Jay Cutler watch
Bears try to salvage something and halt losing streak against lowly Rams - The Canadian Press
Broncos coming full circle: Denver faces final piece of the offseason's QB ... - Longmont Daily Times-Call
Broncos coming full circle: Denver faces final piece of the offseason’s QB controversy on Sunday
By Brian Howell
© 2009 Longmont Times-Call
Kyle Orton is the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos.
Jay Cutler is throwing gobs of interceptions for the Chicago Bears, instead of for the Broncos.
Over in Kansas City, Matt Cassel’s doing what he can to make the Chiefs a winning team.
For the most part, the three quarterbacks haven’t had much to do with each other during their NFL careers.
During the spring, however, the three were linked to one another as the Broncos and Cutler played out a public feud.
The quick version of the story: Josh McDaniels was hired as the Broncos’ head coach in January after serving as an assistant in New England. He then expressed interest in acquiring Cassel, with whom he had worked for several years, from the Patriots, who were shopping Cassel. Cutler, coming off his first Pro Bowl season, got upset and wanted no part of playing for the Broncos anymore. Cassel was traded to Kansas City. The Cutler-McDaniels feud blew up, and Cutler was traded to Chicago for Orton.
On Sunday, McDaniels will lead the Broncos into Kansas City to face Cassel and the Chiefs. It’ll be an opportunity for the two to renew their friendship, but they couldn’t avoid the questions this week about the drama they were involved with over the spring.
After all, it was McDaniels’ interest in Cassel that started the whole saga. As it played out, however, the quarterback didn’t understand how his name got dragged into it.
“I was watching ESPN like you were and going, ‘How in the heck did my name get thrown in here?’” Cassel said.
Ultimately, he didn’t have much to do with the saga, but — at least publicly — it was McDaniels’ interest in Cassel that upset Cutler and led to the trade.
“It was kind of crazy, because it was more speculation, I think, than anything else,” Cassel said. “When I was going through (the offseason), I really didn’t have any contact with Denver.”
McDaniels having interest in bringing Cassel to Denver made sense. The two worked together for four years. Cassel was the Patriots’ backup quarterback for three of those years, but when starter Tom Brady injured his knee during the 2008 season opener, Cassel took over, leading the team to an 11-5 record.
His performance — and Brady’s health — led to the Patriots trading Cassel to Kansas City.
McDaniels said he’s happy for his former quarterback, who has thrown for 1,898 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Chiefs this season.
“He got what he deserved in terms of having an opportunity to go to another franchise and be the starting quarterback, and it’s a well-deserved opportunity,” McDaniels said.
If not for McDaniels’ influence, Cassel might not be in K.C. today, he said.
“He really helped me grow up as a quarterback in this league,” Cassel said. “I give a lot of credit to me being in this position to him.”
In the end, the Broncos, Chiefs and Bears seem to be pleased with how the dust settled — although the Bears could do without a few of Cutler’s league-high 20 interceptions.
“I love where I’m at,” Cassel said. “I think there’s a lot of great things to come here in Kansas City.”
GETTING BETTER: Prior to their seventh game of the season, the Broncos cut punter Brett Kern and signed 16-year veteran Mitch Berger.
Berger, who played at the University of Colorado, struggled his first two weeks but has punted very well the past three weeks.
“What he brings to the table is, obviously, experience,” Broncos special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said.
Priefer said Berger is a good situational punter, adding, “The things we ask our punter to do is different from a lot of teams.”
Rather than booming kicks, the Broncos want their punter to kick the ball to a spot.
“I think Mitch is doing better each week with trying to put the ball where we ask him to put it and letting our guys go down there and cover,” McDaniels said.
In the past three weeks, Berger has averaged 46.6 yards per punt, while opponents have averaged just 4.9 yards per return. His first two weeks, those numbers were 38.5 and 8.3.
EXTRA POINTS: Safety Brian Dawkins (ankle) practiced Friday for the first time this week, but he was limited in his participation. He is listed as questionable for Sunday. Every other player has had full participation all week. ... The Broncos have lost five consecutive December road games. ... The Chiefs have lost four consecutive December home games.
Brian Howell can be reached at bhowell@times-call.com.
NFL intercepts Bears-Blackhawks ads - Chicago Tribune
NFL intercepts Bears-Blackhawks ads
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Those innovative ads the Chicago Bears and Chicago Blackhawks shot together in October out at Halas Hall?
The ones in which Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (above, right) and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (above, left) traded passing tips and Bears linebacker Lance Briggs and Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook compared notes on how big hits cause big turnovers?
They’re never going to see the light of day, by order of the National Football League.
Boy, nothing is going right for the Bears this season.
And it’s a rare setback in what has, to this point, been a largely charmed Hawks season. Especially since it was the hockey team that was footing the bill for the “Crosstown Supporters” campaign crafted by its agency, Ogilvy & Mather.
The idea was to allow the two teams to ride the coattails of each other’s popularity, and allow their players to have some fun and show a little personality. But the two old-school sports franchises instead received an old schoolteacher rap on the knuckles from a league that zealously guards its licenses and marketing rights.
NFL team marks and logos cannot be used in connection with the promotion of other sports except by three-quarters vote of the league’s 32 clubs, according to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello.
Which is probably why the Bears-Hawks ads were believed to be unprecedented.
"We felt it was within the framework of the spirit of what the rule was,” said Scott Hagel, the Bears' senior director of corporate communications. “They felt differently and we have to respect their decision.”
Five commercials pairing Hawks and Bears players — featuring Cutler, Briggs, Devin Hester, Robbie Gould and Greg Olsen from the Bears; Toews, Seabrook, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Brian Campbell from the Hawks — were shot in Lake Forest on a rare off day shared by both teams.
The Hawks paid to produce the ads, and pledged to buy time and place the spots, although the Bears were going to donate airtime on programs they own. But, publicly at least, it doesn’t appear there are hard feelings, just regret.
“We still continue to have a strong bond with their organization, and we’ll explore other opportunities that are within the parameters of the NFL,” said Brandon Faber, the Blackhawks director of media relations. “We’re certainly big fans of theirs.”
Jay Blunk, the Blackhawks senior vice president of business operations, had said the genesis of the campaign came from a National Hockey League executives meeting in May when someone tossed out a statistic that 92 percent of NHL fans are also National Football League fans.
"I remember writing the word 'Bears' and circling it," Blunk said in October. "The Blackhawks are an up-and-coming brand, on the move. But the Chicago Bears are an iconic international brand. So when it came to attaching our brand to something with great credibility and great reach, there was no bigger fish than the Chicago Bears. We were very fortunate the Bears allowed us to do this."
Unfortunately, they didn’t have the final say.
“We’re disappointed that the fans won’t get to see the end point of the project,” the Bears' Hagel said. “The Blackhawks organization as a whole was phenomenal through the whole process, even when the league told us we couldn’t participate anymore. So we couldn’t have more respect for them.”
[URL="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/chi-091204-bears-mailbag-pompei,0,4423413.story"]
Dan Pompei's Bears mailbag: The Cutler/Hester combo - Chicago Tribune
Cutler/Hester combo
The Bears writer answers your questions weekly
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Devin Hester leave the field after turning the ball over to Arizona. (Nam Y. Huh, Associated Press / November 8, 2009)
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XJay Cutler
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Multi-Sport Events By Dan Pompei
Tribune staff reporter
7:12 p.m. CST, December 4, 2009
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Got a question for Dan? Email him at dpompei@tribune.com
My question is simple: People who say "it's not Cutler's fault" are labeled Cutler apologists. People that say, "He's a horrid, turnover prone QB" are labeled haters. So, what's your take? -- Jim Sacco; Abingdon, Va.
Thanks Jim. I think we all should evaluate Cutler for what he is. It's true that it's not all Cutler's fault. He has been put in some horrible situations. But it's also true that he has played well below expectations. If Cutler is indeed a "franchise" quarterback, he should be capable of lifting up the players around him. I would argue he has dragged down the players around him this year. He has a long way to go before I'll be ready to call him a "franchise" quarterback. But I still love his potential.
I feel like there is a looming issue about Jay Cutler that has not been touched on; that is, what explanation has he given about his poor mechanics? I never watched him in Denver too much, I just always heard everyone rave over him. Are his bad mechanics due to our dreadful offensive line or was this something he showed in Denver? I still like the trade (although I have no idea how we will ever surround him with enough talent), but this makes me worried. -- Dan, Champaign
Inconsistent mechanics are nothing new for Cutler. Some quarterbacks just are not textbook throwers. Cutler is one of those guys--never has been, never will be. He has so much ability that he has not had to throw the way coaches tell you to throw. I don't think poor mechanics have been his problem though. I think poor decisions and poor reaction to pressure have been much bigger problems.
Before the season started, a writer for Sports Illustrated had the Bears going to the Super Bowl. Many sports writers had them winning their division. Why are the Bears playing so bad then? Is it coaching; is it good players just not trying; or is it injuries to key players? Or is it the Sports writers not knowing their stuff? -- Bernard Gardocki; Collegeville, Pa.
When it comes to the Bears, I think a lot of us underperformed this year: coaches, players and even sportswriters. But sportswriters weren't the only ones who thought this team was better than it was. I talked with two NFL head coaches this week and two assistants from other teams. All four men, without prompting, expressed surprise at how poorly the Bears had performed. I should point out, however, that I did not pick the Bears to win the NFC North. I picked the Vikings. And I also picked the Vikings to win the Super Bowl. We'll see how that one comes out.
I realize that Devin Hester needs to refine his routes, but the man is a playmaker and I think Cutler needs to get him to be THE guy. Now that the season is over I say save Matt Forte (overused last year) and try to get Hester involved a LOT MORE. Bennet and Knox are nice also but if Cutler doesn't overthrow Hester a couple times we are still in hunt. -- Bill Marchetti; Freeland, Pa.
I'm with you Bill. I wish Cutler would look for Hester more. Whenever he has thrown to him, Hester has not disappointed. He has shown an ability to run good routes and get open, good hands and run after the catch. Hester has too much talent to be overlooked the way he has been overlooked in recent games. It seems like he had one bad game, against the 49ers, and Cutler has forgotten about him since.
If the Bears need new players, who do they keep outside of Cutler? How can they complete any kind of meaningful overhaul without high draft picks? I am afraid your answer to both those questions will be scary. -- Dan
I don't think the Bears are as bad off as their showings would lead us to believe. They have a lot of players any team would want. Among them are Cutler, Hester, Johnny Knox, Greg Olsen, Alex Brown, Tommie Harris, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman and Robbie Gould. Don't look for a massive overhaul as long as the Bears keep their current management team in place. They'll try to tweak things but won't clear out the locker room. In terms of not having picks in the first two rounds, I don't think it is as big a deal as a lot of people have made it out to be. We're talking about two players. Usually, there is a bout a 50 percent chance of hitting on those players. So many we're talking about one player. And maybe he doesn't contribute much for two or three years. I will say this though -- the Bears need to hit on a couple of free agents this offseason. That will be imperative.
Got a question for Dan? Email him at dpompei@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
would try to get the links for this but my computer keeps freezing up..
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