It’s official: QB Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos are getting a divorce.

[ratsportrm]

My Internet was down last night, still was down early this morning and I had a dentist appointment... so it's no surprise there are a ton of posts in regards to this subject when I get here.

So I don't have time to respond to everything, but I will say this:

If Cutler isn't willing to mend fences and continues to have his feelings hurt because he was in a trade talk discussion, that's his problem.

If Cutler would rather spend more time listening to Bus Cook than hearing what Josh McDaniels has to say, that's Cutler's problem.

Therefore, if Cutler makes it clear only his agent's words count any more, he can take his ball and go play somewhere else.

Elway may not have liked Reeves. He never got to the point, though, that he refused to speak to anybody in the franchise. He learned to "get along" with Reeves. Ditto Favre with Mike Holmgren. Ditto Bradshaw with Chuck Noll, when Bradshaw could have easily told Noll off after he took over the team and led them to that first Super Bowl.

Oh, but then there was Favre complaining he didn't really want to retire. Packer fans complained and made it be known they wanted Favre to start. Didn't happen... and while the Packers struggled this year, it was mostly on the defense's shoulders, plus the running game not being there... but Aaron Rodgers performed very well.

We may have adjustments to make on defense. We may have to make adjustments on our running game. But we'll find a passer, be it Chris Simms, Jason Campbell, Brady Quinn or whoever else it is that takes over. We have a quality offensive line and a good corp of wide receivers, so in time, I have faith and confidence that the Broncos will improve.

For the naysayers out there who live and die by what the quarterback does or doesn't do for a franchise, you are entitled to your opinion... but the bottom line is, no player is above the team. If Cutler wasn't above the team, he might grumble about the trade talk in private conversation, but when asked publicly about it, he'd say "no comment" and tell his agent to butt out.

But he didn't, did he?

So I shed no tears for Cutler parting ways with the franchise. And I'm still a Bronco fan, through and through.

Here's to the next era of the Denver Broncos.

[ratsportrm]

And can we please stop with the following red herrings:

Former Pro Bowl QB: So was Brian Griese. More to the point, the Pro Bowl is meaningless. Fans vote for their favorite players, the players themselves admit they tend to vote for names they recognize, so there's two-thirds of the equations that doesn't always vote for the best players.

Former first-round pick: Do I even need to get into this one?

The defense was bad and we had no running game: Aaron Rodgers had the same situation in Green Bay and he performed very well for his first season. In fact, I'd bet Rodgers would not only post the same numbers playing for Denver last season, but we might hvae actually won a couple more games because he was far less mistake prone than Cutler.

Franchise QBs mean Super Bowl dynasties: In this day and age, Super Bowl dynasties are tougher to come by. You might argue the Patriots have one, but it's not a clear-cut case like the Niners of the 80s and the Steelers of the 70s. And how well have most franchise QBs done in terms of Super Bowl wins? The only two with more than one ring are Ben Roethlisberger (who doesn't post monster numbers) and Tom Brady (who is now coming off an injury). Kurt Warner, the former Arena Football player and grocery bagger, has one and others have eluded him. Peyton Manning has one Super Bowl trip to his credit, Drew Brees has one playoff trip... need I go on?

Just once, I'd like to see rock solid evidence (not speculation or comparison) that the end of the franchise is near if Cutler is dealt. Next season, we may finish 8-8 again (just as Mike Shanahan did his first season as head coach), but in the long run, I bet we'll be better off for it... and we may find our franchise QB in some other player.

[ratsportrm]

Oh, and it's funny how McDaniels texts Cutler asking him to talk, McDaniels gets reamed over the coals for this sorry way of communicating, but apparently the media is communicating with Cutler through texting.

[Harkov]

yes, we know you're loving this obi

[ratsportrm]

It's song dedication time for Cutler. I do this because I'm not that good at Photoshop.

To the tune of "Hit the Road Jack."

Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more. (What you say?)
Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more.

Woo! Coach, oh coach, don't treat me so mean,
You're the meanest young coach that I've ever seen.
I guess if you say you want Cassell
Then things to the media I'll tell. (So what?)

Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more.

Now Bowlen, listen Bowlen, don't-a treat me this-a way
For I'll be back a franchise QB some day.

Don't care if you do 'cause it's understood
You won't talk to me unless you have your Cook

You won't ride my Bus, and if that's so
I have to pack my things and go. (Good bye!)

Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.
Hit the road Jay and don't you come back no more.
Don't you come back no more.

[bud]

Shanahan won one more game than the previous season. The defense improved to 15th. He also found a running attack.

Shanahan inherited a Broncos team with many of the same flaws as McDaniels. I expect production and progress.

[obi-groo]

Originally Posted by Harkov

yes, we know you're loving this obi

Who....ME???!!!!?????

[ratsportrm]

Broncos won't lose much if they trade Cutler.

Jay Cutler’s success in Denver has been blown way out of proportion, and new coach Josh McDaniels was right to have questions about the fourth-year quarterback.

Cutler earned a Pro Bowl berth in 2008 based on his 4,526 passing yards. But in more important metrics, namely wins (8-8) and TD-to-INT differential (25-to-18), Cutler came up short.

Many of Cutler’s biggest yardage games ended up in the loss column -- the Broncos were 3-4 when he threw for more than 300 yards. Denver’s turnstile defense upped the tempo of the game and gave Cutler plenty of opportunities to gain yards in between the 20s, even if those yards didn’t do much to help the Broncos win.

Cutler also benefited from a defensively challenged schedule last season. Thanks in large part to his porous AFC West competition, Cutler faced defenses that ranked in the NFL’s bottom 10 in a majority of his games. The highest-ranked defense he faced all year was No. 9 Tampa Bay. Cutler may think twice about wanting to leave Denver when he looks at the schedules of the teams interested in him.

Cutler also might find life tougher outside of Mike Shanahan’s offense. Shanahan’s offense regularly landed near the top spot in total yardage throughout his years in Denver. Cutler gained more passing yards than his predecessors, but that’s mainly because all the injuries to the Denver running backs over the last two seasons forced Shanahan to go to the air more than he would have liked. While Cutler did a decent job in that offense, Shanahan probably could have found a lot of quarterbacks capable of putting up big numbers.

McDaniels may be young, but he’s been around a fantastic quarterback his whole career and knows what it takes to succeed at that position. If he wasn’t sold on Cutler, that should make other teams around the NFL nervous. For all the highlight-worthy passes Cutler made, McDaniels had to wince at the mental mistakes and forced throws that burned the Broncos last season.

It’s probably not an accident that the teams reportedly interested in Cutler all have iffy track records when it comes to evaluating the position -- take, for example, the Bucs, 49ers, Jets, Lions and Redskins. Big arms or big stats have fooled all of those teams in the recent past. Now, as they try to put together the right offer to land Cutler, they’re lining up to make the same mistake again.

[Harkov]

I hope more people do not make such accurate comments about Cutler's game...we'll get nothing for the guy

[Harkov]

ok...so I've stood by most everything McD & Bowlen have done to this point

In a statement released last night by the Broncos, team owner Pat Bowlen said that “numerous attempts to contact Jay Cutler in the last 10 days, both by head coach Josh McDaniels and myself, have been unsuccessful.”

Cutler’s camp says that’s just not so.

Sources close to Culter told NFL.com senior columnist Thomas George today that the quarterback contends he has not received any such calls from the Broncos.

Sources close to Bowlen responded to George in five words: “We have the phone records.”

George’s full column on the Cutler-Broncos situation will appear on NFL.com this afternoon. NFL.com senior columnist Vic Carucci’s breakdown of the most likely suitors for Cutler can be found here.

Now, I know it's just a 'source close to Bowlen', but why would you even reply? Just say, we're trying to accommodate his request to be traded. Simple as that, don't go getting into another 'he said/she said' bit with him. Hell, do we want to have a press conference where Bowlen puts the phone records up on the overhead projector?? We should be painting Cutler as the QB anyone would want on their team, leading their franchise to glory for the next decade...wait till AFTER we trade him to go on the public smear campaign

[burnettfab56223]

scenario/wishfull thinking farve comes back for 1 year to take over the void left by whinebag/cutler and grooms sanchez....just a thought

[Harkov]

Originally Posted by burnettfab56223

scenario/wishfull thinking farve comes back for 1 year to take over the void left by whinebag/cutler and grooms sanchez....just a thought

Favre would have to get a new agent

[0broncofan0]

Originally Posted by zambini15

heck, trade his sorry butt to the raiders, I would love the chance to cream his arse 2 times a year !
just as important to me as what we get for him is where we send him !
a 3 way with cleveland and detroit would be sweet !

Trade him to the raiders! He will be kicking ours for the next ten years. Trade with an NFC team...

[zambini15]

Originally Posted by Harkov

ok...so I've stood by most everything McD & Bowlen have done to this point

Now, I know it's just a 'source close to Bowlen', but why would you even reply? Just say, we're trying to accommodate his request to be traded. Simple as that, don't go getting into another 'he said/she said' bit with him. Hell, do we want to have a press conference where Bowlen puts the phone records up on the overhead projector?? We should be painting Cutler as the QB anyone would want on their team, leading their franchise to glory for the next decade...wait till AFTER we trade him to go on the public smear campaign

I understand the desire at this point to not devalue JC, but TWICE now, JC and his agent have so much as called BOWLEN a LIAR !
this is the same guy that many of his now detractors, dude and scar, once called the best owner in all of sports!
25 years down the drain on the word of a greedy agent and punk QB !
I dont blame Bowlen for being livid !
and just maybe, JC has been hood-winked by his OWN agent in this whole drama, just like yoko ono controlled all the info coming to john lennon and drove a wedge beteen him and his beatle mates !
COOK is the devil !
cutler at the very least, an idiot.
they deserve each other and a steak dinner in detroit !
I hope these april fools have ruined cutlers career for LIFE !
I beleive BOWLENwhen he says for the last 10 days he was unavble to reach cutler!
and cutlers denials are nothing more than the same BS I would expect from a guy who first uttered the phrase "TRADE" then got offended when he was discussed in a trade scenario !
says he plays for his teammates, what a pile of rancid dog meat !

floyd little got FIRED in the middle of a game!
he stayed and played and helped his team win !

floyd was a man, he was a football player and he played as a bronco his entire career !
why his image is not part of our FREAK logo is beyond me, the fact that #6 is still on display is %^&%%$# infuriating !

[HolyDiver]

Originally Posted by ratsportrm

Oh, and it's funny how McDaniels texts Cutler asking him to talk, McDaniels gets reamed over the coals for this sorry way of communicating, but apparently the media is communicating with Cutler through texting.

Texting works for Adam Shefter.

[CasinoRoyal]

Originally Posted by zambini15

cutler was the first to ask for a trade, he never allowed any chance at reconsilliation!
JMCD was just an easy target for a petulant QB and a greedy agent to broker a trade out of town and get a new contract worth more $$$
hurt feelings, are you kiddingme/
you quit your friends and teammates over hurt feelings?
huge pile of dog squat !
refuse to talk to your employer, a guy who has paid yopu MILLIONS?
I cant beleive some of you guys say you will actually root for this punk!
i wish for nothing but the worst for cutler,the jeff george of the new millenium!
bigger crybabay than ryan leaf
Pack your losing record and multi turnover games and get the heck out of town !
sell your homes at a loss, write off your lost bonus. and take your BS about teammates, freinds and adopted city to some new clown town,we dont need your kind 'round here, better off without you and your childish drama !
good riddense !

OH My Gosh!!! Your soooo right, this is purely about money and not caring if he wins or not,. Noway you walk out on your friends and teammates you love over hurt feeling....Noway in hell do you say ( i dont play for the coaches anyway i play for the teammates and then walk away) Jays a joke for that

[Harkov]

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_12051237

If the quarterback for the Broncos required a million-dollar throwing arm, then Jay Cutler's next drive would not be out of town, with his two-bit, nobody-loves-me attitude packed in the trunk.

What the heck does brash new Denver coach Josh McDaniels want in a QB?

The right stuff that Cutler stubbornly and mistakenly expected his new boss to take on faith.

So go away mad, Jay-C.

It's what you do best, whether feuding with San Diego Chargers rival Philip Rivers or feeling dissed by McDaniels.

The next Broncos quarterback might not have the talent of Cutler, but, in victory and defeat, he will exhibit the winning traits prized by McDaniels:

1) The football family values instilled in Chris Simms

2) Toughness Brady Quinn forged from the heat of criticism

3) A championship tradition that shaped USC's Mark Sanchez

Let's cut through all the "J's of our Lives" melodrama and get down to the real nitty-gritty of why Cutler was not meant to play for McDaniels.

We love what we know.

From the beginning, McDaniels and Cutler never saw enough they liked to form the trusting relationship needed by an NFL coach and his quarterback.

What McDaniels knew to be as good as championship gold in New England were these traits in a quarterback: unflappable poise, the humility to take what the defense gives and acceptance of criticism in the pursuit of victory.

For all his obvious physical gifts, self-reliance and refusal to surrender, Cutler is cursed by a thin skin and a thick head.

Despite studying at the Southeastern Conference's brainiac university and passing the Wonderlic test with flying colors, Cutler was not smart enough to act like a championship quarterback.

Let's go to the videotape for proof.

During a 33-19 loss to Kansas City in September, Cutler came unglued in the third quarter, all because a journeyman receiver named Cliff Russell made a mistake on a pass route, resulting in an incompletion.

During a timeout the anger was written in red on Cutler's face. He was spitting mad.

Hey, stuff happens. An NFL quarterback is paid big bucks to manage a crisis, not melt down.

But, when the Broncos returned to the field, Cutler threw two interceptions in the team's next four offensive snaps, committing the turnovers within a span of 60 seconds that saw Denver unravel in a revealing defeat to a truly awful AFC West opponent.

The New England offensive system known and loved by McDaniels requires its quarterback to adapt and change from week to week to exploit the weakness of a given defense, rather than take the dare-stop-me approach championed in Denver by Cutler and John Elway before him.

Anybody who has seen Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the jubilation of a championship or accept the heartbreak of an undefeated season's magic going poof has been impressed by a true pro with the humility of a former sixth-round draft choice who genuinely does not believe he's entitled to anything from anybody.

McDaniels is going to require his quarterback to do more than manage a game. He will ask him to set a tone that nothing can shake the Broncos' focus or dent the team's mental toughness.

My favorite very Brady moment is not a touchdown pass, but the unflappable smile he wore at the epicenter of Super Bowl media day madness, when a Latino actress dressed in a wedding dress shouted a wedding proposal at the quarterback.

Nah, Brady replied with an aw-shucks shrug of his shoulders, politely telling his suitor he was already taken.

If a trade lands Cutler in New York with the Jets, let's see the tabloid headline he inspires upon rolling his eyes and checking his cellphone for text messages in response to the first question he deems as stupid in defeat.

Cutler threw away the support of franchise owner Pat Bowlen and lost the trust of McDaniels because a hot- headed quarterback lost his cool once too often in the face of pressure.

It's 15 minutes until the NFL draft, the clock is ticking on Denver to trade Cutler, and we all know Brady ain't walking through that door at Dove Valley.

So the task for McDaniels is to find a quarterback who wants to be here and is willing to deal with the hassles of a town where football is treated like religion, but the congregation has been known to stand up when things are going badly on Sunday to shout a four-letter word other than "Amen."

Bless the man crazy enough to take the job.

In Denver, playing quarterback is as much a test of character as football skill.

[ratsportrm]

Mr. Armstrong, ladies and gentlemen.

One more time, Pat Bowlen. You sure you don't want to hire a general manager before you hire a coach?

Bowlen was asked that question at a news conference several weeks ago. His answer? No, it's all good in the personnel department. Jim Goodman was going to handle those decisions and Josh McDaniels was going to coach the team.

All righty then.

Bowlen is one of the few NFL owners left who empowers his head coach to make all the decisions regarding football operations. You wonder, if Bowlen had adopted the GM-first method, whether the Broncos would be in the mess in which they find themselves today.

It's called checks and balances. If the Broncos had had a GM in place before hiring McDaniels, it's doubtful that J-Mac would have been allowed to float Jay Cutler's name on the trade market.

Instead, Bowlen hired McDaniels and essentially gave him a blank check. We can't be sure, of course, but it's looking more and more like McDaniels wanted to make a run at Matt Cassel all along.

Word out of Dove Valley is that Bowlen didn't know about the Cutler trade talks, that he found out just before the rest of the world did. It was a McDaniels-Brian Xanders call from the get-go.

We're left to wonder if Bowlen, who had called Cutler "the man around here" just a few weeks earlier, was upset upon hearing that his Pro Bowl quarterback was being shopped. But there's no doubt about this part of the story: Bowlen was downright angry about how Cutler handled it.

This notion that Bowlen has been in Cutler's corner in recent weeks? Not a chance. McDaniels wanted to work things out. It was Bowlen who was growing more frustrated by the day.

It's no coincidence that Bowlen was doing the talking in Tuesday's press release, the one that said the Broncos would be dumping Cutler. But if he's looking for someone to blame, he might want to start with himself.

If the call was made by both McDaniels and Xanders, what makes a difference as to who got hired first?