Cutler to the Chiefs? Gaining ground!

Jay Cutler is more than upset right now. Jay doesn't trust Coach Josh McDaniels at all. That is a big problem for the Donks. That is good for the Chiefs in every way, shape, or form. One possibility is that Jay stays in Denver unhappy, another is that Jay gets traded somewhere else and Sims or a rookie starts in Denver and another is that he is traded to KC for their QB without a jersey #.

I have heard many arguments as to why the Donks would not trade Cutler to KC. The one that keeps coming up is that you can’t do business with a rival like KC-Den.

1. Pat Bowlen is not Al Davis. Pat does not even captain his ship.

2. Scott Pioli is not Carl Peterson. Carl would not make this deal because of his hatred of Denver.

3. Josh McDaniels is not Eric Mangini. I see Pioli making a trade with the Raiders and Al Davis before contacting Mangini and the Browns.

4. No one is responsible for the politics of the situation. Pioli is not responsible for pleasing the fans; he is responsible for putting the best football team on the field. Denver always sells out anyways so McDaniels has no political need to play up the rivalry.

I am convinced more and more that Josh is in over his head. Generally I like to see a young guy handle a situation like this because I myself am young, but he is failing in more ways than one. Here is Cutler's view of the face to face as quoted on ESPN.

"I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco," Cutler said. "We weren't in there but about 20 minutes, [McDaniels] did most of the talking and as far as I'm concerned, he made it clear he wants his own guy. He admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn't sorry about it. He made it clear that he could still entertain trading me because, as he put it, he'll do whatever he feels is in the best interest of the organization."

A couple of things strike me here. One is if you are going to lie, keep the lie going or fix the problem. The other is I am astonished that Josh doesn’t think it is in the best interest of the football team to have a happy, young, Pro Bowl QB even if he wasn’t the first choice. How hard is it to tell the kid that he is the QB you are going to build this team around? In Dallas that was done to Tony Romo and he isn’t half as good as Cutler.

Now there are some good reasons to not want Cutler:

1. His next winning season will be his first since high school.
Cassel's next start will be his first without Randy Moss since high school.

2. He is immature. Completely and totally agree. His ability tells me that hoping he will grow up is worth it.

3. Cassel is a better player. Total non sense. There is a good reason so many teams were willing to give up a 1st rounder for Cutler and only the Chiefs were willing to give up a second rounder for Cassel.

SI reported this which I found interesting:

"I think we were too late to the dance,'' he said, meaning the Chiefs had already made the deal with New England -- a second-round pick for Cassel and linebacker Mike Vrabel. Denver would have given more, likely a first-round pick, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick had his deal done with the Chiefs.

In the end, any way this works out is good for the Chiefs. I would take Cutler for Cassel straight up or better.

Analyzing the Cassel to the Chiefs trade

With all the word going around about the Chiefs and New England trade for Matt Cassel, there are lots of opinions flying around that don't really explain anything. I am going to admit that I am not happy with this deal. I will get to my explanation of that after I explain that the Chiefs got a good deal if they believe Cassel is a potential franchise QB. Lets look at what a couple of experts said January 12, 2009 on ESPN.Com. Keep in mind Floyd Reese was a candidate for the Chiefs GM position, and replaced Pioli in NE as the top personnel man in NE.

"It would have to be multiple choices and very high choices to get Cassel," ESPN analyst and former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese said. "Two first-rounders, or a one and a two and a three ... It'll be something very, very expensive."

Michael Lombardi, who last week was the first to report the Patriots would put the franchise tag on Cassel, said the starting price should be the draft choices the San Diego Chargers received for Eli

At the 2004 draft, the New York Giants acquired Manning's rights for Philip Rivers' rights along with a third-round pick that year and their first- and fifth-round picks in 2005.

"Whatever the Giants gave up for Eli has to be the market," Lombardi said. "It's got to be a first-rounder, and not the 22nd or 24th pick in the draft. It has to be a substantial one and one that keeps on giving."

It sounds like the experts believe that Cassel is worth at a minimum a top 15 first round pick and a third round pick. Getting Vrabel and Cassel for a high second round pick is a pretty sweet deal. The Chiefs traded for a (presumed) starting QB for the same price we paid for Surtain. That is a smoking deal if Cassel is the real deal.

Now was it the right deal for the Chiefs? I do not believe so. The reason is this, with that offensive line and those skill position players the Pats were able to set league records on offense in 2007. In 2008 with the only major change on offense QB,the Pats were 5th in total offense and 8th in total points. Now in KC, we can dream about a top 10 offense but we can also dream about having that good of an offensive line and Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to. Bowe is pretty good but is not the same level of a Moss that wants to play. Tony G is an awesome TE but it is much easier to focus attention to a TE and shut him down without great WRs. The biggest difference between what Cassel had and the Chiefs had is an offensive line. I cannot compare Thigpen and Cassel's stats fairly because of that difference. There is no objective way to compare the two QBs. It is all subjective.

What Thigpen did last year was amazing to me. He had no snaps and was not prepared to take the job. He made it work and managed to give the Chief's offense some life. Tyler Thigpen took a jalopy and drove it home. Matt Cassel proved he could take a finely tuned sports car and not wreck it too bad. Keep in mind the Pats were 16-0 with the other guy. With Cassel and the easiest schedule in football, the Pats were 11-5 and not even a playoff team. I am not sold on Cassel in the least bit.

In conclusion, the deal is done and I am rooting for the best. We have a lot of cap money to blow and if done right Cassel's contract will not hurt long term. Without that second round pick, it will be much harder to rebuild the right side of the offensive line.