Clark Judge drops an atom bomb on Cutler

[BigRock]

Ouch.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11510371

So now Jay Cutler is mad as hell and sure looks like he's not going to take it in Denver anymore. Great. Almost makes you wish the Broncos never disposed of Jake Plummer, huh?

Well, it does me. If ever there was a quarterback done wrong it was poor Jake. He didn't throw the tightest spiral. He took too many chances. And he threw unnecessary interceptions. He was booed at home, booed on the road and shredded weekly by the hometown media for his flaws. In short, he was embraced like the Avian flu.

So what's to like? This: He was 40-18 as a starter. All the guy did was win.

He took the Broncos to the playoffs in 2003. He did it again in 2004. He had them in the 2005 AFC Championship Game. Yet he was gone two seasons later, shuffled off to Tampa Bay to make way for Cutler, the second coming of John Elway. Only, he's not. He's not even the second coming of Jake Plummer, and, no, I don't care that he throws a fast ball like Randy Johnson or that his right arm can launch space shuttles.

I want someone who can win, and Jay Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, failing to reach the playoffs in his NFL career. Plummer not only got there three of his four seasons in Denver, he took the Cardinals to the playoffs in 1998, their first appearance in a non-strike year in over two decades.

Denver never had a losing season under Plummer. It hasn't had a winning season under Cutler. Draw your own conclusions. I have, and they go something like this: Plummer knew how to win; Cutler knows how to throw a pretty pass. I know which I'd rather have.

When the Broncos drafted Cutler they were coming off a 13-3 season where they beat New England and were one win from the Super Bowl. But after losing to Pittsburgh in the conference championship game, coach Mike Shanahan decided he could go no deeper into the playoffs with Plummer. So he traded up for Cutler.

For Plummer, the message was clear: His get-out-of-Denver ticket had just been punched, and Cutler would succeed him in no more than a year. Anything short of the Super Bowl wouldn't matter for Plummer, who could take his 40-18 record somewhere else and watch what could have been.

Plummer didn't sulk. He didn't demand to be traded. He didn't threaten to move. And he never asked to meet with his head coach or demand an explanation.

"Jay is going to be a hell of a player," Plummer told me that summer, "but, hopefully, when his time is right. Until that time I'm going to be the one taking the snaps.

"Fans always like change. I understand that. It's almost like having an old girlfriend. You always think the pasture may be greener on the other side. But until Jay is ready they're going to have to deal with me."

Now that's what I want to hear from my quarterback. Don't tell me your feelings are hurt. Don't go running to your realtor. And don't mention the name Matt Cassel because if you're more concerned about what is beyond your control -- and, contrary to what he might think, Jay Cutler is not running this show -- you're doomed as a quarterback.

Of course, Jay Cutler is not doomed. He has a long career ahead of him, and he has a world of talent. What he doesn't have is the guts of Jake Plummer, and too bad. He could learn something from his predecessor. In fact, the more I hear Cutler whine the more I'm convinced Denver owes Plummer an apology.

He didn't score many style points while he was there; he just won. For some reason, that wasn't enough. So he was sliced, diced and spliced by his critics. Cutler, on the other hand, is cut a break ... and for what? He took over his rookie season when the Broncos were 7-4 and lost three of five starts. No problem there. Rookie quarterbacks struggle. But then he was 7-9 in his second season and 8-8 in his third. Worse, the Broncos positively self-destructed last year, blowing a three-game lead with three weeks to go.

Yeah, I know, it wasn't Cutler's fault. It might have helped if Denver had a running back who could stay in the lineup for three weeks or a defense that didn't leak like the Titanic. But all the Broncos had to do was win one freakin' game in three tries, and they couldn't pull it off. Blame the defense all you want, but look what Cutler did down the stretch: Nothing.

In his last three games he had two touchdown passes and four interceptions. Worse, he lost to Buffalo at home on the next to last weekend of the season. I don't want to hear how he threw for 359 yards or 316 the next weekend against San Diego. He didn't win. Period. End of story.

So his defense stunk. Kurt Warner's defense in Arizona wasn't all that great, either. And the Cardinals' running game was worse than Denver's. In fact, it was worse than everyone. But Arizona pulled the mother of all upsets by winning the NFC and coming within 45 seconds of knocking off Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII. Warner overcame the club's shortcomings because that is what good quarterbacks are supposed to do.

Cutler is acknowledged as one of the game's top young quarterbacks, yet he can't overcome much of anything. And that is a problem. He can complain about Philip Rivers, but I know which one I'd trust in the clutch -- and it's not Cutler. He can complain about his new head coach, too, but this just in, Jay: Josh McDaniels didn't draft you; Mike Shanahan did. And while I don't agree with how this was handled -- or mishandled -- it is a reminder to Cutler to wake up and realize the NFL is a business.

It is also evidence that Cutler might not be the quarterback we thought he was. So he lives in the shadow of Elway. Big deal. So did Jake Plummer. In fact, Plummer was closer to the Elway era than Cutler, so the contrasts were more apparent. He didn't throw like Elway, but he did find a way to win -- and isn't that how we measure our quarterbacks?

When, at last, Plummer was dismissed by the Broncos, he didn't cry or rant about the decision. He simply retired, exiled by a team and a city that didn't appreciate him.

Cutler was supposed to be an improvement on Plummer, but while he has the measureables -- the size, the big arm, the accuracy -- he's as short on the intangibles as he is on victories. The guy needs to toughen up and drop his woe-is-me mantra. If he can't get over what happened here, how does he demonstrate to teammates that he is resilient; that he is someone they can trust when their world is crumbling? And how does he prove he can shut out everything around him on the field when he can shut nothing out now? More to the point, how does he prove he can beat San Diego without the help of referee Ed Hochuli?

Maybe he can't. Maybe we should face facts and realize that while he's no John Elway he may be no Jake Plummer, either.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Some act as if they couldn't trade him straight up for a punter... that's just crazy. It's QB driven league, Jay is young with huge upside... there are 6-7 teams that would pay a nice price to have him. Whether or not something is offered that they like is the big question. But, a #2 or 3... c'mon.

The going rate was a 1st, a 2nd and a 2nd that could escalate into a 1st next year (That's what Jeff George was worth).

[StcChief]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Some act as if they couldn't trade him straight up for a punter... that's just crazy. It's QB driven league, Jay is young with huge upside... there are 6-7 teams that would pay a nice price to have him. Whether or not something is offered that they like is the big question. But, a #2 or 3... c'mon.

Where are the Cutler suitor's wanting to give 2009 #1/#2 pick then, and or a conditional 2010 pick.....

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Claythan

AWEPIC!!!

[Hammock Parties]

That video is three years old...but still highly relevant!

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by StcChief

Where are the Cutler suitor's wanting to give 2009 #1/#2 pick then, and or a conditional 2010 pick.....

Well, I'm not behind the scenes... so, if they're there, we'll find out.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Claythan

That video is three years old...but still highly relevant!

I think there should be a standing rule that if you show up to camp with a cop mustache, you're automatically cut.

If you draft a cop mustache, you lose your franchise.

[Donger]

Denver smells like feces this morning. At first I figured it was due to having a northerly wind and we were smelling Wyoming. I guess it is actually Broncos fans crapping themselves.

[tboss27]

Originally Posted by skky man

Plummers succsess was fueled by running the boot on the chiefs. UGGGG! It pains me to remember!

Plummer: "Coach what's the game plan this week"

Mike: "run the boot 45 times"

Plummer: "Sweet"

So true. And after Denver started using it every other play the rest of the league caught on to the fact that Tamba ends up on a right handed QB's blind side anytime you run the boot against us. It was a first down every time the first two years he played LE.

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by Claythan

That video is three years old...but still highly relevant!

He was Hick's best friend....

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

The fun continues...


Quote:

Originally Posted by Banana Pants
It's also KC's fault that they went after the QB Denver really wants behind Center. And those a-holes got him too. Do you think we could trade our 1st rounder and Jay to KC for Cassel straight up? I mean, that's who we really want right?

"Old No. 7" says:

We'll consider it, but he'll be going right back out the door as fast we brought him in. We have absolutely no faith in that little douche nozzle, but with Pioli working his voodoo, we can keep your 1st and send Gay Butler down the road.

To Detroit, Tampa, or Minnesota.

Don't call us; we'll call you.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by BigRock

Ouch.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/11510371

This sounds like it was written by a bitter fan coming to the terms with the fact that Cutler is gone. I can't wait till all of the Donkey fans start saying that he sucks.
Awesome article.

[vailpass]

All of this and the Broncos will still be a better team than the Chiefs this year.
Kinda' crazy isn't it?

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by vailpass

All of this makes my vagina sandy because the Broncos will be getting their asses pounded and pureed by the Chiefs for the next 15 to 20 years.
Can I go weep like a little British school girl now?

[DaWolf]

I don't disagree with a word in that article...

[King_Chief_Fan]

Originally Posted by Claythan

This is something I never thought I would say to GoChiefs....but, he is brilliant....great work