QB Jay Cutler Sent to Chicago: The History of the Denver Divide

Following more drama than your average episode of Laguna Beach, QB Jay Cutler's days in Denver are officially over.

It all began at the end of the regular season, where the Broncos became the first team to lose the division title when leading by 3 games with only 3 games left to play. This sparked a change in Denver.

After 14 seasons as head coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan was fired by owner Pat Bowlen. A legacy had ended. Broncos Pro Bowl QB Jay Cutler, in this fourth year, had forged a relationship with his coach, and was worried by the firing. This came with the promise to Cutler that the offensive coaching staff would stay in tact.

Then, in mid-January, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen reached an agreement with former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. McDaniels was considered one of the top coach prospects entering the 2009 off-season. McDaniels and his offensive philosophy promised to be the molding material necessary to make Jay Cutler an all-star quarterback for years to come.

Just weeks after being hired, though, McDaniels replaced most of the offensive coaching staff.

With QB Matt Cassel franchise tagged but on the block in New England, McDaniels and the Broncos discussed Jay Cutler in a potential trade that would bring Cassel from New England and send Cutler to Tampa Bay for potential draft picks. The trade quickly fizzled when Cassel was dealt to the Chiefs along with LB Mike Vrabel for a second round pick.

Feeling disrespected by Pat Bowlen and Josh McDaniels, Cutler voiced his opinion on the brass, calling out Bowlen for lies he told Cutler about keeping the offensive coaching staff intact.

The two sides tried to meet face-to-face but never reached an agreement. After more mudslinging between the two parties, Cutler issued a statement through his agent Bus Cook that he was demanding a trade. Further attempts to work out the conflict had failed, and the dramatic rift between the quarterback and the Broncos management hadn't improved.

Finally giving into the demands of their franchise quarterback, the Denver Broncos placed Jay Cutler on the trade block and began entertaining offers for the Pro Bowl QB. From the start, the asking price was two first-round draft picks.

As usual, a lot of teams were in the market for a franchise quarterback, and many were listed as willing to pay a high price for one with some experience. However, with the rift between the quarterback and the team seeming to grow by the day, there aren't many teams who would be willing to pay a high price to get rid of another team's headache.

Thus, when the Bears gave up this and next years 1st round picks along with Kyle Orton to land Jay Cutler, many (including myself) were surprised, not only that Cutler actually yielded such a high price tag, but also that the Bears pulled the trigger on the trade. These are the same Bears who have been franchise quarterback-less since the days of Jim McMahon in the 80s.

The question now becomes, will Jay Cutler be a good fit in Chicago's offense? No longer will he have the security blanket of Brandon Marshall; he won't be throwing to last season's breakout rookie WR Eddie Royal; he surely doesn't have the multi-talented blocking and receiving TE he had in Tony Scheffler. Instead, he gets crusty veteran WR Marty Booker, still unproven WR Devin Hester, and deep threat TE Greg Olsen. He will, however, have the support of a running game that must be accounted for with RB Matt Forte's breakout rookie season busting holes in a few Chicago records.

One statistic that works in Cutler's favor is his win-loss record: 17-20 overall; not nearly as impressive when you account for Denver's dismal defense. However, when Denver's defense gave up less than 21 points, Cutler's record was 13-1. Joining a defensive-minded clan like the Bears could be just the right marriage to bring Chicago to the forefront of the NFC race.

Regardless, the new offense of Chicago, while not as intricate as the Patriots offensive scheme, will have Cutler learning a lot of new things, and could potentially take the ball out of his hands a lot more to put it in the hands of the running game. It will certainly be interesting to see how Cutler reacts to a less gun-slinging approach in Chicago, where efficiency and clock management are key ingredients in the mindset of the team.