Cutler/McDaniels talk apparently a bust

[The Mucca]

I hope Cutler demands a trade. McDaniels has a Belichek ego, but not his coaching or people credentials.

He will ruin this franchise.

[piratesownninjas]

I hope Cutler demands a trade. McDaniels has a Belichek ego, but not his coaching or people credentials.

He will ruin this franchise.

Cutler needs to realize that he's not bigger than the team. This guy is turning into the qb version or T.O.

I root for failure.

[MikesVikes]

If Cutler refuses to report and holds out, I'd like Bowlen to fire the HC and void his contract (not pay him) for conduct detrimental to the team. If it's too late to bring in a new HC, like Russ Grimm, then give the reigns to Mike Nolan as interim for the year and move him back to DC in 2010. Maybe bring in Marty Schottenheimer as Exec VP.

 

Is Pat Bowlen registered on the Huddle? I'd like to send him a PM.

 

I don't know how any owner could run a team without a little Huddle knowledge. Unless he had a person under him to do all that.

[MTSuper7]

Denver is having a very busy and very strange off season. As strange as any I can ever remember... I'm thinking 5-11 in '09.

[Bronco Billy]

I think that's borderline for getting the new HC fired.

 

You're going to ask Bowlen to fire the guy he hand picked to replace Shanahan after only 1 year? Good luck with that. McDaniels would have to lose 13+ games and have the team mutiny on him - not that he hasn't got a running start on that with the way he has treated Cutler, the heavy handed way he has acted, and that it is possible that the D will actually be worse than last year's version.

[Jrick35]

There are two primary people involved in making a statement about the trade situation:

1. new HC McDaniels who comes from the Patriots way of say what you want, do what you want, we're untouchable.

2. Cutler's agent, Bus Cook, who has an outstanding reputation in not starting or spreading rumors and only listens to people that are reliable.

 

Based on history, I'm far more likely to believe the agent.

 

Cutler definitely needs to grow up, but in this case, he's mostly right and the Broncos management/HC handled this very poorly.

 

You may be right, McDaniels may have lied. But I think this issue goes deeper. I think opinions are being formed about McDaniels based on him having been on Belichecks (sp) staff.

 

My point is neither sides stories have been substantiated beyond the opinion of the reader.

 

I, for one, am willing to take a wait and see attitude. I say don't hang McDaniels out to dry before he has coached even one game. Has he mis-handled this situation, maybe, but what coach hasn't mis-handled a player? But usually he isn't persecuted after his first offense.

[Bronco Billy]

I, for one, am willing to take a wait and see attitude. I say don't hang McDaniels out to dry before he has coached even one game. Has he mis-handled this situation, maybe, but what coach hasn't mis-handled a player? But usually he isn't persecuted after his first offense.

 

He gets what's coming to him when he deals with the franchise QB the way he has. A new HC is easier to find than a new QB when the QB is as young as Cutler and has his ability.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

He gets what's coming to him when he deals with the franchise QB the way he has. A new HC is easier to find than a new QB when the QB is as young as Cutler and has his ability.

Cutler said the meeting didn't go as hoped, according to the NFL source, adding that McDaniels reiterated no one is untradable for the sake of improving the team and that the quarterback was expected to report for the team's offseason conditioning program that begins Monday. Offseason conditioning workouts are — by de-finition — "voluntary," but players understand coaches expect them to attend.

 

According to the source close to the Broncos, McDaniels said only that the team looked forward to seeing Cutler on Monday.

 

BB, is this what has you upset? Not looking to argue, just wondering. Does'nt seem that bad to me. I root for a team that has been treating their players with kid gloves for a while now and what has it gotten them? Mediocrity at best.

I see nothing wrong with what your new HC has said...unless I'm missing something.

Edited March 11, 2009 by HowboutthemCowboys

[piratesownninjas]

adding that McDaniels reiterated no one is untradable for the sake of improving the team

If someone was going to offer something stupid like the Herschel Walker deal, then you have to listen.

[Skilly]

The most shocking element of this situation is that these parties felt that this situation could be handled with a conference call.........a friggin conference call!! Pat, get your coach and GM on a plane, fly to Cutler, and straighten this mess out like men. There has to be some compromise on both parts. I'm confused as hell about all of this......McGruber needs to lose the God-complex and Baby-Jay needs to grow up.

 

If the Broncos were really serious about getting Cassel, then just trade Cutler already and be done with it. It doesn't matter........McGruber won't win any more games than Shanny with this attitude (and I'll also put out there that I think the spread offense is just a gimmick; a running team with a solid defense will beat you every time) and Cutler seems incapable of growing up and handling the pressure. Can you imagine if Jay was traded to the Jets??? New York would eat him alive with fava beans.

 

I'm just disgusted.

[HowboutthemCowboys]

If someone was going to offer something stupid like the Herschel Walker deal, then you have to listen.

Of course. And the Walker deal was a great one.

[whomper]

Cutler needs to get the sand out of his vag. It's a business and players come up in trade talks every single day, even the Pro Bowl players.

 

 

[budlitebrad]

An observation from Pat Kirwan:

 

Have you noticed how a number of new regimes around the NFL seem to be making their players uncomfortable? I spent an offseason with Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick when they came to the New York Jets and they were masters of getting the attention of their players by taking them out of their comfort zone.

 

It isn't surprising to me that their disciples -- Scott Pioli, Eric Mangini and Josh McDaniels -- are doing the very same thing. Pioli is sending a message to the veterans on his team by not wasting time letting players like Brian Waters come to his office to spell out a case to be traded or released. Mangini has been in Cleveland less than two months, and already DT Shaun Rogers is reported to be asking for his release. But before Mangini addressed that issue, he went ahead and traded TE Kellen Winslow, and mentioned that he may be luke warm about QB Brady Quinn. Players in Cleveland are uncomfortable to say the least. They can probably relate to those players in Denver, where McDaniels took some players out of their comfort zone when it got out that Jay Cutler might have been on the trade block for a short period of time.

 

Parcells and Belichick taught these men how to start a new project in the NFL. The first message to the players is, 'I'm not your friend. I will run this team the way I want, not the way you want.'

[Swiss Cheezhead]

That was my opinion... before McD started back pedaling and said they didn't try to trade him.

 

Well there's that, plus the fact that none of these "disciples" have proved anything whatsoever. I'd argue that Jay Cutler, Brian Waters and Shaun Rogers have each proven more as players than Weis, Crennel, Mangini and McDaniels have proven as coaches -- combined.

[Azazello1313]

Well there's that, plus the fact that none of these "disciples" have proved anything whatsoever. I'd argue that Jay Cutler, Brian Waters and Shaun Rogers have each proven more as players than Weis, Crennel, Mangini and McDaniels have proven as coaches -- combined.

 

yeah, seems like belichick's ego rubbed off but not much else.

[Bronco Billy]

BB, is this what has you upset? Not looking to argue, just wondering. Does'nt seem that bad to me. I root for a team that has been treating their players with kid gloves for a while now and what has it gotten them? Mediocrity at best.

I see nothing wrong with what your new HC has said...unless I'm missing something.

 

No, what bothers me about this new McDaniels/Xanders regime is: 1) They have made a dramatic change on one side of the ball but have completely ignored what is arguably the most important facet of that D system - a credible D line, 2) That they even listened for even one second to any talks of a Cutler/Cassel exchange, 3) They have gone out of their way to piss off the team's franchise QB and have given that QB the impression that they will willingly lie to his face, and 4) They haven't done a damn thing on the field and yet appear to have a swagger/"my way or the highway" posturing like they are the next coming.

 

Everyone who remotely knows me at this board knows that I have not been a Shanahan fan for the past 6+ years, but I'm starting to think that his past decade of mediocrity may end up looking pretty damn good here after this coming season and the immediate future beyond.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Bronco Billy

[Avernus]

No, what bothers me about this new McDaniels/Xanders regime is: 1) They have made a dramatic change on one side of the ball but have completely ignored what is arguably the most important facet of that D system - a credible D line, 2) That they even listened for even one second to any talks of a Cutler/Cassel exchange, 3) They have gone out of their way to piss off the team's franchise QB and have given that QB the impression that they will willingly lie to his face, and 4) They haven't done a damn thing on the field and yet appear to have a swagger/"my way or the highway" posturing like they are the next coming.

 

Everyone who remotely knows me at this board knows that I have not been a Shanahan fan for the past 6+ years, but I'm starting to think that his past decade of mediocrity may end up looking pretty damn good here after this coming season and the immediate future beyond.

 

 

exactly, think about when you are at work and you know your boss is slimy as anything...you lose faith and trust in their methods and it makes it become a lot harder to buy into the organizations system....

 

I mean, your boss can be strict and earn your respect....and that's the way to go about it...

 

I just have never heard of a team having a franchise QB heading into his 3rd or 4th year and being dangled like that for no reason.....AND allowing him to find out about it on top of it....

 

and what I mean by "for no reason" is he hasn't been in trouble with the law or self-destructive to the locker room ...

[Bronco Billy]

I've got to be candid - I have a feeling that McDaniels is going to drive Cutler elsewhere to 1) Show everyone who exactly is the boss in DEN, and 2) to show everyone what a genius he is by installing a new QB and having that QB run his system flawlessly.

 

The problem I have with this is that I happen to think Cutler is the real deal, and once he matures will be capable of being a top 5 QB for the next decade or more. You don't find those kinds of guys very often, and DEN would be incredibly lucky to have found 2 of them in the past 25 years. To see him go to another team and run up his numbers would be extremely disheartening - even worse might be the damage done to the franchise if it has to go through a QB drought like DET, CHI, or MIN among other teams has while searching for their next franchise QB.

 

Add to that the circus that is currently going on with the D and with the departure of Cutler the team could easily be relegated to CIN/CLE or even DET status in short order and may take a decade or longer to recover - all to cowtow to this wunderkind coach's ego.

 

I've seen nothing that shows me that McDaniels remotely knows what he's doing so far. His FA signings have been to say the least completely underwhelming, and his arrogance so far in the press is astounding. He's clearly following the Belichek model, but that hasn't worked well for any of the guys who have spun off from the NE system to become HCs elsewhere. I almost wonder if he hasn't been planted here by Belichek to ruin the Broncos, since Belichek can't seem to beat them on his own, and once the dirty work is done he'll welcome McDaniels back into the Patriot fold with open arms and a hugh bonus for a job well done.

[Randall]

I've got to be candid - I have a feeling that McDaniels is going to drive Cutler elsewhere to 1) Show everyone who exactly is the boss in DEN, and 2) to show everyone what a genius he is by installing a new QB and having that QB run his system flawlessly.

 

The problem I have with this is that I happen to think Cutler is the real deal, and once he matures will be capable of being a top 5 QB for the next decade or more. You don't find those kinds of guys very often, and DEN would be incredibly lucky to have found 2 of them in the past 25 years. To see him go to another team and run up his numbers would be extremely disheartening - even worse might be the damage done to the franchise if it has to go through a QB drought like DET, CHI, or MIN among other teams has while searching for their next franchise QB.

 

Add to that the circus that is currently going on with the D and with the departure of Cutler the team could easily be relegated to CIN/CLE or even DET status in short order and may take a decade or longer to recover - all to cowtow to this wunderkind coach's ego.

 

I've seen nothing that shows me that McDaniels remotely knows what he's doing so far. His FA signings have been to say the least completely underwhelming, and his arrogance so far in the press is astounding. He's clearly following the Belichek model, but that hasn't worked well for any of the guys who have spun off from the NE system to become HCs elsewhere. I almost wonder if he hasn't been planted here by Belichek to ruin the Broncos, since Belichek can't seem to beat them on his own, and once the dirty work is done he'll welcome McDaniels back into the Patriot fold with open arms and a hugh bonus for a job well done.

 

 

I'm watching from a distance but I agree completely. It's almost as though he thinks acting like Belichick (without being successful yet) will bring the same results.

[Whiskey Pimp]

You guys are making this sound like McDaniels is doing all of this on his own and is going to single-handedly ruin the franchise. Don't you think Bowlen is a big part of this? I mean I can't see McDaniels doing all of this on his own and the owner just goes along with it without any input.

[Bronco Billy]

You guys are making this sound like McDaniels is doing all of this on his own and is going to single-handedly ruin the franchise. Don't you think Bowlen is a big part of this? I mean I can't see McDaniels doing all of this on his own and the owner just goes along with it without any input.

 

It would seem that Bowlen has given McDaniels free rein - just like he did with Shanahan. Williamson seems to think so in the article I linked in this thread also.

[MikesVikes]

I've got to be candid - I have a feeling that McDaniels is going to drive Cutler elsewhere to 1) Show everyone who exactly is the boss in DEN, and 2) to show everyone what a genius he is by installing a new QB and having that QB run his system flawlessly.

 

Unfortunately this sounds very familiar.

[Bronco Billy]

Unfortunately this sounds very familiar.

 

Hence my extreme skepticism.

[Azazello1313]

No, what bothers me about this new McDaniels/Xanders regime is: 1) They have made a dramatic change on one side of the ball but have completely ignored what is arguably the most important facet of that D system - a credible D line, 2) That they even listened for even one second to any talks of a Cutler/Cassel exchange, 3) They have gone out of their way to piss off the team's franchise QB and have given that QB the impression that they will willingly lie to his face, and 4) They haven't done a damn thing on the field and yet appear to have a swagger/"my way or the highway" posturing like they are the next coming.

 

that sums it up rather well.

[MTSuper7]

It would seem that Bowlen has given McDaniels free rein - just like he did with Shanahan. Williamson seems to think so in the article I linked in this thread also.

 

Which is SO dumb, as isn't one of the main reasons that Shanahan got the axe because he didn't want to relinquish any control? So Bowlen solves this by hiring an unproven 32 year old coach and giving him free reign.

 

I also want to play devil's advocate to BB's post for a minute...

 

I wouldn't mind Denver trading Cutler if they got plenty of value for him. Even though I like Cutler's potential, I'm not as sold as BB on his abillity to be a consistent top 5 QB. For one thing, he'll be learning a new offense this season. For another, Brandon Marshall may not be playing much this season, and who knows what happens with Marshall going forward. And the Broncos' free agent moves don't inspire a ton of confidence that they've answered the question at RB. Lastly, I question Cutler's leadership skills based on this recent tirade and his "how dare you think of trading me" attitude - he needs to grow up some, and it concerns me that there might be some chemistry issues with this team if he doesn't. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cutler regress slightly this season unfortunately (I'm expecting the worst at the moment). And if that happens, it'll be harder for Denver to get nice value for Cutler on the market. And one more item of note - Cutler is due a monster $12M roster bonus in 2011, so his contract as it currently stands may only be realistic for this season and next season. It would just make him that much harder to move after this season if it came to that. Hopefully the Broncos' front office and coaching staff can mend some fences so that both they and Cutler are committed to one another going forward.

 

As for a potential suitor... I'm not sure who is realistic. The Broncos don't really have anyone waiting in the wings behind Cutler, so they would need someone who could step in immediately and start in return. What teams would be willing to trade for Cutler that has a QB Denver would want in return? Philly? Cleveland (would end the Anderson vs. Quinn conversation quickly)? I'm having a hard time coming up with a list...

 

I sure hope that this is more media hype than real substance.