Jay Cutler Finds New Home, NFL World Implodes With Breathless Opinions
So I said I would post about Jay Cutler once he was eventually traded, little did I know that would happen eighteen hours after I stated the fact. I thought it would be drawn out and met at its inevitable conclusion in which the Broncos get back about five cents on the dollar. But no, about twenty years after the fact it finally dawned on Chicago just how dire their quarterback situation is, and they trade away two first rounders, their current starting quarterback and some additional draft picks for an upgrade at QB. At least the “saga” is over.
They're elated in Chi-town, I'm sure.
Denver probably got all they could out of the ordeal as well, given the circumstances. If that new coach (their first new coach in a couple decades) and Cutler couldn’t get along, then reload everywhere else but receiver (they need it) and hope to make a turnaround by the end of the decade with a young, competitive team. In other words, you’d ultimately rather have Cutler than the draft picks (much like Chicago would), but the alternative wasn’t nearly as bad as one would have thought.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a downside for both franchises. Chicago, for instance, is out two first round picks in 2009 and 2010. We’ve already established that this team is getting old by NFL standards, and the difference that those two draft picks would have made (probably on the defensive side of the ball) will be palpable. The NFL is about reload and replenish, and obviously the first round of the NFL draft is the best place to do this in.
Not to mention, who exactly is Cutler going to be throwing the ball to next season? Devin Hester is a phenomenal athlete, but he wasn’t an “every down” receiver until last year (and that dates back to college). Needless to say, and you can blame it on the mediocre quarterback play if you want, but he left a lot to be desired. I think for Cutler, throwing to Brandom Stokley, Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royale is going to feel like it was a decade ago.
That said, I would dismiss all the hullabaloo about him only being 17-20 as a starter. I mean, did you see that defense last year? It is, unequivocally, the worst defense that has ever contended to make the playoffs. That includes any Bengals or Rams defense of the past decade. Yeah, that bad. It might have only been the second worst in the league, but it just so happened to exist in the same season as the first ever 0-16 team in history. There’s a feather in their cap, I guess. Oh, and last year was the first Shannahan team in recent history to fail too produce a 1,000 yard running back. Whether it was the backs or the line (note: It was both), Cutler’s team’s record is going to suffer as a result.
Denver, for all the reasons just stated, has their own host of concerns that should take a lot more than a few extra draft picks to compensate for, especially since they just offered up their best player at the most crucial position after a fallout in the front office. Man, what a bunch of children. There should really be some sort of law against acting this petulant if you’re as rich as everyone at the proverbial bargaining table.
Anyhow, it’s going to be interesting to see how this all pans out. It’s a rare occurrence for a pro-bowl caliber quarterback to switch teams just as he’s entering the prime of his career. Because, you know, such a thing is ofttimes regarded as a commodity worth holding onto. Either way, I’ll be on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this effects my fantasy weeks.
Back later this week with something draft related.
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