The Burden Of Modesty

Never mind. Apparently, Cutler's now a Bear.

A day after cautioning against wild conjecture, I’m reaching for that pie in the sky again. No, not concerning the Draft just yet.

Rather, Jay Cutler in trade and the resulting possibilities race through my mind.

I could perhaps approach this topic more practically. Zac at Throwing Into Traffic weighs the implications in the likely scenarios (Browns, Redskins, Jets, Lions, Bears, 49ers) while adding a couple overlooked but intriguing possibilities (Seahawks, Eagles).

The Seahawks call in particular presents a paradigm shift of sorts. Where Seattle has heretofore stressed consistency, building both an offense and defense around the idea, Cutler could transform their implements of precision into weapons. For the Broncos, Matt Hasselbeck and a swap of first round picks could by an unexpected route give Josh McDaniels what he sought in Matt Cassel. Drafting Sanchez fourth overall, McDaniels could have his USC quarterback to mold and buy himself time while the wily veteran Hasselbeck absorbs the shock of transition.

Forget the likely scenarios. Sure in business terms, the Redskins’s every itchy Dan Snyder is given. And the quarterback voids at the Jets, Bears, Lions, and 49ers make them assumed players.

But what about football terms? Outside of economics and personality types, what trades make the most football sense?

If this whole Cutler situation was mucked because of philosophical differences on both sides, where can those opposing sides regain balance? Four ideas hit in quick succession.

Buffalo Bills

With the acquisition of Terrell Owens, the Bills anounced their entry into the AFC East’s arms race. But it doesn’t solve the questions surrounding Trent Edwards as field general for a squad desperate to identify as a bruiser. Cutler’s arm strength and vertical game would unleash the potential of Lee Evans + TO and create space for Marshawn Lynch to punish defenses set on their heels. It could be what Dallas was supposed to be, yet failed to achieve, away from the spotlight.

In turn, Edwards would give McDaniels a signal caller with many of the traits the Patriots model covets: size, mobility, intelligence foremost. Most of all, Edwards could be as close to a blank canvas yet with NFL experience as McDaniels could find.

Houston Texans

I’m no fan of Matt Schaub. The fact that he’s made me think highly of Sage Rosenfels at isolated moments, tells me something is amiss. But he’s incredibly accurate as well as being big and mobile, all things that nominally work well in McDaniels’s system.

For Houston, Cutler can finally leverage everything possible out of Andre Johnson. Plus, Gary Kubiak brought the Denver system with him to the Texans which would allow for an easy adjustment. But really the notion of finally matching Johnson to a quarterback who can utilize all his strengths is purely enough.

Carolina Panthers

The idea of Cutler plus the Broncos’s 12th overall selection to Carolina for Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers makes some sense. The Broncos desparately need an game changing defender while Champ Bailey continues his slide into irrelevance (c’mon, tell me now that Gibbs didn’t get the better end of that trade with Clinton Portis). Steve Smith needs a quarterback he can respect and one that can make the most of his downfield speed.

However Delhomme isn’t really an easy fit for McDaniels’s offense… He is in fact an older and less talented Cutler. But experience is a huge plus for the Patriots system. Look at the success of Chad Pennington in Miami and Kurt Warner in Arizona, both teams using variants of the New England offense McDaniels ran.

Miami Dolphins

In some senses, Pennington is the perfect Parcells quarterback. Smooth and tough. Handsome Chad is rarely rattled even though his physical gifts don’t quite back up his moxie. Observing Jets training camp before the Favre trade I was impressed with how much velocity Pennington was putting behind the ball in July. Then December came and Pennington’s passes started to slow, the out routes shortened, and the Dolphins play calling reverted down the stretch.

But packaging Pennington and his successor Chad Henne for Cutler would give the Dolphins a huge piece to stay apace in the AFC East while the Broncos would receive a talented leader and starter while providing McDaniels with another Michigan quarterback, this one he could groom from virtually Day One.

None of this scenarios will likely play out because of course pro football is a business and in the offseason business takes a front seat. What should happen often doesn’t, especially when big bucks are involved.

Coincidentally, Cutler stirred up mild controversy last year when he claimed his arm stronger than that of Broncos legend John Elway. Measuring such things objectively is impossible – and proven pointless by the Kyle Boller Theorem of Cannon Arms – but Cutler’s claim displayed hubris to many whether or not it hit close to the mark.

Now Cutler can rival Elway in another facet: sulking his way out of one franchise. Elway pulled the primadonna stunt with the Colts, then in Baltimore, upon being drafted. His trade to Denver beyond transforming the Broncos into fast rising contenders in part hastened the Colts middle of the night flight to Indianapolis.

Some, probably Colts fans, might term Cutler’s impending flight Denver’s divine retribution for stealing a once-in-a-lifetime quarterbacking talent. I prefer to think of it as demonstrating how short of a distance exists between such rare specimens as Cutler and Elway.