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Diner Morning News: Cutler On The Block

Michael Lombardi

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FROM MICHAEL LOMBARDI:

1 April 2009

QUOTE:  “Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working.”  ~ Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

FROM THE DENVER BRONCOS... Denver Broncos President and CEO Pat Bowlen released the following statement: "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.”

Wow, go away for a few days and things change.  The Broncos announced the bombshell news on Tuesday that they’re going to trade Jay Cutler -- not that they’re going to entertain offers or test the market, but as owner Pat Bowlen said, “He is as good as gone.”  No one is safe in Denver.  Bowlen announced that Cutler and the offense were staying the same when he fired Mike Shanahan, then they fired the offensive staff.  He announced that Jim Goodman was his general manager and he was not making any changes there, then he fired Goodman three weeks later and hired Brian Xander.  He comforted Cutler when he fired Mike, and now he’s going to trade Cutler.  Stay on your toes in Denver; things change in a hurry. 

Now the fun begins.  Who can make a deal and has the ability to make a deal?  The Broncos’ front office is a little light in experience and will need to be on top of their game to maximize full value for Cutler.  They have two things going for them in a trade:

1.     A talented young quarterback who can continue to improve as a player. 

2.     A good player under a very modest contract for the next three years.

How can they maximize the true value for Cutler?  Well, for one, they must get a team involved that has a history of being desperate and willing to overpay in any area of their team.  However, this team cannot know that the Broncos will not trade Cutler to them.  They are just the rabbit in the dog race.  All the teams in the AFC competing for Cutler are potential rabbits in this race: the Jets, Browns (they’re looking for a quarterback and have assets to trade), Texans, (Kyle Shanahan is the offensive coordinator), maybe the Jaguars.  As for the NFC, there are strong players, most of them coming from the NFC North: the Bears, Vikings, Lions, then the ‘Skins.  The Panthers should give this some strong consideration but might not have the assets to trade back, as well as the Rams, 49ers and maybe even the Seahawks.  There will be strong competition and there will be some marksmanship required on both sides to pull off a trade. 

The announcement by the Broncos now puts Cutler’s agent, Bus Cook, in control.  Teams that are interested in trading for Cutler are trying to build a relationship with Cook in the hope he can pull the strings that will get his client to the team of his choice. Now, I know this is not within the rules, but it happens all the time.  Cook is fielding calls, and he is right in the middle of the action.  Cutler has done the work to get out of Denver; he is going to be even more persistent to make sure he goes to his preferred team. 

There is always an historical perspective to these trades, and that’s the basis of what teams will ask when trading a player.  However, this is a unique situation and it has two parts: First, what will the Broncos receive? And second, how can they be in position to fortify their quarterback position?  It’s like a pool player who knows he’s going to make one shot but needs the cue ball in the right spot to make his next shot.  For example, let’s assume they want Mark Sanchez. They have to receive a draft pick that will assure them they can get Sanchez to maximize the value of the trade.  The key for anyone knowing where Cutler might be headed is knowing where the Broncos are headed with their quarterback position.  Both moves go hand in hand. The answer lies in the kind of player Josh McDaniels wants playing quarterback in his offense. 

My sense of all this is that it has nothing to do with Cutler returning calls or being belligerent, but rather the Broncos seeing a new player they’ve fallen in love with, i.e., Sanchez.  This is just an educated guess on my part, but something usually happens to change a team’s position, and it normally happens when you find a solution to the problem.  The Broncos have their eyes on someone, and I’m guessing it’s Sanchez since he has all the qualities McDaniels values in a quarterback.  The talk will be about Cutler, but my focus will be on who will play quarterback for the Broncos. 

This afternoon in the Tavern, I’ll break down the teams that might be players in this market. 

Comments

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Jacob
Apr 01, 2009
09:32 AM

As a fan of a team in the AFC North, I hope the Browns don't get him.

But if they did, the AFC North QBs would look like this:

Cutler, Flacco, Palmer, and Roethlisberger.

Those group of guys would form the best division of QBs in the NFL, but I hope it doesn't happen.

S Mann
Apr 01, 2009
09:35 AM

How about they wait until after the draft and then trade him to the team that gets Sanchez (plus future draft picks)

Paul
Apr 01, 2009
09:38 AM

Never confuse hope witha plan Jacob. HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING FROM LOMBARDI!?

shannon J
Apr 01, 2009
09:46 AM

I told you people it was done! TOLD YOU! Cutler is out of Denver and in years to come they will look back at this moment and say we focked up! McDaniel’s will go down as the dumbest and worst coach in Denver's history. Fired in three years! I am willing to bet that his winning percentage as a coach never breaks .500. Trade your franchise QB?? For what??? Was Cassel worth it now??? I'm positive the guys in that locker room are thinking how can I get the heck out of here!! Agents are looking at contracts and as a Chief fan it will be awesome to watch the Bronco's great franchise slip to mediocrity!!!

McDaniel’s is a bum, no different than Crenel or Mangini... all talk and no results!


Here is the deal McDumbass the Chiefs will give you Cassel for Cutler and a 2nd round pick! Make it happen because Cassel is a sophomore season BUST!!!!!!

Bryan J.
Apr 01, 2009
09:55 AM

Jay Cutler is getting traded? Did Ted Thompson have something to do with this?

FRANK
Apr 01, 2009
09:56 AM

I aagree with shannon j on this one, excellent column also. Denver is really going to regret this one. Cutler has huge upside given the right pieces in place. (ie: o-line,wr) Dark days ahead for Denver, maybe they could trade for Kyle Boller!? HA

Steve Simons
Apr 01, 2009
10:06 AM

April Fools? :)

o
Apr 01, 2009
10:08 AM

shannon J,

Denver has been mediocre for a while. Even with Cutler.

Steve In Colorado
Apr 01, 2009
10:13 AM

Great observations as usual Mike. I live in the Denver market and no one has approached this from the perspective that McDaniels has targeted a quarterback of his choice. As for the speculation that the Broncos will regret the decision and Cutler will be great, time will tell. Remember when Delhomme was going to be great? He turned out to be very good but great would be stretching it. Since I'm not a Broncos fan, it's been interesting to see how emotional an issue this has become locally.

OrangeCrushDRipShanny
Apr 01, 2009
10:19 AM

Hmmm.....who else is thinking that Mr. Bowlem maybe should of hired Raheem Morris, you think this bs would be going down, lol!

As a life long Bronco fan I have a real weird feeling and it's not a good one. Only time will tell and I do not try and pass judgement until results are proven but I am not liking the start to the McDaniels era.

shannon J
Apr 01, 2009
10:30 AM

Agents are telling their players in Denver to work hard put up great numbers this year and move on. You will see that in 2010 it will be difficult for Denver to keep the depth player who will have a turn to shine next year after a 3-13 season. Reminds me of Buffalo after Jim Kelly left and the team decided to go without a franchise QB. What happen?? Players like Bryce Paup who had a great year (def player of the year, I think) left. Same will happen in Denver.

It shocks me that the owners and the media have convinced so many that if you worked for the patriots organization you are a football genius. Please someone tell me who left the Patriots organization to a head coach position had massive success?? Anyone???

I'm more impressed with the guys who left Tony Dungy. 2 of his former coaches have made the super bowl and one has won a superbowl. That's success! These are football minds!

2 coaches have left belichick for head coaching jobs and both left their teams in shambles and both have been fired! McDaniel’s a superior coach...I think not. What has he done as a first year coach?? Take a offense that didn't need much tweaking and destroyed it and with a defense that finished at the bottom of the league last year, why would anyone think it's a great and smart move to do that? Get with the program people the patriots are no longer dominate. Just as a reminder they loss the super bowl!! They LOSS!

Cutler will end up in Washington because Schneider is committed unlike anyone I have seen since Jerry Jones in the early 90's to winning a superbowl. It's clear to me that if Cutler goes to Washington they will make the playoffs and will be a tough team to beat, where as the Bronco's will struggle for the next 3 years with Chris Simms and Jason Campbell throwing picks and fumbles every Sunday! This decision to alienate your franchise QB and Trade away a premiere tight end is laughable as the Hershel Walker trade Minnesota did.

Thanks McDumbass for giving the chiefs hope that we will not finish last in the division!

Scot
Apr 01, 2009
10:32 AM

You would certainly hope that the Bronco's have a "plan" in place, and I've heard enough good things about Sanchez to agree with you that he might be an acceptable solution at QB.

At the same time, I assumed that Bowlen had some sort of "plan" in place when he fired Shanahan, and indeed, Bowlen seemed to indicate that he wanted to keep his offensive coaching staff in place. But whether he had this plan or not, he didn't IMPLEMENT the plan, and I think its fair to say that many of the problems with Cutler arose from Cutler's reliance on Bowlen's representations concerning the plan, and subsequent failure to follow through (i.e. letting Jeremy Bates go). It was obvious to anyone paying attention that there was no hope of keeping Jeremy Bates when McDaniels' was hired. McDaniel's wants to run the offense and coach the Quarterback.

I have to admit that I have been critical of Lombardi in the past, because much of his emphasis on "planning" seems devoid of any meaningful context. But I can't imagine a better case study than this for what can go wrong when your actions are inconsistent with a reasonable implementation of your plan. Bowlen apparently didn't consider any factors of "human nature" while implementing his plan, and merely assumed that everything would fall in place, either with McDaniels keeping the offensive staff, or Cutler accepting Bowlen's misrepresentations and moving on.

What a freaking mess.

On the other hand, good luck in Detroit, Mr. Cutler. I'm sure you will love the nightlife and balmy winters.

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