It's on: Cutler-Bronco reunion might be best preseason game

[Lonestar]

Denver's Orton will also face his ex-team when Bears visit
CHICAGO -- Jay Cutler gave a glimpse Saturday of why he was a Pro Bowl quarterback last season, and how he can transform the Chicago Bears' offense by his mere presence.


He directed, he rolled out, he threw passes of varying distances and speeds with his strong arm, and one time -- on a play that must have made his coaches nervous -- took off on a 12-yard scramble.

All part of his first game with his new team at Soldier Field. He played only three series and the Bears scored on all three in a 17-3 exhibition win over the New York Giants.

"He made some great throws to our receivers. He was able to keep a drives going. He's an athlete. We're banking on him being able to make plays like that. It was good to see him take another step," Chicago coach Lovie Smith said.

Cutler, who left the Broncos in an acrimonious split with new Denver coach Josh McDaniels, will return to Denver next Sunday night for an exhibition game. It should be an interesting homecoming for Cutler. He'll face his former team that is now quarterbacked by an ex-Bear, Kyle Orton, who was in the trade that sent Cutler to Chicago.

There might be a few pregame handshakes and some casual conversation during warmups, but don't expect Alex Brown and the Bears' defense to take it easy on Orton.

"I'm not going to not rush him as hard because we played together," Brown said of Orton, now with the Broncos. "I'm trying to get him. He's the opposing quarterback.

"Before the game, if he wants to go eat, I'll go eat with him. After the game I'll say, 'How you doing? What's up? Hope you have a good year.' But during the game, it's football."

The Orton reunion, and Cutler's return to the city he demanded out of, make the Bears-Broncos showdown arguably the most intriguing exhibition of 2009.

Cutler's 8-for-13 passing performance for 121 yards on Saturday included a TD pass to Desmond Clark and a couple of nice hookups with his former Vanderbilt teammate Earl Bennett.

"He'll throw it across the field, anywhere, with his arm strength and mobility. You never know where the ball is coming from," said Devin Aromashodu, who made a 38-yard reception to set up the TD pass to Desmond Clark.

Cutler's night was made easier by the return of running back Matt Forte and tight end Greg Olsen, both of whom missed the opening loss to Buffalo, when Cutler was only 5 for 10. Forte, a rookie star last season, broke off a 32-yard touchdown run.

Still a relationship in progress is the one between Cutler and the guy who is supposed to be Chicago's go-to receiver, Devin Hester. They connected on two passes but missed on two others, one of which would have been a 91-yard TD pass after the speedy Hester slipped 15 yards behind the Giants' secondary.

But Cutler's pass was just out of the wide open Hester's reach. The Bears ended up driving for the TD anyhow, taking 10 plays to traverse the 92 yards.

"Me and Devin are still getting on the same page," Cutler said.

Cutler had to clear the air last week for a comment he made following the loss to Buffalo, when he appeared to suggest an interception he threw might not have been one had Hester gone up for the ball a little better.

With feelings patched up, the two nearly connected on the long TD Saturday night.

"We had a shot there, but I overthrew it a bit," Cutler said. "It's going to happen and we're going to miss plays out there. We're going to have miscommunications at times. We have to forget it and move on to the next play."

Speaking of moving on, that's what Cutler did after spending his first three seasons with the Broncos. He became disenchanted in Denver when he learned the team had talked about trading him for New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel.

AP-WS-08-23-09 1452EDT

BC-FBN--Broncos-Marshall Home, 1st Ld-Writethru,0604

Broncos leave Marshall behind on road trip

Eds: UPDATES with McDaniels' explanation, saying he expects Marshall at next practice, injuries. ADDS background.

By GREGG BELL

AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE (AP) -- Brandon Marshall's feud with the Broncos continued on Saturday, with the disgruntled wide receiver left back in Denver while the rest of the team lost a preseason game at Seattle.

"Everybody who was ready and able to play in this game was here. And everybody we deemed not ready and able stayed back home," Broncos first-year coach Josh McDaniels said late Saturday night after Denver's 27-13 loss.

The coach added he "absolutely" expected Marshall to participate when the Broncos return to practice Tuesday.

The team also left safety Brian Dawkins home. The 35-year-old Dawkins, who joined the Broncos after 13 seasons in Philadelphia, missed a week and a-half of training camp with a broken right hand that required surgery. He returned to the field a few days ago week and picked off a pass despite a cumbersome club on his hand.

Broncos rookie cornerback Alphonso Smith, a second-round pick for whom Denver traded a No. 1 pick in 2010 to Seattle to draft, left with an apparent injury to his right leg in the third quarter following a kickoff return. The Broncos said only that Smith had an injury to a "lower extremity."

Chris Simms replaced starting quarterback Kyle Orton midway through the third quarter and completed five of seven passes into the fourth period. Then impressive Seahawks rookie pass rusher Nick Reed got tangled up with a blocker and landed on Simms' left foot. Simms limped into the locker room with trainers. Rookie Tom Brandstater replaced him.

Marshall spent two days last week working almost exclusively with the scout team after saying he was nowhere near mastering the new offense.

He is upset with the Broncos over their refusal to redo his contract after consecutive 100-catch seasons or to trade him. He's also angry with their handling of his acquittal on battery charges last week.

Players were told by a staffer not to say they were happy for Marshall.

Marshall missed the preseason opener at San Francisco last week while attending his court case in Atlanta.

He boycotted the team's offseason workouts, at first to recover from March 31 hip surgery, and then in protest of his contract and what he felt was the team's misdiagnosis of his hip injury.

He pulled up lame with a hamstring injury three days into training camp and missed two weeks before returning to practice last Sunday.

His agent, Kennard McGuire, met with McDaniels this week at the team's headquarters, presumably to talk about renegotiating his contract. Neither McGuire or McDaniels would say whether a trade request was reissued this week on behalf of Marshall, however.

Coming off back-to-back 100-catch seasons, Marshall, who started in the Pro Bowl six months ago, has vastly outperformed his contract, which calls for him to make $2.2 million this year.

Now, he said he has "trust issues" with the Broncos over their handling of his acquittal.



http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/aug/24/pro-football-its-on-cutler-bronco-reunion-might/?partner=RSS

[Superchop 7]

I doubt the Bears will even score.

[silkamilkamonico]

If Orton continues to improve, I'm happy. What Cutler and the Bears offense does is irrelevant, other than single plays being made(or not) by our defense.

[dogfish]

if jay doesn't play well, this place will overflow with gleeful "i told you so's" from bitter fans to whom it's personal, not business-- and if he plays really well, those of us who never thought he should be traded will be moaning about it. . .

this place will probably be intolerable afterwards either way. . .


in related news, there was a bit of a controversy after last year's preseason meeting between green bay and san fran when it was widely speculated that mike nolan gameplanned and broke out his full regular season arsenal of blitz packages because he had a vested interest in making aaron rodgers look bad in order to justify nolan's selection of alex smith over rodgers. . .

anybody think doogie and nolan would try that in this situation?

i remember broncos fans complaining a few years back that wade phillips did that to us in preseason because he has a grudge against bowlen for firing him. . . while i don't buy into the line of thinking that it violates some unspoken code of conduct-- these guys are trying to get their teams ready to play football, whatever they need to do is fair game-- i do think it's a bit immature and not necessarily all that bright. . . it just gets more of your playbook out on film early. . .

[Lonestar]

hey I do not think they held anything back last week did they?

I saw alot of plays on Offense and the blitzes were all over the place..

there will be a lot of film for upcoming coaches to game plan for..


looked like balls to the walls playing to me..

[broncogirl7]

This will be a very interesting game and I'm looking forward to it.

[silkamilkamonico]

anybody think doogie and nolan would try that in this situation?
.

I don't think McDaniels does anything like that whatsoever. He seems completely focused on what he needs to do with his team and his guys to improve. I think he knows he's going to take his lumps along the way and he's ok with that as long as the team is improving on the key areas he's focusing on.

In wouldn't surprise me in the least if Chicago completely walks away with next monday's game and outplays Denver statwise, and I still thikn McDaniels can take somethingt from that and find a positive on what he's trying to build on, and that's ok.

Chicago as an organization and a team is in a completely different place than Denver. System wise they are set, and Denver isn't. They are working on things both sides of the ball that Denver just isn't right now. That's the good and the bad with coaching changes and scheme changes.

[shank]

anyone else going?

[Dirk]

McD should have Orton sit all game on the sidelines and have him sticking his tongue out at Jay. HA!


But seriously, I think they will play just as if it was another team. I think that McD doesn't care that it is Cutty on the other sideline. McD is thinking one thing and one thing only right now.....how can we improve to win quickly....not how can we rub Jay's nose in it.

[Nomad]

If Orton continues to improve, I'm happy. What Cutler and the Bears offense does is irrelevant, other than single plays being made(or not) by our defense.

You're right! I just hope the BRONCOS improve as a team and the injuries stay away.

[Banedon]

In wouldn't surprise me in the least if Chicago completely walks away with next monday's game and outplays Denver statwise, and I still thikn McDaniels can take somethingt from that and find a positive on what he's trying to build on, and that's ok.

Man...Chicago is gonna win on days when there isn't even a game? That Cutler guy IS a miracle worker! :cool:

[broncofaninfla]

Come week #1 this game won't mean anything and the real tests begin.

[Dirk]

Now I know what the problem is....people think that this guy is the real Jay Cutler.....

http://www.nvexplorer.com/JayCutler.jpg/JayCutler-full.jpg

Sorry for not putting the pic up. I'm at work. If a mod wants to fix that feel free.

[LRtagger]

if jay doesn't play well, this place will overflow with gleeful "i told you so's" from bitter fans to whom it's personal, not business-- and if he plays really well, those of us who never thought he should be traded will be moaning about it. . .



or Orton could play well and people will still say he sucks....or Jay could play well and people will still say he's a crybaby.

Hell they could both have identical stats and people here, sports writers, radio hosts, etc will still come up with some BS to compare the two or say one is better than the other.

At this point, it really doesn't matter. I know it will be talked about for eternity but what's done is done. There's no going back now, so Broncos fans should be hoping the Broncos do well rather than hoping one or the other QB does good or bad so they can say "I told you so".

Am I hoping Orton does well and Cutler does bad? Yes, but not because it is Orton vs. Cutler but because Orton is a Bronco and Cutler is the opposing QB.

[claymore]

Come week #1 this game won't mean anything and the real tests begin.

But getting embarresed by both Cutler, and Orton wont help us at all.

[claymore]

or Orton could play well and people will still say he sucks....or Jay could play well and people will still say he's a crybaby.

Hell they could both have identical stats and people here, sports writers, radio hosts, etc will still come up with some BS to compare the two or say one is better than the other.

At this point, it really doesn't matter. I know it will be talked about for eternity but what's done is done. There's no going back now, so Broncos fans should be hoping the Broncos do well rather than hoping one or the other QB does good or bad so they can say "I told you so".

Am I hoping Orton does well and Cutler does bad? Yes, but not because it is Orton vs. Cutler but because Orton is a Bronco and Cutler is the opposing QB.
I will be happy if Orton has more TD's than INT's. Thats all I ask for.

[LRtagger]

But getting embarresed by both Cutler, and Orton wont help us at all.

Sure it will...if Orton makes a mistake(s) he can learn from and if Cutler's abilities make our defense better, then it will help us.

Going against the best competition always will make you better...and aparently the Bears will be the SB champs this year.

[NightTrainLayne]

Chicago has been a better team than us for the past few years. Bringing in Cutler didn't make them any worse. We should expect Chicago to look better than us, as mentioned before, they are further along than we are.

McD and the team need to concentrate on our own performance and improvement. What Cutler does with the Bears this season has absolutely nothing to do with how we perform. We can improve each week or not, but what Cutler does in Chicago has no bearing on that.

[Lonestar]

Marshall, Orton and turnovers all troublesome for Broncos
Associated Press
Posted: 08/25/2009 12:29:38 AM MDT


ENGLEWOOD -- It doesn't take Jay Cutler's return to Denver for the Broncos to find themselves in the middle of a circus.

Cutler and the Bears will visit Invesco Field on Sunday night in a preseason game like none other, one that marks the home debuts of coach Josh McDaniels, the man who chased Cutler out of town just weeks into his new job, and Kyle Orton, the methodical quarterback who replaced the Pro Bowl passer.

The Broncos still find themselves dealing with a soured superstar who has trust issues with the team, a simmering feud with the coach and a trade request on the table.

Sound familiar?

While Cutler forced a trade to Chicago after his clash with McDaniels six months ago, fellow Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall hasn't been able to punch his own ticket out of town.

The receiver asked for a trade in June and thought one would be in the works after meeting with team owner Pat Bowlen, but McDaniels quickly quashed that notion, and Marshall reported to training camp insisting he was only doing so to avoid the $15,888 daily fines he'd face for holding out.

He's only practiced about a half-dozen times this offseason, and he's only taken a handful of snaps with the starting offense this month.

He pulled a hamstring on the first weekend of training camp and didn't return until a week ago after his acquittal on a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta, a verdict he had hoped would give him leverage for a new deal to replace the one that will pay him $2.2 million this season.

His agent met with McDaniels last week on the same day Marshall met with a team executive, who apologized on behalf of the Broncos for an incident in which the receiver's teammates were instructed not to say they were happy for Marshall over his acquittal on charges he beat up his then-girlfriend 18 months ago.

Then Marshall ran almost exclusively with the scout team last week after telling reporters he wasn't ready to resume his role as the Broncos' main receiver because he was nowhere near mastering the new playbook.

So McDaniels left him behind along with some injured players when the Broncos traveled to Seattle for their second preseason game Saturday.

The Broncos resume practice today and McDaniels said he expects Marshall to be in the mix.

But will he run any of the Broncos' offensive plays? Or will he simulate the Bears receivers instead of running his own routes? And will he be on the field Sunday night?

The Broncos' issues go beyond Marshall.

While Cutler has already shown flashes in Illinois of the brilliance and also the petulance he was known for in Denver, the quarterback the Broncos got in return for the strong-armed, mop-topped star, hasn't exactly had a smooth transition.

Orton had a nightmarish three-interception performance in the Broncos' preseason opener at San Francisco following an awful stadium scrimmage that spawned the catch phrase "Orton hears a boo."

He atoned for his dismal debut last weekend at Seattle -- save for an odd left-handed lob on fourth-and-1 that was intercepted in the end zone.

After the game, McDaniels sidestepped the question of whether he was looking forward to Cutler's return this week: "I'm looking forward to this week because there's another list in there on my desk of things that we have to fix," he said.

Chief among them are Marshall's sticky situation and a minus-six turnover differential that has the coaching staff scratching their heads.

Zero takeaways and six turnovers is not the kind of thing the Broncos need when the games start to count and they try to make their fans forget about letting Cutler go.

Turnovers are "something we've talked about a ton, and maybe we haven't talked enough about it -- or maybe we've talked too much about it, I don't know," McDaniels said.

One thing is for sure: all the talk this week will be about Cutler's return to face the team he left behind.


Notable

The Broncos claimed DB Antwain Spann off waivers from Buffalo and waived rookie WR Travis Shelton. Spann is a fourth-year pro who was in New England from 2006-08, where he played in a career-best 10 games last season, mostly on special teams.

after telling reporters he wasn`t ready to resume his role as the Broncos` main receiver because he was nowhere near mastering the new playbook.
So McDaniels left him behind along with some injured players when the Broncos traveled to Seattle for their second preseason game Saturday.

The Broncos resume practice today and McDaniels said he expects Marshall to be in the mix.

But will he run any of the Broncos` offensive plays? Or will he simulate the Bears receivers instead of running his own routes? And will he be on the field Sunday night?

The Broncos` issues go beyond Marshall.

While Cutler has already shown flashes in Illinois of the brilliance and also the petulance he was known for in Denver, the quarterback the Broncos got in return for the strong-armed, mop-topped star, hasn`t exactly had a smooth transition.

Orton had a nightmarish three-interception performance in the Broncos` preseason opener at San Francisco following an awful stadium scrimmage that spawned the catch phrase "Orton hears a boo."

He atoned for his dismal debut last weekend at Seattle -- save for an odd left-handed lob on fourth-and-1 that was intercepted in the end zone.

After the game, McDaniels sidestepped the question of whether he was looking forward to Cutler`s return this week: "I`m looking forward to this week because there`s another list in there on my desk of things that we have to fix," he said.

Chief among them are Marshall`s sticky situation and a minus-six turnover differential that has the coaching staff scratching their heads.

Zero takeaways and six turnovers is not the kind of thing the Broncos need when the games start to count and they try to make their fans forget about letting Cutler go.

Turnovers are "something we`ve talked about a ton, and maybe we haven`t talked enough about it -- or maybe we`ve talked too much about it, I don`t know," McDaniels said.

One thing is for sure: all the talk this week will be about Cutler`s return to face the team he left behind.

Notable

The Broncos claimed DB Antwain Spann off waivers from Buffalo and waived rookie WR Travis Shelton. Spann is a fourth-year pro who was in New England from 2006-08, where he played in a career-best 10 games last season, mostly on special teams.

http://www.dailycamera.com/broncos-nfl/ci_13197113?source=rss

[Lonestar]

The feud between Brandon Marshall and his team is headed for a nasty endComment Email Print Share By Jeffri Chadiha
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos' squabble with wide receiver Brandon Marshall appears to be a problem that will worsen.

You can see that potential in the way he chuckles about his recent demotion to the Broncos' scout team. You can hear it when he talks about how little he trusts the franchise or knows the team's new offense. Nearly everything Marshall does these days sends one obvious message: He's only just begun to torment a franchise that needs to quickly figure out how to deal with this dilemma.

Marshall hasn't hidden his desires since midway through this offseason. He wants the Broncos to trade him, especially since they haven't shown any real urgency in giving him an extension on a contract that expires after this season. Marshall is a valuable talent; he has 206 receptions over the past two seasons, and 2008 marked his first trip to the Pro Bowl. It's just that he's a player who already has had enough off-the-field incidents to make any team wary about signing him to a long-term deal.

Those are the two central issues in trading Marshall, and he's done nothing to indicate he's going to handle this quietly.

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"I've done some great things on the field," said Marshall, who is scheduled to make $2.2 million this season. "I'm not saying I'm a finished product, but I definitely think I can play on anybody's team and contribute in a major way. That's where we stand, and I think people sometimes forget that this is how we make our living. We are blessed to be playing this game, but this is also a business. And after everything that happened last year and this offseason, you want to have some stability."

When Marshall talks about what has happened in the Broncos' recent past, he's referring primarily to two huge moves: (1) the decision by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen to fire longtime coach Mike Shanahan; and (2) the trade that sent Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears after Cutler and new coach Josh McDaniels engaged in a highly publicized feud. The Shanahan dismissal surely made Marshall understand that anyone can be dismissed in the NFL, even a man who spent a total of 21 years with the Broncos (14 as head coach) and led that franchise to two Super Bowl victories. The Cutler situation was a different story. It merely gave Marshall plenty of leverage.

Although Marshall downplays the effect of the Cutler trade on his current issues, there's no disputing that Marshall learned a few tricks from observing that mess. Just as Cutler complained about a lack of communication and trust with the Broncos -- stemming from McDaniels' interest in acquiring former New England Patriots and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel earlier this offseason -- Marshall has aired similar grievances. In fact, Marshall complained after a preseason game that a team public relations official had been telling his teammates not to say they were happy about his recent acquittal on misdemeanor battery charges (the Broncos subsequently apologized for that incident).


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/David Zalubowski
"With all the off-the-field problems and everything being so public, I have put myself in a tough position," Brandon Marshall said.
Marshall also has been candid about how little he knows about his new coach. When asked how much he and McDaniels have talked privately about these problems, Marshall shrugged.

"We don't really have a relationship right now, probably because I haven't been here," said Marshall, who was sidelined during most of the offseason while recovering from hip surgery, and missed many training camp practices because of a hamstring injury and his trial.


"It's a tough thing. We do try to keep it professional, and sometimes that's not a bad thing."

McDaniels says there are no personal issues with Marshall -- "I feel really good about him," McDaniels said -- but the new coach also is trying his best to be diplomatic when addressing this matter.

"We're not oblivious to what has happened," McDaniels said. "Again, Brandon Marshall is a very good football player who can help us win games, and we're trying to coach him as best as we can. We're just working through some things."




What McDaniels clearly can't say is that the Broncos absolutely must avoid allowing Cutler and Marshall to leave town within months of each other. Cutler's situation at least can be explained away as a poorly handled misunderstanding that snowballed into a full-blown clash of egos. Marshall's deal is far less complicated. It basically comes down to the Broncos' deciding whether they can live with a large investment in a player who can't seem to avoid trouble.

Even Marshall acknowledges that his reputation -- he's had 13 run-ins with the law in three seasons -- needs a cleansing.

"With all the off-the-field problems and everything being so public, I have put myself in a tough position," Marshall said.

"The NFL and this organization have been with me on these things since day one. They know all the things that I've experienced. But what's that saying -- that perception eventually becomes reality? That's what has happened to me. Perception has become reality."

As much as Marshall wants to believe that, the fact is that he's not helping the public perception around him these days. McDaniels placed Marshall on the scout team last week, and it should be noted that the demotion occurred right after Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, came to town to reiterate Marshall's trade demands.

The team also left Marshall at home for Saturday's preseason game at the Seattle Seahawks. It's common for injured players to stay behind on such trips, but Marshall was healthy enough to compete.

The unanswered question in this case is whether McDaniels was sending a strong message to his star player. We probably will never know for sure, but we have to assume McDaniels wanted Marshall to start shaping up in a hurry. Regardless of what Marshall is demanding from the organization, the Broncos need him to contribute as soon as the season begins. They realize he's the kind of player who can make an immediate impact on their fortunes.

The problem is that Marshall understands that quite well himself, which is why he's focused on getting his way. As he said, "There has been a soap opera going on around here, but coach McDaniels always tells us that change happens every day in the NFL. We're no different here, and you just have to deal with it when it comes."

It should be noted that Marshall chuckled some more after remembering his coach's advice. It suggested that Marshall fully expects to have the last laugh when this mess finally resolves itself.



Senior writer Jeffri Chadiha covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/trainingcamp09/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=4421184