Broncos Run From Denver Like It’s On Fire

The sequence of events that has followed since Josh McDaniels took over the Broncos is something more than strange. The combination of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall should be just what the doctor ordered for a guy who was used to dealing with Tom Brady and Randy Moss, at least from an offensive potency standpoint.
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↵Instead, Cutler and McDaniels never saw eye-to-eye, so Cutler was shipped off to Chicago. And now you can pretty much kiss Marshall good-bye, too. He’s already doing that with his teammates. (Well, not kissing them, but posting pretty clear going-away notes on his own blog.) ↵

↵↵⇥To whom it may concern. Life is filled with change, and where I am in my life now change is probably best. It’s hard leaving an organization ran by one of the best owners in all of sports, and someone who’s been there for me through my ups and downs. The hardest thing was hearing Mr. B wish me luck in the future, but we both came to the conclusion that this is probably the best thing for me to grow on and off the field. ↵↵↵Now, he hasn’t been dealt yet, and despite all of this from Marshall, McDaniels still seems to harbor thoughts of the wideout in a Denver uniform next season. (“We look forward to having Brandon at training camp,” McDaniels told the AP.) ↵

↵↵Let’s play ... THE BLAME GAME! ↵

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↵↵Brandon Marshall: OK, so that whole Outside the Lines thing was incredibly ugly for Marshall personally. He probably needs a fresh start with a new place. Whose fault is that? It’s Marshall’s fault. In addition, we’ve got your run-of-the-mill wide receiver contract dispute. He’s “only” making $2.2 million next season and feels he’s worth more. The market agrees with him, but he isn’t in a great position of bargaining power. Why did this come up in June, as opposed to around the NFL draft when guys are more likely to be dealt? Did he think he’d get a new deal? Maybe we can blame ... ↵

↵↵Jay Cutler: Let’s work off the totally baseless assumption that Cutler and McDaniels didn’t seem to get along and that’s why he was dealt. Perhaps had he been able to suck it up and work with McDaniels, Marshall wouldn’t be trying to run away from a crumbling Invesco Field. Going from Cutler to Captain Neckbeard at QB is enough to make any guy want to switch teams. ↵

↵↵For a team that stood at 8-5 in Week 14 last season with a young, franchise QB, and a receiver with back-to-back 100-plus catch seasons, the question “Can Kyle Orton and Eddie Royal lead this team to the playoffs?” is probably a little bit disheartening. ↵

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