Colts fans make fun of the Jay Cutler fiasco and New England's takeover of the Denver Broncos
by Brad Wells on Mar 16, 2009 12:23 PM EDT
in Colts Analysis
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PrintJay Cutler is a Hoosier. He was born in and raised in Santa Claus, IN., which is located in Southern Indiana's Spencer County; just a few miles away from the Ohio River. I personally know the area well as I was born in Evansville, IN, and for years after my folks moved me to northside Indy, we would visit our Southern Indiana resident family members often.
So, because Jay is a Hoosier boy from Southern Indiana, and because his new head coach was once the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, it allows me (a Colts fans) a unique perspective on the titanic screw job the Broncos and their management have done while transitioning from the Mike Shanahan regime to the Patriots- Rocky Mountain West Edition regime.
Before we begin, let's get some info from Jay Cutler on why, exactly, he has formally asked the Denver Broncos to trade him (from ESPN, via comment from phantom818):
“I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco,” Cutler said. "We weren’t in there but about 20 minutes, [McDaniels] did most of the talking and as far as I’m concerned, he made it clear he wants his own guy. He admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn’t sorry about it. He made it clear that he could still entertain trading me because, as he put it, he’ll do whatever he feels is in the best interest of the organization.
OK, take a moment to digest that. Now, cut through all the useless crap and focus in on the humor of Cutler's statement. He is telling us that his new head coach, Josh McDaniels, thinks that Matt Cassel is a better quarterback than Jay Cutler.
Um. That's just... that's just... wow.
Well, let's start with the obvious: Josh McDaniels should be fired on the spot by Denver's owner (Pat Bowlen).
This has nothing to do with how he handled Cutler or the fact that he said he would "listen" to trade offer. I'm sure the Colts have "listened" to trade offers for Peyton Manning, and after listening they've laughed and told the folks on the other end to get lost. McDaniels should be fired because talent evaluation is EVERYTHING in this NFL. Knowing who is good and who sucks as a coach is as important as a doctor knowing where your heart is located and where he has to insert the knife to operate. And since Josh McDaniels thinks Cassel is better than Cutler, this means he is totally and completely incompetent. And no team can win in this NFL with an incompetent coach.
This screw-up also provides us Colts fans with yet another example of why teams should stay the hell away from Bill Belichick's coaches. If Denver had hired Leslie Frazier, do you think this crap would be going on now? Do you think he would be junking Denver's only strength (it's offense) and not trying to fix its horrid defense? I'll tell you this much, Frazier would not be so stupid as to think Matt friggin Cassel is better than Jay Cutler.
By the way, Frazier is a Tony Dungy disciple. Dungy's guys tend to do well when they move on to the head coaching ranks. Belichick's guys? Well, not so much. Makes you think.
Folks, this is what happens when teams get poisoned by the infection known as "Bill Belichick's assistants." Cleveland rotted away with the Romeo Crennel syndrome. Notre Dame is dying of the Charlie Weis pandemic. Now, only a month or so into the off-season, Denver is showing symptoms.
Because of all this, the Broncos are now forced to trade Cutler. McDaniels has also lost his locker room even before he has coached a game. It is really, really hard to respect someone who thinks Matt Cassel is better than Jay Cutler. It is even harder to respect someone when they would rather stock the team with "their guys" rather than try to work with the talent available.
You have my sympathies, Denver fans. Your team is going to suck for a while longer. McDaniels is an idiot, and the best player on your team (Cutler) is a goner. If you are a Chargers fan now, you are in stitches.
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wow, they're really chugging the Cassel kool aid there
Cutler was a top 5 QB last year. Cassel was above average.
yeah Cutler throws some picks, but because he takes more risks than Cassel he takes 35 less sacks. A sack is better than a pick, but that isn’t the choice the QB is making. It’s a certain sack or a risky throw, most QB evaluations love the guys that always choose the sack. But just like a QB can take to many risks and QB can take too few. Call it the Brett Favre-David Carr continuum. Sacks are better than picks, but in many situations they aren’t better than a risky throw. A sack is a bad play. Always. It’s just a matter of how much you are losing on the play. The down and some yards by definition, but in a decent portion of the time it’s the ball too. Exactly what you were trying to avoid by not taking the chance on the throw. The risky throw on the other hand has upside and worse case you turned the ball over further downfield than a fumble would have.
Sacks aren’t looked at near enough in evaluating QBs. The line is a major factor in the sack numbers, but the receivers are a factor in the passing numbers and no one writes that off (except Brian Burke at Advanced NFL Stats with “”http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009/01/air-yards-2008.html" target="new">Air Yards", which likes Cutler over Cassel even more than the DVOA I was using at the top)
They ball when they can and I'm ballin' by nature
Addicted to the game like Jordan and Peyton
-Lil Wayne "Fireman"
by shake n bake on Mar 16, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions
There are other options besides "risky throw" and "sack"
What about “throw it away?” And how do the stats rate those QBs?
throw away is better than a sack
and probably usually but not always better than a risky throw (depends on how risky).
The point isn’t that QBs should always chuck and duck just like they shouldn’t always eat it for a sack when someone isn’t wide open. It’s that QB Rating, Comp%, Y/A and lot of other stats overrate the risk-adverse QBs. That’s why I like DVOA and ANY/A it includes sacks as wells as picks and incompletions.
They ball when they can and I'm ballin' by nature
Addicted to the game like Jordan and Peyton
-Lil Wayne "Fireman"
by shake n bake on Mar 16, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I wasn't disagreeing with your point
Just that you’re a better stas guy than I am, I wanted to see if opinion meshed with yours.
Which it does, by the way, the throwing it away is better than taking a sack but doesn’t have the potential upside of the pass.
The Spread
It seems like the spread is going to give up more sacks with either one RB or an empty backfield. Cutler looks twitchy under pressure to me, but Cassel was distinctly unimpressive when he played the Chargers. Granted, Cassel was still getting his feet under him then.
"Football is a physical sport, sometimes you have a disagreement on what's going on, and you have a discussion about it." Kris Dielman
by Brian (DaBolts) on Mar 16, 2009 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions
What kills me:
As a Vanderbilt product, many local Titans fans got to watch Cutler in action before he was drafted. The fans in TN went nuts. We all wanted Cutler. BADLY.
Of course, they drafted Vince Young. This is not a post about Young, so we’ll move on.
Now? The first team Cutler has name-dropped when asked where he would want to go? “Tennessee Titans.”
Of course, this is one of the most conservative teams in the league. There is NO WAY the Titans will go after Cutler. They don’t spend that much money on one position, and there’s already around $15 mil tied up at QB this year between Collins and Young, most of which will still count against the cap even if one of them gets cut. And I doubt either of them would get traded, because who wants them?
So we could have had him TWICE, and we’re going to let him slip away both times.
Argh, I’m dyin’ over here. (and of course, Colts fans are cackling with glee, I know.)
I went to Vandy
and I didn’t think Tennessee wanted him. It would have been an amazing decision and something Colts fans wouldn’t have enjoyed, but I remember Nashville going nuts when they drafted VY. On the plus side, you know that Jeff Fisher didn’t want VY and was forced to take him by the man upstairs.
But seriously, Cutler is going to demand a trade because his feelings are hurt? He would still be making the same money and being a starting QB on another team. Boo-hoo. It’s a business and it wasn’t like he was being fired and having to search for work. My only gripe about Cutler is whether he has leadership capabilities. I remember a Vandy game against MTSU where he totally gave up. This little argument is also preventing Cutler from cementing himself as the leader of the locker room. Just go play football.
The Titans didn't want him.
I said the FANS wanted him, at least all the fans I know did.
From what anyone has been able to determine, Jeff Fisher and Norm Chow both wanted Leinart, Bud Adams wanted Young, and Bud won.
The team met with Cutler all of once before the draft, which shows how low on their radar he was.
worst thing is...
that the Broncos owner, this idiot named Pat Bowlen says he is disappointed of Cutler’s behavior and reaction to all this bs…
He actually said he supports his new head coach even if he destroys that team….
http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/03/15/bowlen-we-might-lose-our-star-qb/
"We’re only going to score 17 points? haha OK" - Tom Brady
Pat is a great owner--
It wouldn’t surprise me if this didn’t blind-side him also.
This is McDaniel’s muff……..what a way to start a coaching career—-possibly ruing two careers in a single stroke.
The best defense is a good offense!
Cutler is better in my opinion but...
He might not be the best leader. This is all complete speculation and I could be completely wrong but my roommate last year went to high school in Santa Claus and played football there. He said not alot of people liked Cutler, and he was really stuck up and an asshole. Another girl that went there said they same thing. Maybe a lot of elite athletes are like that but I think its interesting.
by ColtsPurdueFanFromKY on Mar 16, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions
MHR regular and Broncos diehard here.
I’ve been trying to stay away from everything associated with this entire situation, to be honest, since nobody on either end comes out looking good and MHR has , for the moment, devolved into a morass of backbiting, name-calling, side-taking, and wild speculation. I have to say, this sure doesn’t help dispel the myth (whether factual or not) that Belichick’s assistants are poison as head coach. I blame Cutler for dragging out the drama unnecessarily, I blame McD for handling this situation so poorly, and in short… it’s a giant crap sandwich. I guess the franchise still has a while to go before we can really hit bottom? Oh boy.
I’ve been trying (with more or less success) to keep an even keel and try to look at matters from both perspectives. Both sides have cases to some extent, but I’m amazed at the complete lack of compromise. Cutler’s shady agent has his fingers in the pie, McD won’t admit that he got found out, Cutler won’t let it go and keeps on whining, etc…. I can’t say I support any of the parties involved and really want this all to blow over, but it’s looking more and more if it won’t. If the situation comes to the point that Cutler has to be traded, I’ll know that there’s something rotten in Dove Valley that’s going to hamstring us, set us back a good 5-10 years, and back to our ever-present search for the next John Elway (ignoring the impossibility of this). And that to me, as a diehard Broncos fan, isn’t too encouraging.
Bottom line: I really, really don’t want Chris Simms behind centre and a defense that’s still going to be ranked in the lower 20s. I want Cutler, but at the moment, I’m questioning if that’s the best for either him or the team. If he’s going to go back to the Elway/Reeves days, it’s going to quickly get worse. If he sluffs off learning the intricate Patriots offense that McD’s so determined to install (and too headstrong to work with what he’s been given) then Cutler’s the one who’s going to make himself look bad. The Denver media will carp, the Broncos will lose games, and it’ll be a disaster, so we’ll trade him for… who? So in short, both sides may end up royally screwing the Broncos, which, well, sucks. I’m pining for the days we were an under-the-radar, professionally run, winning franchise… this story isn’t going to die any time soon, that’s for sure.
Gah. I think I’m going to go watch some more spring baseball.
I love Greg Reynolds and I may be slightly ashamed to admit it.
by Silverblood on Mar 16, 2009 2:08 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
hey silverblood!
Ready for my DBacks to clobber your Rockies again this year?
oh and go Colts!
Diamondback Dan? Can he say that? Isn't that a popularly elected FO position?
Great Post Big Blue.....
A few of us over at MHR just feel like putting our fingers in our ear and screaming la-la-la-la-la—-I don’t want to hear it!! This whole situation is just crazy—-it has forced me to permantley move into a self-protectionist mode.
The best defense is a good offense!
LOL Mike
You’re gonna bring the La La Land feel-goods all the way over to Stampede Blue? ;)
I love Greg Reynolds and I may be slightly ashamed to admit it.
With the current state of affairs it helps maintain my sanity. LOL
The best defense is a good offense!
That GIF
Is hilarious!
SB Nation's Indianapolis Colts blogger at Stampede Blue. Please make an account and post a diary, add some comments, and make some noise. Accounts are free, and only require an email address.
At this point it is my only touch with sanity........let's hope the dust doesn't settle as mud up here at Mile High.
The best defense is a good offense!
exactly what I said in my other comment. the broncos should fire mcdaniels now.
the fact that mcdaniels could have patched this whole thing up after about the third chance only to act like he is still in NE??? thats why he should be fired. Im gonna kiss up to my franchise qb and make amends since Ive never actually coached one game yet.
and good job of listing the belicheat flop list
I watched cutler play in college and it wasnt a big risk in saying this guy can play in the nfl
I agree and Id fire mcdaniels before he coaches a game. bowlen has a chance to right this thing before he loses his qb. why not fire now. in doing this he would be making the biggest statement ever. I made a mistake in this hire and Im not going to lose my franchise qb over this.
Im already watching another team, the jags imploding in front of my very eyes and this team has far more problems than losing matt jones and having no recievers. (big whoop, its not like they didnt throw to mjd on the dump off on most every pass play) they have no line, no dbacks, really no qb, no d and Im laughing at how this teams fans think this is just a one year fix it. the thing is the broncos, unlike the jags have a chance to fix this and they can fix it.
so many teams would give their right arm(well maybe not a arm but something valuable) for a franchise qb and if bowlen Im just not going to sit back and watch them lose the team like the jags are doing
This might b a blastfamous statement from a colts fan but i really think Matt Cassel is going to be something special. I love in New Hampshire, so I had to watch all of the pats games and I think cassel has that it factor. Cutler is just an immature crying prick. He needs to shut his mouth and play football. What has he done to be able to talk like that? a sub 500 record? Let’s get real now, who ever trades 4 this guy will just get a cancer in the locker room.
by Bleed Blue and White18 on Mar 16, 2009 3:35 PM EDT reply actions
you are crazy
cassel had welker and moss. the offensive line for the patriots in 2007 was sick. he had that offense that produced the highest points total in a season and 50 TD passes. cutler didn’t have near all that, and his statistics were just as good, if not better than cassel’s…
I'm working on tranfering a superstat from Excel right now
it’s per attempt, (other than that it’s a surprise until I get it posted) it puts Cassel last year just below Orton and Russell, just above Flacco and Derrick Anderson, solidly below average.
They ball when they can and I'm ballin' by nature
Addicted to the game like Jordan and Peyton
-Lil Wayne "Fireman"
by shake n bake on Mar 16, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah I'm with snow you're off your rocker
name a QB drafted in the last five years that is better than Cutler. Quinn? I don’t think so. Young, Leinart? Yeah ok. Ryan and Flacco? Negative. Cutler is the future premiere QB. Cassel is the benefactor of a great offense around him.
Diamondback Dan? Can he say that? Isn't that a popularly elected FO position?
and a relatively soft schedule
(though I say this without knowing how easy Denver’s schedule was last year)
From shake's SoS stats
The Pats were the 22 in strength of schedule. Broncos were 26. So equally bad.
Diamondback Dan? Can he say that? Isn't that a popularly elected FO position?
mgrex03 SoS stats
I know us statgeeks are hard to tell apart.
They ball when they can and I'm ballin' by nature
Addicted to the game like Jordan and Peyton
-Lil Wayne "Fireman"
by shake n bake on Mar 16, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions
get rid of McDaniels
McDaniels hasn’t had hist first practice and already he has alienated the franchise QB so much that he is demanding to be traded. Franchise QB’s are a lot harder to find than unproven first year coaches…….I’d get rid of the coach. Just another exPat, cheating bum!
I'm more worried
That these Broncos might keep giving away the AFC West to the slightly more than mediocre Chargers and the Colts might end up playing the next 3 post seasons in effing Qualcomm stadium.
Nothing new in another Belichick disciple ruining a franchise. That’s how Bill competes, reduce the level of the competition around you by sending them your demon spawn or cheat.
"Winning is not everything;the desire to win is" - Vince Lombardi
Ironically
Cutler was actually one of those who had the greatest influence on who the new HC in Denver should be…
A Cutler Scorned
This is the precise reason why when looking for a new job you dotn walk into your bosses office and say hey, Im lookin for something better. It poisons the work atmosphere. You do that in secret.
Whomever leaked this to the press from the Broncos should be gettin fired, but in reality its gunna be a trade or a “chad johnoson just deal with it and play” scenario.
I wouldnt trade him if I could. Cutler can throw the ball
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