The Broncos just played their first pre-season game against the Bears. They lost.
The Jay Cutler agonistes saga came to an end today as the Broncos sent him to the Chicago Bears for a placeholder and bunch of draft picks.
Orton's a decent guy who won't kill you with mistakes, but he's the classic Bears quarterback of the last quarter-century who can't get the ball past the first down marker. During a goal-line stand. As for the picks, they're above-average but not much more that Orton is. I mean, it's not Herschel Walker or Ricky Williams-type stuff here, it's two firsts and a third from a middling team. The only upside to this is that the new GM can't possibly be worse than Shanahan was at the draft.
The Broncos needed two things out of this deal - a quarterback who can play a little while Chris Sims matures and defensive help. Yes, I'm completely in the tank for the Redskins, but Jason Campbell - who's better than Orton - wasn't taking them to the promised land, and they were loaded with linebackers.
This is what happens when you've either convinced yourself that it's rebuilding time, or you've set a deadline for yesterday to do the deal. When you put yourself under that kind of pressure, people take advantage.
What's remarkable is how quickly the Broncos have gone from class act to grease fire. The new coach made a rookie mistake that's snowballed into a situation that could deflate and alienate all the win-now veterans they brought in. The owner seemed powerless to stop the deterioration, which doesn't bode well for the future.
Look, maybe they have us all fooled. Maybe this is the first leg of a three-way deal that we're all going to be calling brilliant in November. So far, though, not so much.
The Jay Cutler agonistes saga came to an end today as the Broncos sent him to the Chicago Bears for a placeholder and bunch of draft picks.
Orton's a decent guy who won't kill you with mistakes, but he's the classic Bears quarterback of the last quarter-century who can't get the ball past the first down marker. During a goal-line stand. As for the picks, they're above-average but not much more that Orton is. I mean, it's not Herschel Walker or Ricky Williams-type stuff here, it's two firsts and a third from a middling team. The only upside to this is that the new GM can't possibly be worse than Shanahan was at the draft.
The Broncos needed two things out of this deal - a quarterback who can play a little while Chris Sims matures and defensive help. Yes, I'm completely in the tank for the Redskins, but Jason Campbell - who's better than Orton - wasn't taking them to the promised land, and they were loaded with linebackers.
This is what happens when you've either convinced yourself that it's rebuilding time, or you've set a deadline for yesterday to do the deal. When you put yourself under that kind of pressure, people take advantage.
What's remarkable is how quickly the Broncos have gone from class act to grease fire. The new coach made a rookie mistake that's snowballed into a situation that could deflate and alienate all the win-now veterans they brought in. The owner seemed powerless to stop the deterioration, which doesn't bode well for the future.
Look, maybe they have us all fooled. Maybe this is the first leg of a three-way deal that we're all going to be calling brilliant in November. So far, though, not so much.