16 comments MMQB Review: A Little Bit of Cutler and A Lot of Other Junk

As part of my vow not to talk too much about Jay Cutler, I am going to...not talk too much about Jay Cutler. Peter King's MMQB is 5 web pages (is that how you measure it?) long and two and a half of those pages are all about Jay Cutler, with some Matt Cassel talk thrown in there as well, so I am really going to have to work to not talk about Cutler. I like how Peter King calls it the Cutler-Orton trade like those were the two main pieces that were traded here. It was not Cutler for 2 1st round draft picks and Orton thrown in...but Cutler for Orton, which should go down as one of the the most lopsided trades in NFL history if the picks were not included.

Let's go sort of kind of in-depth into the trade. But just a little. Honestly, there is not a whole lot in here (but don't stop reading, because I will predict the EXACT score of the championship game tonight).

"It was high-stakes poker,'' Angelo said when it was over. "And I couldn't see anyone else's hand.''

Unlike the high-stakes poker games where you can see other people's hand?

1. The key to the trade was Kyle Orton. Laugh if you want, but it's the absolute truth.

Oh yes, Peter, I am laughing. If this is true, which I don't believe, they had to have really, really liked Kyle Orton. He was the key to the trade? This tells me a little something about Josh McDaniels, his ego and what he thinks about his ability as a quarterbacks mentor.

You can think and I can think it's crazy he didn't like Campbell -- who got Washington off to a 6-2 start last year -- more than he liked Orton, but it's the unvarnished truth. McDaniels thinks he can win with Orton.

I am not a big Jason Campbell fan but I think there are 31 teams in the league that would rather have Jason Campbell over Kyle Orton. I am not a league insider like Peter King, so I could be wrong, but I don't think I am.

4. All you Redskins fans who are so sure youwerethisclose to getting Cutler? Total BS. Yes, Washington was competitive, and the 'Skins would have done whatever it took to get Cutler. But once McDaniels decided Orton was his man -- even though Washington's first-round pick would have been the 13th overall, five slots ahead of Chicago's -- the contest was over. The 'Skins were out of it, even though Cutler and greater Washington were sure it almost happened.

I am being serious when I say this trade has told me a lot about Josh McDaniels. We all know what Kyle Orton can do, and maybe McDaniels liked that, but Jason Campbell is in my opinion a better quarterback now and will be a better quarterback in the future. Not to mention the Redskins had better picks, play in a tougher division so the picks next year will likely be better than the Bears picks and they would probably have paid even more for Cutler if they had gotten Dan Synder all riled up about losing him to another team.

In all the years Bowlen has owned the team, he has never felt quite the disrespect from a player or coach that he felt from Cutler ignoring his attempts to speak to him to attempt to bridge the problems between player and team.

Yeah, but Jay Mariotti says Bowlen never tried to directly contact Jay Cutler. Jay Mariotti thinks that is rude and apparently Jay Cutler thinks the same thing. Pat Bowlen should have arrived on Cutler's doorstep with roses and chocolates (not too many chocolates though, Cutler is diabetic) and begged Cutler to come back to him, much like Boyz 2 Men did in the "On Bended Knee" video.

Oh yeah, I am going all Bill Simmons on you today.

First, it should have never, ever come to this. Cutler-McDaniels was a match made in heaven -- a smart, tough, accurate passer with a great arm, in the hands of a Belichick protégé with a good offensive mind.

Because Belichick proteges have done so well as head coaches in the NFL...

Should McDaniels have lied about that? Maybe. But the Broncos once tried to trade John Elway to Washington, and Elway had to come back to the team knowing Dan Reeves wanted to deal him. They were never best friends, but Elway didn't go on strike like Cutler did. Cutler was poked and prodded, but spare me the violins about how the Broncos treated him terribly. I don't buy it. He got treated like an employee, which he is.

I like Peter when he gets riled up. I would like to see more of this. Do not fuck with Josh McDaniels or Pat Bowlen, Mr. Jay Cutler. Peter King will beat you down with a harsh admonishment in written form.

I don't write this morning to say Denver won the trade. Not at all. I'll never praise trading a 25-year-old quarterback coming off a 4,000-yard season and possessing the best arm in football.

Here's what I don't get about Peter King. He reports Josh McDaniels likes Kyle Orton a lot AND Denver got 2 first round draft picks for trading Cutler. So they can use those picks to rebuild that horrible Denver defense. Why doesn't he think Denver won the trade if he believes McDaniels and thinks Orton will flourish under his care?

I am not saying I think Chicago won the trade or Denver won the trade, we won't know for a few years, but if I was an NFL insider and knew Denver received a quarterback the head coach pretty much hand picked from a group of teams AND got draft picks in exchange for a quarterback that did not want to play in Denver...I may be inclined to say Denver got the best of the deal.

Now for Orton. His first words to McDaniels illustrate the kind of sponge and -- the Broncos hope -- player he'll be in Denver, I think. "I just want to have an opportunity to compete for the job and help the team win,'' Orton told McDaniels.

What the hell? This is not a motivational quote nor does it indicate anything about Kyle Orton and how he will perform in Denver. It is a generic boring quote. Let me guess, Orton will "give it his all everytime he is on the field", "give 110%" and is just "happy to be in Denver around great players like (list players here) and to learn under Josh McDaniels." Boring, boring quote Peter. This tells me nothing.

But Orton will have two things he never had in Chicago -- time to throw (young tackles Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris are the best young pair of outside blockers in football), and talent to throw to; Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, arguably, are the best young bookend receivers in the games.

I hate to admit it, but the more I think about this trade, the more I really like the situation Kyle Orton has gotten thrown into. Though I don't think Orton is an above average quarterback or is even an average quarterback, he has receivers to throw the ball to and the offensive line is going to protect him. Not to mention he played in an offense similar to McDaniels' offense at Purdue. I am not saying he will throw for 3,000 yards or even be an above average quarterback, I am saying he is going to be in a position to succeed with the offense in Denver. The rest is up to him, which is also the problem.

The careers of Cassel, Cutler and Orton will now forever be entwined. Denver couldn't trade for Cassel in February, which led to Cutler's wildcat strike and trade to Chicago, which led to Orton landing in Denver.

Oh yes, children for hundreds up on hundreds of years are going to be asking, "who were those two shitty quarterbacks that caused Jay Cutler to get traded to the Chicago Bears?"

Followed by a response of "I think it was Frank Cassel and Bob Orton."

Stayed close to home this week. But I'm finding something interesting about city life. (For those who don't know, my wife and I moved to Boston a month ago, and we're still settling in. Enjoying it a lot so far.)

I really hope he is not going to update those who have not followed MMQB over the past month with a reminder that he moved. The world does not revolve around you Peter, no one gives a shit, shut the heck up about dogs and start giving us good NFL information.

From last Monday morning to Sunday night , I drove my car once, two miles to the Home Depot. That's it. I wonder if I need a car. I suppose I'll need one as time goes on, but I miss nothing about driving. Walking is good.

How are you going to drive down to Mississippi to drink beer and talk un-retirement with Brett Favre? How are you going to update us on who has run a stop sign in your neighborhood?

For those who missed the news last week, we're throwing a benefit dinner, NFL hot-stove event and charity auction for Paul Zimmerman, the best football writer of our time, who has been sidelined by a series of three November strokes.

Here he goes with updating us on last week's column again. Can't he just write a separate "previously on..." column or does he just have to run up the word count? Is the NFL that slow this time of year?

We're going to attempt to get him the aggressive, high-end therapy he desperately needs to try to resume a life of writing. Zim cannot write, speak or read as of today, but we're going to attempt to change that by dispatching him to a six-week immersion program at the University of Michigan, as well as getting him access to some of the best speech and occupational therapists in the East -- much of the costs of which are not covered by insurance.

Again, not to be a dick, but what are we doing for the other people who face the same condition as Dr. Z that don't have access to wealthy friends who can beg other people to give money?

• Lunch in the Boston area with me and Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi. (Well, I'll subtract me if you want.)

Can we subtract Tedy Bruschi too? And add Tom Brady? I am not embarrassed to say this, but I would like to meet him because I have a lot of questions for him...some of them not related to the 2004 Super Bowl.

I think the NFLPA needs to include Adalius Thomas in its negotiating committee with the owners. He'll keep it lively, and I think he'll keep it on point. The aware Patriot said this Friday about the owners advocating a 17- or 18-game schedule, up from the current 16-game sked:

"Why would you want an 18-game season? Why? ... It's the money thing. Stop. Just stop. If [NFL owners] want to cry about money, then open your books up to an independent audit to really show how much money you're making. If you really want to cry about money, open your books up, put what you really make in the paper, like you put our salary in the paper every year so that the fans can say, 'Well, they're making this much money, why don't they do this?' If that's the case, I'm sick of people talking about, crying about, 'Well, we need to make cuts here' ...

I agree...but can we make this a double order for those athletes that have blown their money on all sorts of crap that they don't need? Remember a few months ago Bill Simmons made a comment in his bi-weekly ESPN the Magazine column about how players don't really take that much money home from their paychecks and he inferred they deserve a little sympathy? That sort of thing. I want those guys to quit whining as well, just like I want the owners to quit whining.

3. I think what I'd be worried about if I were Vince Young and I see the Titans signing Patrick Ramsey to be the third quarterback, is this:

I think if I were Vince Young, I would be worried that Kerry Collins is the starting quarterback and I am not. Forget Patrick Ramsey...Kerry Collins is the team's starting quarterback and I am his backup. I am the second option to Kerry Collins. This would pretty much do it for me. I would be incredibly motivated.

4. I think I look back to the Super Bowl and it's all a blur. Has any Hot Stove League ever been hotter?

I agree, but what I don't get is that Peter's weekly MMQB has been incredibly light on any type of Hot Stove rumors...or any other useful information BEFORE the exciting events happen. He always discusses the events after they have happened. Seriously, Peter King has broken no stories and provided very little important information this off season...at least none that I am aware of.

In those nine weeks, Matt Cassel's been traded

Who?

Julius Peppers continued to try to talk his way off the Panthers

I am sorry to bring this up, but this continually irritates me. Peppers has said nothing this off season other than to give the Panthers a list of 4 teams he would be traded to...that's it. He has been incredibly quiet other than that. That's what annoying everyone so much, that he just make demands and disappears. He has not tried to talk his way off the team, and if he has, please report this Peter and don't allude to it.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh put on his raincoat and surprisingly jumped to Seattle

I always assumed he would go to the Vikings or Seahawks because they needed receivers. I thought this was pretty understood. I didn't know this surprised anyone.

the Titans committed to Kerry Collins over Vince Young

So there was really someone who thought the Titans were going to give the starting quarterback job back to Vince Young? I want to meet this person.

6. I think we are all owed an explanation, NFL Network: Why have you kidnapped Adam Schefter, where is he being held without ransom, and when do you plan to acknowledge that he has disappeared off the face of the earth?

I don't know Peter knows this, and I really hope he does because he makes his living off knowing things like this, but Schefter is in an intense contract re-negotiation with the NFL Network right now and that is where he is. I heard this somewhere, but can't remember where. I would think Peter would know this...which I am sure he does, but if he does, why ask this question?

7. I think Ross Tucker, my compadre at SI.com, is absolutely right: The Jaguars are nuts to be looking at the primo quarterbacks in the draft.

When Ross Tucker is not busy thinking of crazy ass draft theories, he is thinking deep obvious thoughts and committing those thoughts to paper.

9. I think I don't care at all if B.J. Raji smoked pot at Boston College. I'd guess that would make him one of about 150 players of the 328 who attended the Scouting Combine who smoked pot at one time or other during their college years. I bet I'm underestimating that, really. Now, if there's some indication that Raji smokes so much pot that he couldn't get cleaned up in time for the combine, or he smokes so much that he's mentally addicted to it, that's another matter.

It's really an issue of intelligence. Do you really want to draft a player who is dumb enough to smoke pot and not allow it enough time to be out of his system by the time he participates at the Combine? If you are going to be a dumbass, at least try and cover it up. It is not the actual smoking of the pot but the idea the player didn't think enough of the action to cover it up. He smokes pot before one of the biggest events of his life, what will he do when he reaches the NFL and he is getting paid? Will he make other poor decisions?

Some front offices are way, way too hung up on vilifying guys who did the occasional doobie in college while virtually ignoring the exploits of guys who got smashed at keg parties over and over at college.

I kind of see what Peter is saying, and I don't want to get in a pot argument, but smoking pot is currently illegal and drinking beer is not...as long as you don't drive...but if you do drive be sure not to run a stop sign and kill someone...but if you do run a stop sign and kill someone, but sure you are a popular football player and can hire a good attorney, so you don't get punished. Right Leonard Little?

a. Just caught up on the last two episodes of The Office. Brilliant change of direction. Fantastic. I love the idiotic scheme of Michael starting his own paper company, with Pam the brains of the operation. What might be better is Kevin as the receptionist. The double-episode this week will be must-see TV.

This "must-see tv" is something Peter will probably miss and then catch up on and comment upon three weeks from now.

c. I've had no time to focus on it, with the move and the nonstop-ness of NFL life, but I'll throw these useless predictions out: AL division winners: New York, Cleveland, Anaheim (Tampa Bay wild card); NL: Philadelphia, St. Louis, Los Angeles (Arizona wild card). The Series: Yanks-Dodgers. Manny and Torre in the Bronx in October ... Now there's something I'd pay to see.

Cleveland and St. Louis? Tell me you are joking. I am sure the citizens of those two cities are hoping Peter is right, but I would love to know what it is about those teams that make Peter think they can win their division.

e. Let's hear some more arguments now, after three more senseless multiple murders with guns, about how we don't have a gun problem in this country. I'm all for people's rights to bear arms. I'm not for nut jobs' rights to bear arms.

After last week's Jay Cutler trade and the articles that followed, people say we don't have a journalism problem in this country, but we do. I'm for freedom of speech in America. I'm not for a moron's right to freedom of speech.

I love Peter King's gun control solution. Just take them out of the hands of nut jobs. How do you determine a nut job though? You have to profile the type of person that may be a nut job. Last time I checked profiling by race, gender or in any other fashion is illegal. Thanks for the commentary though Peter. Please stick to football.

Peter is from the old school of politics where he knows something that is wrong with the country, feels the need to comment upon it, but he has not thought of any decent ideas on how to fix the problem.

g. My brother went to North Carolina, and I like what the Heels stand for, generally. I have no interest whatsoever in Michigan State. But I don't know how, unless you're an alum or Roy Williams' mother, you can be cheering against the lads from Michigan tonight. The state needs it, the region needs it, a dying industry needs it.

I wonder what college in North Carolina Peter's brother went to? Because there is no North Carolina college called North Carolina. There is a group of colleges that go under the heading of UNC (UNC-CH, UNC-W...etc, of which many people call UNC-CH, just UNC) but there is no North Carolina college. Sorry, this irritates me.

Also, what the fuck do the Heels stand for? World peace, food for the hungry? I missed out on what they stand for that is so much different from every other campus in America, which is what makes us all want to cheer for them. From what I have seen the community at UNC stands for rainbow sandals, having parents wealthy enough to buy you an environmentally unfriendly SUV, knit Polo shirts tucked into short khaki shorts with a belt that is a bizarre color, and they also like Tyler Hansbrough.

h. Renee Montgomery was so good last night for UConn that I started to think: There're about 15 NBA teams that could use her. What a shooter. What a floor leader. Slight exaggeration. Only slight.

I think he meant 15 WNBA teams that need her. Unfortunately, I don't think there are that many WNBA teams.

Sorry Peter she would be lost in the NBA. J.J. Redick, the last girl to play in the NBA, has not fared so well.

As for tonight, I think we all know I know UNC Tar Heels are going to win this game. I had them as my champion at the beginning of the year and I am not going to stop now. They will beat Michigan State 88-73 (and Tyler Hansbrough will lose his contact once in the game) and I am not sure the game will even be that close honestly. Clearly, I am cheering for Michigan State but I don't think they have the fire power to deal with Ty Lawson and the rest of the Tar Heels. It is kind of interesting that UNC did not get a lot of production from their bench against Villanova. If they are going to lose it will be because Michigan State's depth, but I don't believe this will end up being a problem for UNC.

I think Ty Lawson was not faking, but overexaggerating, his toe injury from earlier in the tournament. It sure got better in a hurry and even when it "hurt" him, he ran faster than anyone else on the court without a real noticeable limp. Lawson has a semi-history of milking injuries so he doesn't hurt his NBA career. He did it last year and again this year. Also, nothing is going to stop the UNC seniors from getting a National Championship tonight, they are going to be super focused. The only thing that could stop UNC tonight in my opinion is Ellington and Green not shooting well, Hansbrough being in foul trouble and Lawson not winning his matchup against Kalin Lucas. That's a lot to go wrong. Even with Ellington not shooting well and Hansbrough in foul trouble, I still think UNC wins the game.

Michigan State may be the deeper team but Travis Walton can't guard both Ellington and Danny Green, plus Walton is only 6 foot 2 inches so I don't like his chances on either of them anyway. Roe and Suton have to win their matchup against Thompson and Hansbrough, which I don't think will happen. I am not sure either of those players are strong enough offensively to make Hansbrough guard them and commit fouls trying to guard them (assuming the officials would call a foul on Hansbrough, which is another story). Lastly, Ty Lawson is better than Kalin Lucas and I don't think that is going to change tonight. MSU could wear down UConn with their depth and guard the basket with success because UConn did not have any 3 point shooters and therefore could not stretch the defense out. UNC does. Much to my sadness, Tyler Hansbrough and his bug eyes will have a National Championship tonight and Roy Williams will actually win a National Championship with players he recruited himself.