Sports Q&A: Cutler is No Elway

The Denver Broncos finally traded Jay Cutler, unloading him to Chicago after weeks of disagreements between Cutler and new head coach Josh McDaniels. Could this situation have been avoided, and who is to blame?

This is karma at its best. Now the Denver Broncos know what it must have felt like to be the Baltimore Colts, facing a situation in which a talented quarterback the team wants would himself rather be somewhere else. For those of you too young to remember or old enough to care, John Elway was drafted by the Colts in 1983, but refused to play for the team, and the Colts were eventually forced to trade him.

Now, like former Denver kicker Rich Karlis, the shoe's on the other foot. And, sure enough, the Cutler saga is playing out almost exactly like the Elway situation. Cutler has forced the Broncos hand, and he'll be the prize for another team in an imminent blockbuster trade. Soon, Cutler will be left to ponder "things to do in Denver when you're traded."

There's a difference, though, in Cutler's situation and that of Elway. While Elway betrayed the city of Baltimore in cowardly fashion, refusing to play for the team that sucked enough to rightfully earn that pick, Cutler has been betrayed by the city of Denver. Or, more specifically, the people in Denver responsible for firing Mike Shanahan and hiring Josh McDaniels. That would be president Pat Bowlen and the Broncos' front office.

Did Bowlen hire McDaniels with the knowledge that the new Broncos coach wanted not Cutler, but Matt Cassel, a quarterback McDaniels raised from diapers, to build around? Or did Bowlen hire McDaniels, then sit by idly as McDaniels, secretly, behind Cutler's back, worked to ship out a franchise quarterback that Bowlen himself helped to draft?

Either way, Bowlen made a bad decision. And so did McDaniels.

Apparently, to McDaniels, a young, rifle-armed quarterback coming off a 4,000-yard, Pro Bowl season lacked the essentials to lead the Broncos to McDaniels' vision of success. McDaniels' must have been delusional, power-hungry, or just plain stupid not to see that the passing game was the least of Denver's worries.

With Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, Denver had a less dynamic, but more than capable, version of what Cassel had in New England, Randy Moss and Wes Welker. If anything, McDaniels should have prioritized keeping the passing game intact, and maybe looked to utilize his trade urges to bring the Broncos a running back, or defensive help.

Was there something Cassel could do that Cutler could not? Worship his coach, maybe? It's obvious by Cutler's demeanor that he's no
"yes man."

Did McDaniels see some flaw in Cutler's character that made him undesirable? Was it the obvious drug usage? Just to clarify, Coach McDaniels, those syringes are for Cutler's diabetes, not a heroin habit.

Maybe McDaniels built Cassel in his image and feared that Cutler could not be molded.

But does Cutler even need to be molded? He's already a Pro Bowler.

In any case, the Cutler/Broncos relationship was doomed, and never showed signs of improving. The lines of communication are broken, although Bowlen and McDaniels insist they tried to contact Cutler for nearly two weeks, a version of events that Cutler disputes.

But even if they could have contacted Cutler, why should he have believed what Bowlen and McDaniels might have had to say? After all, they're "two-faced." Even if Cutler was lured back, trust would always be an underlying issue.

McDaniels "cheated" on Cutler once, and it was flagrant. No amount of couples therapy could have healed the rift between McDaniels and Cutler. And the trust issues don't end with just Cutler. What about the rest of the Broncos players? Can they fully support a head coach whose first order of business was deception? I doubt it.

We've all heard of coaches "losing the locker room." McDaniels may have lost it before his first practice. McDaniels, as Denver's head coach, is doomed to fail.

So did McDaniels "shop around" Cutler more in the last Cutler trade talks (those of which Cutler was aware) than in the previous trade scenarios (those of which Cutler was not aware)? I'm guessing only a select few teams were in on the initial trade idea, because McDaniels was trying to keep it on the down low.

Word has it that the Broncos, just for spite, toyed with the idea of sending Cutler to San Diego to serve as Philip Rivers' backup. That's got to be the only destination that would leave Cutler more unhappy than in Denver.

In the end, though, did anyone get what they wanted? McDaniels certainly didn't get what he wanted. Instead of Cassel or Cutler, former Bear Kyle Orton is his quarterback, or best imitation thereof.

Cutler? Who's really sure what he wanted? I'm not so sure he does himself. In the end, I think it's more important for Cutler to feel like he is wanted.