The Final Breakdown of the Jay Cutler Saga

I have had over a month to digest the Jay Cutler trade to Chicago. There are times when I am sitting in my bedroom or driving home from work, and I just can't believe that the Broncos traded our franchise QB. As the whole "McJaygate" was going down, I really couldn't bring myself to write about it on the blog. I basically consumed myself with this story, and I analyzed it every way possible. I spent the morning before work checking the web. I went online during free periods at work, and I checked the message boards everyday as soon as I got home. As my wife was sleeping, I would be online reading about the story. I will try to present the order of events as they occurred and breakdown how this all happened to my beloved franchise player.

Here we go:

1) Letting Jeremy Bates go: McDaniels is a QB coach and offensive coordinator, so he lets current Bronco QB coach and play caller, Jeremy Bates go. Apparently, Peter King of SI.com reports that Cutler wants to be traded because he had a good rapport with Bates. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: IF PETER KING WAS BEING ACCURATE, THEN THIS WHOLE SITUATION IS CUTLER'S FAULT, AND HE SHOULD GET THE BRUNT OF THE BLAME)

2) The Scouting Combine: Allegedly, Tampa and Detroit sent feelers out to McDaniels and GM Brian Xanders about the possibility of trading for Cutler. The exchange would be a for a boatload of high draft picks. Apparently, McD and Xanders did not bite. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: TEAMS MAKE OFFERS TO PLAYERS ALL THE TIME. THIS WAS NO BIG DEAL IN MY EYES)

3) The first week of Free Agency: Tampa and Detroit continued to sniff around and placed more calls to McD and Xanders the first week of the FA signing period. This time the catch was that those teams told McDaniels that the Broncos could swing a three-team trade and get Matt Cassel from New England. Apparently, McDaniels and Xanders mulled it over and at first decided to go against it. Then, in the middle of signing like 6 free agents on Day One of Free Agency, they thought about possibly getting into the mix for Cassel and dealing Cutler to Tampa or Detroit. The deal doesn't go through and Cassel gets sent to KC. Cutler says he hears he is on the trading block, and McD says that they only listened to the offers and didn't even bring it up to Bronco Owner Pat Bowlen.
(PERSONAL THOUGHTS: TEAMS CALL OTHER TEAMS ALL THE TIME FOR TRADE PROPOSALS. THE ONE DIFFERENCE IS THAT DENVER APPARENTLY LISTENED TO THE OFFERS AND WERE LATE TO THE TABLE TO GET CASSEL. THIS IS WERE BOTH SIDES SCREWED UP. MCDANIELS SHOULD HAVE BEEN UP FRONT WITH JAY, AND THEN TOLD HIM THAT THERE WEREN'T SERIOUS ABOUT ANY TRADE. CUTLER SHOULD HAVE BEEN A LEADER AND UNDERSTOOD THAT IT IS A BUSINESS AND SET OUT TO PROVE THAT HE IS THE FRANCHISE QB)

4) The Public Battle: Cutler is very upset and tells the Denver Media and ESPN that he doesn't trust McDaniels and doesn't know if he can get over this. McDaniels and the Bronco front office insist that Cutler will not be traded and would like to meet with him. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: BOTH SIDES SHOULD HAVE MET RIGHT AWAY AND CLEARED THE AIR. INSTEAD, THEY WAITED FOR IT TO BOIL AND BECOME A BIG NATIONAL STORY)

5) The Meetings: Cutler and his agent, Bus Cook, talk to McD, Xanders, and Bowlen on a conference call. Apparently, Cutler thinks that he will still be traded, yet McDaniels feels that the meeting went well. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: MCDANIELS SHOULD HAVE KISSED CUTLER'S ASS AND TOLD HIM HOW HE WANTED HIM TO BE THEIR GUY FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. MCDANIELS "CAVALIER" ATTITUDE RUBBED CUTLER THE WRONG WAY, AND THE WAR ESCALATES) Two days before the Broncos first OTA, McD, Cutler, and Bus Cook meet again. Once again, the meeting apparently does not go well. Cutler said that he expected McD to tell him that he was their guy, and he would move on. McD doesn't tell him that, and Bus Cook wants some sort of contract committment from Denver. Once again, McD thinks the meeting was fine. Cutler leaves and demands a trade the next day. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: ONCE AGAIN, I FEEL THAT MCD SCREWED THIS MEETING UP AND ONCE CUTLER DEMANDED TO BE TRADED IT DIDN'T LOOK GOOD FOR THE BRONCOS)

6) The NFL Network Interview: McD goes on NFL Network at the Owner's Meetings and states that his is committed to Cutler and that he is their QB. He says there needs to be an open line of communication and that he wants to meet one on one with Jay and settle this dispute. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: THIS IS WHERE I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE THIS COULD BE SOLVED AND CUTLER WOULD BE A BRONCO. FINALLY, MCD SHALLOWS HIS PRIDE AND LOOKS TO MAKE PEACE WITH CUTLER)

7) Bowlen steps in: After repeated attempts by McD and Pat Bowlen to contact Jay, Bowlen is fed up and says that Denver will trade Cutler. Apparently, Bowlen was fed up with the fact that Jay didn't call him back, and decides to solve the issue and trade Cutler away. (PERSONAL THOUGHTS: ONE OF THE SADDEST AND MOST FRUSTRATING DAYS IN BRONCOLAND, BUT I UNDERSTAND BOWLEN'S FRUSTRATION AT THIS POINT. WHEN THE OWNER CALLS YOU TO MAKE PEACE, ANY PLAYER SHOULD CALL THE OWNER BACK. CUTLER SHOULD BE VILLIFIED FOR THIS)

PART II

Next time, the trade of Cutler and the impact on everyone involved