The Jay Cutler Debacle

I will admit that it's pathetic that many of us care about this so much. It's just football, after all. But those of us raised to be Broncomaniacs have a hard time getting it completely of our blood. I don't live and breathe Broncos football. I don't bleed orange and blue, but I am a fan and I care about what happens to the team, which is why I'm dumbfounded and saddened by the developing Cutler fiasco.

Someone needs to explain to Coach McDaniels that Denver is not Boston, and Bronco fans are most decidedly not the same as Patriots fans. You'd think he might have noticed from his flight out here, but he's not on the east coast any more. We in this dusty old cow town take a different approach to things, and to some people the Broncos players are like family. We get attached to them. A rather large hole appeared in Denver when Elway retired and it seemed as if it would never be filled. We lasted through the Brister/Griese drama, followed by years of mediocre play from Griese. Then we chanted "We want Jake!" but got nothing more than slightly above mediocre play from The Snake.

Then along comes Jay Cutler. He's allegedly very intelligent, fast on his feet, and has a rocket arm. He makes throws few people can make. He thinks on his feet and makes plays no one has any business making. And like a famed predecessor, he seems to have an affinity for fourth quarter comebacks (when the defense doesn't give the game away, that is.) Could it be that we've found our new franchise quarterback?

"Yes, yes!" we cried in unison. With a good defense, surely we would make the playoffs. And someday soon Cutler would lead us to another Lombardi trophy. Probably true except for one teensy-weensy speed bump: Shanahan gets fired. While Cutler is still reeling from that, Jeremy Bates is fired. Cutler was understandably upset, but he gave things a chance. He came to town and started to work with Coach McDaniels. Reportedly, they worked for two weeks. Unknown to Cutler at the time, McDaniels was realizing that Cutler just wasn't a good fit for his offense and began to try to work out a trade for Matt Cassel, McDaniel's guy from New England.

I'm sure you've heard the rest, so I won't rehash it. But here's the thing...McDaniels is messing with family. Sure, Cutler isn't as loved as Elway, but he's only been here three years. Denver didn't love Elway the first three years, either. But Jay was definitely beginning to feel like family, a comfortable fit for the Bronco faithful, a guy we could put our football faith in on Sundays for years to come.

McDaniels had a duty to blow up and rebuild the Denver defense. It was bottom of the barrel with only one or two true standout players. But why mess with the offense? Further, why mess with Cutler, the new face of the Broncos? I think he went too far. Denver is not Boston. The Broncos are not New England. And this east coast mentality that McDaniels is bringing to Denver just isn't going to cut it out west.