Why I Drafted Jay Cutler--B/R article written by former DEN GM

[Conn]

Article written by former Denver GM Ted Sundquist about drafting Cutler, and lots of kinda subtle stuff about his small power struggles with Shanahan who also had a say in personnel before firing Sundquist.

This article should be of interest to lots of people here for a few reasons:

1. It gives insight into the draft process from a GM's POV, which is alway interesting.

2. It gives insight into the development (or lack thereof) of a young QB prospect.

3. It gives some insight in Mike Shanahan and his rep as a HC/GM. Might shine some light.

4. Sheds a little light on the Shanahan--->McDaniels transition and fiasco, which has always interested me at least.

Ignore that it's from Bleacher Report, that doesn't matter when the guest writer is a former GM who was in the room for all decisions.

Bonus: it's not a slide show! Internet article slide shows should die a fiery hellfire-fueled death.

Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2580349-why-i-drafted-jay-cutler-and-what-happened-from-there

I copy and pasted some of the interesting parts, but its a long article with tons of interesting info. I jotted down some thoughts after some of these blurbs:

Rookie Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum was looking to unload three-time Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham, and Atlanta was an interested buyer. The numbers didn't add up for McKay, and he needed a third party to even things out. The deal was that we'd get the Falcons' first-round pick (15th overall), send our first (29th) to the Jets and send our third and 2007 fourth to the Falcons, who'd also get Abraham.

I liked the deal for us. It was a chance to land a top-tier player (regardless of the position) before the draft even started, a rare opportunity in Denver. A third and a fourth seemed like pennies to gain the leverage that normally costs at least a second-round pick—or perhaps the alternative of losing eight to 10 games to earn the rights.

I took the proposal to Shanahan and wasn't prepared to accept "no" for an answer. It didn't take much to get his approval. I called Rich back and said, "We're in."

Another rare pre-draft trade that Shanahan was involved with, although obviously the circumstances were very different for this one than the Griffin trade. Still interesting to read about.

We entered the draft under our usual cone of silence. Our staff was given strict orders to discuss nothing about our interests, and it drove the local media nuts. Shanahan and I didn't believe in bringing in prospects for predraft visits. If we hadn't already gained a good enough feel for the player through our earlier interview process, then we hadn't done our jobs. Besides, why tip your hand?

Didn't Shanahan conduct pre-draft interviews here? Seems his stance on this changed over time.

There's something we only recently began using called the "Human Resource Tactics" test, which gauges various aspects of a player's character makeup. Cutler's "Mental Quickness" score is off the charts. Two other numbers are not. His "Self Confidence" score is average. It should be higher than that. His "Focus and Social Maturity" score is worrisome.

I think to myself, "This kid could be great. But we need to be careful with how we develop him."

Interesting stuff on a prospects personality and how it can effect development, here.

The prognosticators had been wrong. Two of the top three quarterbacks were now available at No. 8. Shanahan didn't want to risk anyone jumping up to grab Leinart. He felt this might be the steal of the draft if we could somehow orchestrate a trade. Dinger and I just looked at each other.

"Start calling," Mike commanded.

The Bills were a possibility. They'd selected J.P. Losman with their first-round pick in 2004, but they were quick to reply, "Our man is there." I was already on the phone with Detroit GM Matt Millen when Buffalo grabbed defensive back Donte Whitner.

"Matt, you guys interested in trading this pick?" Joey Harrington had been a huge disappointment, and Millen was starting over with new head coach Rod Marinelli. There was a distinct possibility we might lose one of the two to the Lions.

"Teddy, I think we've got our guy, but thanks for reaching out."

Millen had signed longtime Seahawks/Bengals QB Jon Kitna as a free agent earlier in the year, but the possibility was still there to add a younger player. We all anxiously waited to hear whose name the commissioner would read. Leave it to a former defensive coordinator on his first head coaching gig to go after a linebacker. Marinelli and Millen turned in their card with the name of Florida State's Ernie Sims.

I called Cardinals general manager Rod Graves.

"Rod, any chance you'd be willing to trade out of this next pick?" They had Kurt Warner, who was a cult hero from his Super Bowl season with the Rams, but he was 35 years old, and Denny Green might have been getting a bit impatient with Warner's inability to recreate that same magic.

"Ted, I think we're going to stay put. We've got our guy," Graves replied.

"The Arizona Cardinals select...Matt Leinart, quarterback, USC." Shanahan was visibly perturbed.

Interesting that Leinart was Shanahan's guy. Cutler seems like such a prototypical Shanahan/Kubiak QB. Mobile enough to run the boot, cannon for an arm.

Mostly I just like to hear about the draft day trade chatter, so I pasted it here.

Through three years, he appeared well on his way to what we'd all thought he could develop into when we were scouting him and trading up to pick him. His skills seemed to be sharpening, his leadership pronounced and his numbers growing. He was healthy, making better decisions, hitting all the throws and building the kind of confidence necessary to carry a team...The development of any young player takes time and commitment. Quarterback is no exception. To say that wasn't happening in Denver would be wrong. But certainly the task was yet to be completed...Owner Pat Bowlen felt change was necessary, and Mike Shanahan was fired after 14 seasons as the team's head coach and executive vice president....Shanahan, Heimerdinger and myself—the three people most instrumental in bringing Cutler to Denver and the three people who had the most vested interest in developing him—were now all gone...The development of Jay Cutler effectively ended in 2009, really just a little over two seasons after it started. Traded to the Bears, he went to Chicago with greater expectations and once again was playing the role of an outsider in the locker room...He has had five offensive coordinators in seven seasons with the Bears. He's currently working for his third head coach-general manager combination...Cutler's full development never took place, and though there were many outward signs of improvement, he was essentially sent to Chicago without his degree, and the Bears weren't looking for a project. So Cutler reverted back to what he knows best and relied upon himself.

This is how you ruin a QB prospect folks. No matter how you feel about Cutler he had all the tools you could ask for and was progressing early on. There's a lot to learn here, especially when you contrast it with how GB handled Rodgers (who has had one coaching staff his entire career and sat and totally changed his mechanics while mastering the X's and O's on the bench).

The article also hits on how Shanahan didn't have the patience to let Cutler sit and develop behind Plummer, and benched Plummer at the absolute earliest opportunity. Kind of foreshadows how he'd handle Griffin years later--not having the patience to make him a pocket QB from the beginning, instead going with the read-option to salvage his rookie season, and later on again not having the patience to stick with and develop him when we were losing. Not saying Griffin was definitely capable of becoming a good pocket passer originally, or that he was later salvageable. Just noting that maybe we could have seen this coming to a degree.

Multiple references to Shanahan's inability to communicate and keep players on the same page throughout the article, as well. Also a comment from Sundquist about how Mike would sometimes get pissed and just go off on his own plan during the draft if things weren't falling his way. Says he was known for it. Just interesting insight.

The stuff about McDaniels and how he immediately **** in Cutler's face and basically forced a divorce there is also really interesting.

Highly recommended read.

[Warhead36]

Damn, that's a good article. I've always been interested in learning more about what actually goes on behind the scenes during the draft process, and this article really goes deep into that.

[jflow78]

Yeah, McDaniels was an idiot when he got the HC job in Denver. From what I recall, it wasn't just Cutler that he pissed off either, there were other players. 

 

Also, it really makes me wonder if quick thinking and decision making along with a strong arm aren't the 2 qualities that matter more than anything else. Rogers was completely alienated in the locker room in Green Bay while he was there with Favre for the first little while because Favre was the guy, but Rogers learned everything he needed to while the pressure of being "the man" wasn't on him and now he's one of the best in the league. 

 

Though I know there are other ways to develop a QB, it certainly seems like that might be the best way to find a QB without needing a top 5 pick. Brady had a little over a year to sit and study and work on mechanics without the pressure and I can't believe he's 38 and still one of the top guys in the league.

[Ghost of]

What the hell was with McDaniels?  Don't they vet these kinds of people? It's one thing for a nice, good man like Lovie Smith to just sort of wear out his welcome as a head coach (I do think at one point he wasn't bad) or for someone's "fiery" personality to be unable to connect.

 

It's another when someone is an asshole.  Why did he berate Cutler's game except to drive him off the team?  Why else would someone do that? You're 32 (at the time), you aren't man enough yet to sit there and do something like that.  Maybe you take that sort of crap from someone like Ditka because you think he's being a hard ass out of love or competitiveness, but MCDaniels looking back across the desk at you must simply inspire contempt.

 

I would have asked Jay what happened, and fired McDaniels immediately.  **** a contract.  Profanity-laden tirades to someone you're just meeting and bashing their work (as opposed to talking positively about ways to improve and how you could help as new coach) is something that's a firing offense to me.

[doncherry]

Great read.  Thanks for sharing.

I know that Shanny gets no love here, but I respect him.  He was an excellent as an OC - just look at the 1994 49ers. 

He also won back to back SBs as a HC.  It didn't work out here, but I honestly think that Snyder had a lot to do with that.  Just guesswork on my part....

[pjfootballer]

Wow, leaks in the lockeroom.  Hmmm. Never heard that before.  

 

McDaniels was in over his head from the beginning.  He tried to make the Broncos, "Patriots West."  Even down to the cut off hoodie.  Kind of like when Norv Turner tried to make us Dallass East in the 90s.  What works for one organization, rarely works for another.

[SkinsTillIDie]

The article also hits on how Shanahan didn't have the patience to let Cutler sit and develop behind Plummer, and benched Plummer at the absolute earliest opportunity. Kind of foreshadows how he'd handle Griffin years later--not having the patience to make him a pocket QB from the beginning, instead going with the read-option to salvage his rookie season, and later on again not having the patience to stick with and develop him when we were losing. Not saying Griffin was definitely capable of becoming a good pocket passer originally, or that he was later salvageable. Just noting that maybe we could have seen this coming to a degree.

 

 

^^ This is a complete fallacy. Shanahan's plan to develop RGIII was all about the patient, long-view approach. His plan was to start with what RGIII was most comfortable with while adding pro-concepts from the pocket each year. Increasing the percentage of pocket passes each year. It's been widely reported that RGIII and his father were upset that the offense changed for Cousins when he was injured, and in the offseason after his ROY season, he demanded that the Shanahans stop calling read-option and install a "pro style" offense immediately.

 

He took this up with the owner, who agreed.

 

RGIII wasn't ready to make this jump. Shanahan knew it, but RGIII didn't listen. He thought he knew far more than he did; he thought he was far better than he was. He went to Snyder who usurped Shanahan's authority.

 

"Not having the patience to make him a pocket QB from the beginning," as you say, doesn't even make sense.

 

Moreover, Shanahan didn't go with the "read option to salvage his season." He and Kyle built an offense around RGIII's strengths that not only initiated a league-wide trend (directly leading to San Francisco's Superbowl run behind Kaepernick and the read option), but that first-year offense was also the most efficient in the league.

 

It was RGIII's impatience -- among other factors -- that led to both his and Shanahan's failed tenures here.

[Conn]

SkinsTillIDie, lets just agree to disagree on our interpretation of events. I'm not interested in filling this thread with that stuff, that was just an offhand comment about a small part of the article that I thought shed some light. I'd much rather people in this thread enjoy it than witness this rehashing of events. I posted it in ATN for a reason.

[Warhead36]

I think SkinsTillIDie is spot on. Shanahan's plan was to develop RG3 slowly, getting him comfortable first while steadily putting in more pro passing concepts.

 

I hate to beat this horse again...ultimately the disaster that was the fall of RG3 was everyone's fault. RG3's, Shanahan's, Snyder's, everyone. But Shanny's plan initially was the right one and it would have worked had he had the balls to bench him in the playoff game before getting his knee killed.

[Conn]

Wow, leaks in the lockeroom.  Hmmm. Never heard that before.  

That stuck out to me as well. Sundquist didn't directly say it but the fact that he suspected it says that Shanahan had a rep for that sort of thing. It's actually kind of interesting, the biggest NFL insider right now is Adam Schefter. He got his start in Denver, co-wrote a book with Shanahan, and probably made his name reporting scoops from Mike. It's no surprise that while Mike was here there were so many leaks.

[SkinsFTW]

 It's no surprise that while Mike was here there were so many leaks.

 

But never was Mike accused of having a "side chick"