Denver Native (Carol)
03-08-2009, 07:46 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_11862596
Competitive nature creates a schism with fans
One of the undeniable rites due any quarterback of the Broncos is he is always given a key to the city. Yet after three years, Jay Cutler doesn't have a key to its heart.
As the fumes of McJaygate drift ominously around Dove Valley, Cutler's image is being painted, repainted and analyzed by the NFL, his fans, his friends and the media. On the one hand, some accuse Cutler of being in a perpetual pout on the field and immature off it. And, despite a Pro Bowl appearance, he has yet to convince many fans, or his new coach, that he's the leader of the Broncos.
On the other hand, this is a quarterback who dips into his own pocket to fly a Broncos public relations employee to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. He meets diabetes patients in Honolulu and Tampa, Fla. He shows up on his day off after victories to analyze film and urges teammates to join him. He has the toughness and down-to-earth qualities that make him "one of the guys" in the locker room.
"I've seen the word 'surly' used to describe him a few times, and I disagree with that," said Trey Holloway, his center at Vanderbilt. "The biggest misconception about Jay is that people call him an arrogant punk, and that's not true at all. At the end of the day, he's competitive."
And loyal.
Cutler's high school coach in Indiana, Bob Clayton, said his former star's perception of a lack of loyalty by the Broncos led to an outburst by Cutler when he learned the team entertained trading him for the New England Patriots' Matt Cassel last weekend.
"Jay's fiercely loyal to whatever organization he's with, whether it was Heritage Hills, or Vanderbilt, or the Denver Broncos," Clayton said. "The thing about these athletes, a lot of them come from a high school and college system where loyalty is reciprocated. You don't get that in the NFL."
He added that Cutler's anger, directed at his new coach, Josh McDaniels, upon learning about the potential trade did not surprise him.
"You have to know Jay," Clayton said. "Jay is not a blabbermouth, not a chatty guy, but if you ask him a point-blank question, if he feels strongly about it, he's going to give you an answer. He gave an honest answer and it becomes a nationwide media issue."
So here is Cutler, entering his fourth year as a pro, trying to dig himself out of a public relations landslide. His lone solace is that McDaniels needs just as big a shovel after attempting to trade a player legendary coach Mike Shanahan had anointed the savior of the franchise. The aftershocks were felt from Boston Harbor to Philip Rivers' pad in San Diego. This leads to two questions.
Who is Jay Cutler? And why isn't he loved more?
Personality vs. playoffs
Around the NFL, Cutler's rocket arm and enormous potential, which make everyone forget the names Matt Leinart and Vince Young — drafted ahead of him in 2006 — are offset by public displays just as troubling as Young's bouts with depression or Leinart's partying.
Images of Cutler's 2007 on-field spat with Rivers left a lasting impression, not the least of which, according to ESPN analyst Eric Allen, was of Cutler grabbing his crotch.
"He's a punk," Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm told San Diego reporters. "Jay Cutler, he and Tony Gonzalez are the biggest crybabies in the league."
It hasn't escaped anyone that the first-round draft choice has a 17-20 record as a starter and has yet to lead his team to the playoffs. He never had a winning record at Vanderbilt.
His arm gets plenty of attention around the league, but so does his personality.
"There's some of that immaturity, for sure," said Matt Williamson, a former Cleveland Browns scout now with ESPN.com. "That's not all that odd with guys like him, where it comes so easy to them. He hasn't probably had to bust his butt to get where he is, compared to some of the other guys at this level. I don't think he's particularly likeable."
That assessment is contrary to the view of some former college teammates. At Vanderbilt, he often invited players to his home in Santa Claus, Ind., during holiday breaks so they wouldn't spend them alone. He made a point to hang out with the offensive linemen and earned his props by running over Southeastern Conference defensive backs.
"A lot of times a quarterback can be a little bit of a prima donna," said Jordan Pettit, one of Cutler's offensive linemen at Vanderbilt and one of his closest friends. "The offensive line, we have a lot of pride. We're in the trenches. But Jay found a way. He really brought the team together on that level. He commanded a lot of respect in his work ethic."
However, those who side with McDaniels on McJaygate picture Cutler throwing a tantrum in the corner. When learning of the trade talks, Cutler said he was "upset" and added, "I don't play for the coaches anyway; I play for teammates." (Cutler did not return phone calls to comment for this story.)
His friends say people are missing the point with him. While he doesn't talk much, when he does, people should listen.
"It shows his competitiveness," said Nate Jackson, a Broncos tight end who played with Cutler the past three years before being cut last month. "It shows he enjoys Denver, shows he wants to be a Bronco. It shows he takes a lot of pride in what he does and how he has performed here."
Elway had rough start, too
Denver's rabid fans are embracing McDaniels as much, if not more, than Cutler, which tells you many fans around here don't admire much about Cutler beyond his right arm. Irv Brown, who co-hosts a Denver talk radio show with Joe Williams, said they didn't receive a single pro-Cutler call last week.
"We've had a lot of people say cut him loose," Brown said. "They're wrong. He's a talent. But make him toe the line. When Shanahan was fired, he said why wasn't he notified? What? You're an employee. I hear no sympathy for Cutler."
Sandy Clough, a co-host on another Denver radio talk show, said the split among his callers is about 50-50, but on a game day it would be about 80-20 in Cutler's favor. Clough said his callers paint the following picture of Cutler: "That he's spoiled, petulant. Around town, people who talk to me who come into contact with him find him to be perhaps not the way a Bronco quarterback should be."
Then again, if old-time Broncos fans remember, another quarterback went through the same thing. After three years, John Elway was 27-10 but hadn't won a playoff game and was clashing with Dan Reeves, his coach.
"People were saying, 'He's a loser. Keep Reeves. Trade Elway,' " Clough said.
At the ESPN Zone and other Denver sports bars, the Broncos' 2008 season has long since faded but McJaygate has made Cutler a much bigger topic of discussion than the bubble teams fighting for NCAA Tournament berths on the bank of TV screens on the wall.
"Obviously, it's hard to follow in the footsteps like Elway, who the community loved," said Luke Hadden, who moved to Denver from New Jersey, where he worked for NFL Films. "Then you have guys like (Jake) Plummer and (Brian) Griese, who never came close to filling those shoes. Cutler has the talent to fill those shoes, but he doesn't have the personality that a guy like Elway would have."
Cutler also follows the footsteps of Plummer, who experienced his share of fickle fans, which contributes to making the position of NFL quarterback one of the toughest jobs in the country.
"If he struggles and the fans get on him and he doesn't handle it right, it will be a real long season," Plummer said. "I know what it's like when you're fighting the opposing defense and the fans. It can be tough."
Plummer predicts the first time Cutler turns the ball over or has a streak of inaccuracy, Broncos fans will give him the business.
"If he handles it badly, it's going to be a long season," Plummer said. "When you're booed off the field at your own home . . . I've been booed and I said things to fans coming off the field where if they heard me say it they'd shoot me. It is hard. I turned booing fans into cheering fans many times in my career. It's through being persistent, being tough, not caring. Obviously you do care what they're saying because it ticks you off, but you can't let it negatively affect your performance. You have to let it motivate you."
"Denver screwed up"
Outside of Denver and in the learned offices of the NFL, Cutler is getting many more understanding nods. Even those around the league who might question his maturity say they'd still take him in the top 10 if they had a draft today.
What they don't understand is how McDaniels didn't recognize that.
"My initial reaction is that Denver screwed up," Williamson said. "It is not a crime for Josh McDaniels to like Matt Cassel, but personally I would take Cutler, just based on what they've done on the field."
Cutler is one of many players to go through this trade dance.
"When you're in that situation and you don't realize it's a business, you're fooling yourself," Plummer said. "Everyone's tradable, everyone's releasable, everyone can be gone tomorrow.
"He has played his butt off. He doesn't deserve to be part of trade talk. But if you think every coach in the league wants you to be a starter, it doesn't work that way. Because every coach has his own style and does his own thing. But hopefully with this experience he responds and fights through it and leads, and he'll gain respect."
Former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe remembers getting word Shanahan tried to trade him after Shana-han's first season as Denver's coach in 1995. Like Cutler, Sharpe investigated and found out it was true.
Sharpe, like Cutler, was furious, but didn't go public with his anger. He went out and caught 80 passes the next season and stuck around to help the Broncos win two Super Bowls.
Now an analyst for CBS, Sharpe offered some sage advice for Cutler.
"He's going to have to move past it," Sharpe said. "The longer you let this thing fester, the more it will eat at you. When he walks by Josh McDaniels, he's going to despise him. He's going to hate being there, hate it when his name is called. He's always going to have a little skepticism: Is this guy on the up and up with me?"
The context of McJaygate will last as long as the parties let it. How they tackle it will be the key to the 2009 season, and how both parties are viewed for years to come.
Competitive nature creates a schism with fans
One of the undeniable rites due any quarterback of the Broncos is he is always given a key to the city. Yet after three years, Jay Cutler doesn't have a key to its heart.
As the fumes of McJaygate drift ominously around Dove Valley, Cutler's image is being painted, repainted and analyzed by the NFL, his fans, his friends and the media. On the one hand, some accuse Cutler of being in a perpetual pout on the field and immature off it. And, despite a Pro Bowl appearance, he has yet to convince many fans, or his new coach, that he's the leader of the Broncos.
On the other hand, this is a quarterback who dips into his own pocket to fly a Broncos public relations employee to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. He meets diabetes patients in Honolulu and Tampa, Fla. He shows up on his day off after victories to analyze film and urges teammates to join him. He has the toughness and down-to-earth qualities that make him "one of the guys" in the locker room.
"I've seen the word 'surly' used to describe him a few times, and I disagree with that," said Trey Holloway, his center at Vanderbilt. "The biggest misconception about Jay is that people call him an arrogant punk, and that's not true at all. At the end of the day, he's competitive."
And loyal.
Cutler's high school coach in Indiana, Bob Clayton, said his former star's perception of a lack of loyalty by the Broncos led to an outburst by Cutler when he learned the team entertained trading him for the New England Patriots' Matt Cassel last weekend.
"Jay's fiercely loyal to whatever organization he's with, whether it was Heritage Hills, or Vanderbilt, or the Denver Broncos," Clayton said. "The thing about these athletes, a lot of them come from a high school and college system where loyalty is reciprocated. You don't get that in the NFL."
He added that Cutler's anger, directed at his new coach, Josh McDaniels, upon learning about the potential trade did not surprise him.
"You have to know Jay," Clayton said. "Jay is not a blabbermouth, not a chatty guy, but if you ask him a point-blank question, if he feels strongly about it, he's going to give you an answer. He gave an honest answer and it becomes a nationwide media issue."
So here is Cutler, entering his fourth year as a pro, trying to dig himself out of a public relations landslide. His lone solace is that McDaniels needs just as big a shovel after attempting to trade a player legendary coach Mike Shanahan had anointed the savior of the franchise. The aftershocks were felt from Boston Harbor to Philip Rivers' pad in San Diego. This leads to two questions.
Who is Jay Cutler? And why isn't he loved more?
Personality vs. playoffs
Around the NFL, Cutler's rocket arm and enormous potential, which make everyone forget the names Matt Leinart and Vince Young — drafted ahead of him in 2006 — are offset by public displays just as troubling as Young's bouts with depression or Leinart's partying.
Images of Cutler's 2007 on-field spat with Rivers left a lasting impression, not the least of which, according to ESPN analyst Eric Allen, was of Cutler grabbing his crotch.
"He's a punk," Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm told San Diego reporters. "Jay Cutler, he and Tony Gonzalez are the biggest crybabies in the league."
It hasn't escaped anyone that the first-round draft choice has a 17-20 record as a starter and has yet to lead his team to the playoffs. He never had a winning record at Vanderbilt.
His arm gets plenty of attention around the league, but so does his personality.
"There's some of that immaturity, for sure," said Matt Williamson, a former Cleveland Browns scout now with ESPN.com. "That's not all that odd with guys like him, where it comes so easy to them. He hasn't probably had to bust his butt to get where he is, compared to some of the other guys at this level. I don't think he's particularly likeable."
That assessment is contrary to the view of some former college teammates. At Vanderbilt, he often invited players to his home in Santa Claus, Ind., during holiday breaks so they wouldn't spend them alone. He made a point to hang out with the offensive linemen and earned his props by running over Southeastern Conference defensive backs.
"A lot of times a quarterback can be a little bit of a prima donna," said Jordan Pettit, one of Cutler's offensive linemen at Vanderbilt and one of his closest friends. "The offensive line, we have a lot of pride. We're in the trenches. But Jay found a way. He really brought the team together on that level. He commanded a lot of respect in his work ethic."
However, those who side with McDaniels on McJaygate picture Cutler throwing a tantrum in the corner. When learning of the trade talks, Cutler said he was "upset" and added, "I don't play for the coaches anyway; I play for teammates." (Cutler did not return phone calls to comment for this story.)
His friends say people are missing the point with him. While he doesn't talk much, when he does, people should listen.
"It shows his competitiveness," said Nate Jackson, a Broncos tight end who played with Cutler the past three years before being cut last month. "It shows he enjoys Denver, shows he wants to be a Bronco. It shows he takes a lot of pride in what he does and how he has performed here."
Elway had rough start, too
Denver's rabid fans are embracing McDaniels as much, if not more, than Cutler, which tells you many fans around here don't admire much about Cutler beyond his right arm. Irv Brown, who co-hosts a Denver talk radio show with Joe Williams, said they didn't receive a single pro-Cutler call last week.
"We've had a lot of people say cut him loose," Brown said. "They're wrong. He's a talent. But make him toe the line. When Shanahan was fired, he said why wasn't he notified? What? You're an employee. I hear no sympathy for Cutler."
Sandy Clough, a co-host on another Denver radio talk show, said the split among his callers is about 50-50, but on a game day it would be about 80-20 in Cutler's favor. Clough said his callers paint the following picture of Cutler: "That he's spoiled, petulant. Around town, people who talk to me who come into contact with him find him to be perhaps not the way a Bronco quarterback should be."
Then again, if old-time Broncos fans remember, another quarterback went through the same thing. After three years, John Elway was 27-10 but hadn't won a playoff game and was clashing with Dan Reeves, his coach.
"People were saying, 'He's a loser. Keep Reeves. Trade Elway,' " Clough said.
At the ESPN Zone and other Denver sports bars, the Broncos' 2008 season has long since faded but McJaygate has made Cutler a much bigger topic of discussion than the bubble teams fighting for NCAA Tournament berths on the bank of TV screens on the wall.
"Obviously, it's hard to follow in the footsteps like Elway, who the community loved," said Luke Hadden, who moved to Denver from New Jersey, where he worked for NFL Films. "Then you have guys like (Jake) Plummer and (Brian) Griese, who never came close to filling those shoes. Cutler has the talent to fill those shoes, but he doesn't have the personality that a guy like Elway would have."
Cutler also follows the footsteps of Plummer, who experienced his share of fickle fans, which contributes to making the position of NFL quarterback one of the toughest jobs in the country.
"If he struggles and the fans get on him and he doesn't handle it right, it will be a real long season," Plummer said. "I know what it's like when you're fighting the opposing defense and the fans. It can be tough."
Plummer predicts the first time Cutler turns the ball over or has a streak of inaccuracy, Broncos fans will give him the business.
"If he handles it badly, it's going to be a long season," Plummer said. "When you're booed off the field at your own home . . . I've been booed and I said things to fans coming off the field where if they heard me say it they'd shoot me. It is hard. I turned booing fans into cheering fans many times in my career. It's through being persistent, being tough, not caring. Obviously you do care what they're saying because it ticks you off, but you can't let it negatively affect your performance. You have to let it motivate you."
"Denver screwed up"
Outside of Denver and in the learned offices of the NFL, Cutler is getting many more understanding nods. Even those around the league who might question his maturity say they'd still take him in the top 10 if they had a draft today.
What they don't understand is how McDaniels didn't recognize that.
"My initial reaction is that Denver screwed up," Williamson said. "It is not a crime for Josh McDaniels to like Matt Cassel, but personally I would take Cutler, just based on what they've done on the field."
Cutler is one of many players to go through this trade dance.
"When you're in that situation and you don't realize it's a business, you're fooling yourself," Plummer said. "Everyone's tradable, everyone's releasable, everyone can be gone tomorrow.
"He has played his butt off. He doesn't deserve to be part of trade talk. But if you think every coach in the league wants you to be a starter, it doesn't work that way. Because every coach has his own style and does his own thing. But hopefully with this experience he responds and fights through it and leads, and he'll gain respect."
Former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe remembers getting word Shanahan tried to trade him after Shana-han's first season as Denver's coach in 1995. Like Cutler, Sharpe investigated and found out it was true.
Sharpe, like Cutler, was furious, but didn't go public with his anger. He went out and caught 80 passes the next season and stuck around to help the Broncos win two Super Bowls.
Now an analyst for CBS, Sharpe offered some sage advice for Cutler.
"He's going to have to move past it," Sharpe said. "The longer you let this thing fester, the more it will eat at you. When he walks by Josh McDaniels, he's going to despise him. He's going to hate being there, hate it when his name is called. He's always going to have a little skepticism: Is this guy on the up and up with me?"
The context of McJaygate will last as long as the parties let it. How they tackle it will be the key to the 2009 season, and how both parties are viewed for years to come.