This is one of those posts which in a few months I'll look back on and probably realize how big an idiot I am.
Mike Shanahan got fired as head coach and Cutler was unhappy. Cutler requested to have the majority of the offensive coaching staff stay on (understandably, because he's worked with these guys for a few years now). He didn't get what he wanted. Josh McDaniels was hired as the Broncos new head coach. McDaniels got into some preliminary talks regarding a trade for Matt Cassell (McDaniels was New England's offensive coordinator for the last couple of years, and he has a relationship with Cassell). Cutler went pretty much ballistic that McDaniels would consider trading him, and there was a rift. Since then Cutler has declared that he wants to be traded and he will not be happy as a Bronco and he has not returned phone calls (or apparently other forms of communication) from McDaniels or Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen. Yesterday the Broncos finally came out and said that they'll basically honor Cutler's request and are in the market for a trade.
There are those who think Cutler has a right to be angry and are completely on his side in this issue. There are those who think Cutler is a cry baby and he should get over it and play.
I think this: It's true that Cutler was something like 17-20 in his first 2+ seasons as a starter and didn't get his team to the playoffs once. It's also true that those numbers are somewhat misleading since his defense has STUNK since he's been in Denver. In the games where Denver allowed 21 or fewer points Cutler is 13-1 as a starter. It's true that he is one of (if not THE) the best young quarterbacks in the league, and he would be an upgrade for probably 2/3 of NFL teams at the QB position. I don't fault him for being upset at learning that McDaniels was considering trading him.
But all that's past now. There wasn't a trade, and now Cutler is simply being an immature cry-baby. I hate the entitlement issues with professional athletes. Jay has not attended offseason workouts with the team, or the team's first meeting of the year (with the new coach). As I mentioned, he won't return phone calls to his coach or his team's owner. He's basically pouting until he gets his own way. And unfortunately, Denver's giving in. I don't understand it. Denver can't really win in this situation. There's not a trade out there that will be worth it for them. Draft picks aren't good enough, because the highest-drafted quarterbacks every year have so-so success rates in the NFL (in other words, choosing a quarterback in the first round is a crapshoot). There's no other young quarterback who has shown as much promise as Cutler that will be offered either.
If I were Josh McDaniels I'd pull out a copy of Cutler's contract and point to it saying, "Hey Jay, you see your name right here? You see your signature right here? You owe us three more years. You can be pissed off and play like crap for us, you can sit on the bench and rot for three years (guaranteeing that you'll never get another huge contract with anyone), or you can shut the BEEP up, come to our workouts, make yourself better, and lead this team to the postseason."
Anyway, I hope that one of two things will happen. I hope that either a) Cutler gets dealt to some crappy team and never becomes a winner, or b) he gets dealt to the Vikings and they go to the Super Bowl (not cuz I'm a Cutler fan, but because I like the Vikings and he would be one of the last pieces they need to make such a run).
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