a week or less).

Comparing Bears to Broncos isn’t exactly apples to apples. And I’m more than comfortable with what we have on the field, given everything that’s gone down over the past three years.

As for me, I’m doing my best to resist the urge toward schadenfreude I’ve been feeling since Cut left. Looking back, I just don’t think he wanted to play here for anyone but Shanahan. It’s no mystery really. I’m not rooting for him anymore, but I’m not going to heap evil thoughts upon him, either. I was loyal to Shanny in my day, as well.

This morning as I headed out for my regular hike up the goat trail near my home, MOOSE-FM played a nice cover of The Times They Are a Changin’. Having just digested Kisla’s article, the song really resonated. It’s time to start a new legend in Denver. We have a long way to go, but what we are doing now is, for better or for worse, the first chapter. I’m glad we’re getting started. Go Broncos!