Well That's Over - Part Four

When dealmaking is subjective

Update Wed 8 April: another typo, this one caught by fellow Redskins blogger Anthony Brown over at Hog Heaven, I seemed to have some math problems with this post, Jason Campbell is actually 20-16 16-20 in 26 36 games as a starter. Thanks for the spot Tony, now readers head over to Hog Heaven and check the headlines.

Update Tue 7 April: helpful reader Anonymous points out in comments that I had Kyle Orton's win-loss totals exactly backwards, and I got Jason Campbell's inverted as well. Thanks for the spot, the post has been corrected, I appreciate observant readers.

Once the Broncos assessed their needs and figured out what they wanted in return, the decision to surgically remove Jay Cutler from Denver was made quickly. A big need was going to be of course, a football quarterback. Would they want ours? Curly R's five part series on the Jay Cutler deal continues.

Part One: Jay Does Not Get It
Part Two: Bad Advice
Part Three: We're Good Thanks
Part Four: We Already Have a QB
Part Five: Adult Time

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Now that Jay Cutler was off the board for 2009 the Broncos had to get someone that could chuck a ball, and Washington's Jason Campbell was a name linked in trade l

4. The Redskins already have a quarterback. And his name is Jason Campbell. All the way home Thursday I heard on Sirius NFL Radio on the simulcast of NFL Network's NFL Replay that Washington had a number of package offers out to Denver, and in the end Denver needed to get a quarterback in return and they liked Kyle Orton over Jason Campbell. Fine, that is a matter of taste, Kyle Orton is a good quarterback, a great example of hard work, talent and persistence.

Jason is a former first round pick and Kyle a former fourth round pick. Jason was the third overall quarterback, Kyle was picked seven QBs and 81 players after Jason. But that was four seasons ago, both players have had enough starts to make some evaluations, Kyle is 12-21 21-12 in 33 games as a starter averaging 27 throws per game, 161 yards passing per game, has thrown 30 touchdown passes against 27 interceptions and ten fumbles lost.

Jason by contrast has a 20-16 16-20 record in 26 36 games as a starter, is averaging 31 passes per game, 201 yards passing, has thrown 35 touchdowns against 23 interceptions and nine fumbles lost.

Again, let us look at this in tabular format:

	Kyle Orton	Jason Campbell
Games started	33	26 36
Win-loss	12-21 21-12	20-16 16-20
Passes per game	27	31
Yards per game	161	201
Touchdown passes	30	35
Interceptions	27	23
Fumbles, lost	20 total, 10 lost	21 total, 9 lost

Table 1, clearly Jason Campbell is the superior quarterback

WTF the Broncos wanted Kyle Orton over Jason Campbell? Well I did not want to see this deal happen but now I am kind of pissed that Jason Campbell was not good enough, check that line again, Jason is better and improved in most categories in 2008. (ed. note: with the wins and losses inverting for both QBs, the argument softens to a degree, I still look at those numbers and see a larger upside in Jason Campbell -Ben)

Then again I would not think Jason Campbell is necessarily a great fit out of the box for a Josh McDaniels offense. But then again I did not think Jason was going to be a great fit for Jim Zorn's west coast offense. I am still not certain he will be but I sure as hell know one thing, six interceptions in 2008 is a damn good improvement for Jason.

And I am willing to bet if Jason can show that much improvement, protecting the ball, moving in the pocket, making smart decisions before throwing, all in Jim Zorn's first year, then he can progress deeper into the offense in his second year.

Jason is obviously a learning machine and he is only going to get better, which is why this game of contract chicken the team is playing by not giving Jason a new deal is pissing me off, but more on that in another post.


Well That's Over concludes tomorrow with part five, Adult Time.



Jay Cutler: Getty Images from here.

Well That's Over - Part Three

Better chance Washington turns on Jay than Jay wins us a title

As we continue ponder what might have been with Jay Cutler and the Redskins, there is a question as to whether Washington would tolerate Jay, assuming he did not bring home the playoffs every season. Curly R's five part series on the Jay Cutler deal continues.

Part One: Jay Does Not Get It
Part Two: Bad Advice
Part Three: We're Good Thanks
Part Four: We Already Have a QB
Part Five: Adult Time

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We will not get to argue it now that he is off to Chicago so this is all moot, is Jay Cutler the franchise quarterback the Redskins have lacked for so long?

3. The Redskins did not need Jay Cutler. When have the Redskins ever had a franchise quarterback? Yes I know times change but think on this: it it going on ten years of Dan Snyder and Washington has not procured or made a star quarterback, at least not one from the top shelf. Is that the problem with the Redskins? Maybe. Brad Johnson, Jason Campell and Todd Collins, Mark Brunell, these are workaday guys that learned a system and fit well into it. Not a lot of swelled heads in that group of Redskins playoff quarterbacks.

But I will concede the fact that the Redskins typically do not have star power at quarterback is not the reason not to pursue Jay Cutler. Let us look at the same issue another way:

Is the city of Washington and the fanbase of the Redskins ready to have a quarterback driven team? Jim Zorn, Clinton Portis, Chris Cooleyand the defensive backs are faces of this Redskins team. Are the fans willing to accept their being bumped out for number one quarterback guy? The day Jay Cutler walked into the Redskins locker room, he would be the only guy in there that was worth two first rounders and would no doubt have hisself a Peyton Manning grade brand new contract. Jay would be the face of the team.

Given how selfishly Jay has conducted himself so far in this whole mess, does anyone think Jay would be able to deal with the almost unavoidable adversity from a tough fan base if the team comes out 1-3 this season? Does anyone think Jay would be open to the kind of direct teaching and mentoring that is Jim Zorn's stock in trade? Because I think Mr. Franchise Jay Cutler would tune out Jim Zorn hey coach the team traded two first round draft picks for me then gave me a 70 million dollar contract so you can take your slip and slide and shove it up your ass besides didn't you play in the NFL like a hundred years ago?

With this Redskins defense does anyone else think if Washington did not have a terrific 2009 that Jay Cutler would be certain to let everyone know it was not his fault, hey maybe you need to take a look at coach?

All of this is not to say Redskins fans need to wear the hair shirt of mediocre quarterbacks, not at all. Washington has come to be known as a team with lots of money, where the football does not have to be great, learning is optional and it is ok to have a large ego. I do not think Jay Cutler in any way bends that curve back in the right direction.


Well That's Over continues tomorrow with part four, We Already Have a QB.



Jay Cutler: Getty Images from here.

Ironic

An Eagles fan would immediately start booing and demand it be fired

Yesterday I took my three kids to Spill the Beans, an awesome locally owned coffee shop down Fort Hunt Road in Fairfax Alexandria and as I was chasing my one year old around I noticed him playing with the Eagles themed Rubik's cube you see in the picture above.

Of course I laughed immediately, I mean I could see a Redskins themed cube for the seat of world power where we deal with big challenges every day. I could see a 49ers themed cube for all the knowledge and new century savvy in Silicon Valley, I could even see a Patriots themed cube for the erudite Massachusettans of Harvard and MIT pedigree.

But Philadelphia? I think a better themed product might be plastic keys or lincoln logs or a wooly willy or some other toy befitting the city zeitgeist, something less likely to be deemed impossible and thrown at your kid or in the trash after five minutes.

What themed products do you think might be suitable for the fanbases of the Redskins NFC Beast division rivals?



Photo by me

Well That's Over - Part Two

When I say Jay do you hear leader?

While Redskins fans figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Jay Cutler ended up in Chicago it seems fair to ask, could he lead this team? Curly R's five part series on the Jay Cutler deal continues.

Part One: Jay Does Not Get It
Part Two: Bad Advice
Part Three: We're Good Thanks
Part Four: We Already Have a QB
Part Five: Tuesday morning

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In the saga of Jay Cutler's move to Chicago the original sin seems to me to be the firing of Mike Shanahan and not the trade talk by Josh McDaniels. Jay may not realize it but he is not the first quarterback to find himself on the block...

2. Jay Cutler is getting some bad advice. Whoever it is, his agent Bus Cook, business advisers, friends and family, Jay does not seem to realize by acting a prima donna that he is hurting himself a hell of a lot more than the Broncos.

Shit, Denver got two first round picks for Jay, even if they package them and trade up to draft Matt Sanchez, the best fit college quarterback for their system, they are net winners here, they got inexpensive value in the draft and got rid of a football problem.

So after getting all huffy about wanting a trade, Jay started to make it real. He skipped optional workouts that would have earned him a one hundred thousand dollar bonus, money he just gave up. So now you know he was all in on this, it was buh bye Broncos for Jay.

That was it. Done. Right? Wrong.

How do we know Jay was taking weak counsel? The minute Broncos owner Pat Bowlen steps up and says ok it's over, he is on the trading block, Jay's cock gets soft and he starts to whine about he didn't want to get traded, he loves the team and the players. That my friends is a bullshit spineless move, to agitate and make it all about you and then as soon as you see you will get your way try to pretend it was not you that started it.

Jay Cutler doesn't even have the balls to walk out of Denver with his head held high.

Well That's Over continues tomorrow with part three, We're Good Thanks.

Jay Cutler: Getty Images from here.

Well That's Over - Part One

Will be hassling another city

Exhale. It's over, Jay Cutler is not coming to Washington.

I for one am pleased, this was never particularly well thought out in my opinion. Now that Jay is off to Chicago, let us review the critical elements of this story, what it means and what it might have meant for Washington. Today The Curly R debuts a five part series on the Jay Cutler deal.

Part One: Jay Does Not Get It
Part Two: Bad Advice
Part Three: We're Good Thanks
Part Four: We Already Have a QB
Part Five: Adult Time

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So Jay Cutler is going to the Chicago Bears for two first round picks, Kyle Orton and the teams are swapping third and fifth round picks. Does that seem like a good deal to you? It does to me and mainly because Washington did not make the deal. Why do I think it was good for Washington to stay away from this deal?

1. Jay Cutler does not understand the business of football. Jay was Mike Shanahan's boy, the Chosen One, the quarterback Mike searched eight years for after the retirement of John Elway. Just as Mike had become complacent and entitled in his stewardship of the Broncos over thirteen years, so had Jay Cutler come to assume in only two years as a full time starter that he was an untouchable cog in the wheel of Denver success.

He was wrong. When Mike would not agree to surrender some control over the team, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen had no choice but to fire him and retake control of his team. Thirty-two year old Josh McDaniels, wunderkind former Patriots offensive coordinator and outer reaches candidate for Redskins head coach in 2008, became the new coach. Josh has no investment in Jay Cutler and that is where Jay went wrong.

Contrary to the opinion of many, Josh did not make a rookie mistake in wondering aloud if Jay might best serve the team in trade. No one can fault Josh for wanting Matt Cassel, it looks like Tom Brady's understudy is ready for a leading role.

No, the rookie mistake was with new Broncos general manager Brian Xanders and ownership not being able to pull the trigger on the deal for Matt. With Mike Shanahan no longer there to guide player moves and maneuver with other teams, hello Clinton Portis for Champ Bailey, the team acted clumsily and made a misstep.

Fucking duh, with Patriots assistant general manager Scott Pioli moving from New England to Kansas City, Josh McDaniels moving to Denver and Tom Brady coming back as the starter it should not have taken a fucking football genius to figure out that Matt Cassel's services were going to be in demand.

So Denver could not get the deal done but let word of the deal get on the street.

And that is where Jay Cutler failed to understand the rules of the game off the field. He represents an investment by the team. As a collective of ability, cost and duration of contract, he has value to Denver as well as any other team that may wish to do business with Denver.

And due to those three factors, ability, cost and duration of contract, Jay may be relatively more valuable to another team than to Denver. Denver was interested in parlaying that value into Matt Cassell, likely through a third party. Another team gets Jay in exchange for draft picks and possibly players, Denver uses the draft picks and possibly players to trade the Patriots for Matt.

It was not personal. Jay is not going to go hungry. Josh has no history with Jay. It is not disrespect, it is playing by the rules of the business. Sometimes as a player you are most valuable to your team in currency.

And failing to understand that, Jay Cutler made some bad decisions.


Well That's Over continues tonight with part two, Bad Advice.



Jay Cutler: Getty Images from here.

I Would Like Everyone to Take a Minute

and remember who runs the Redskins

Curly R is going to weigh in on the Jay Cutler fiasco this evening, while we are working feverishly on deadline we would like everyone that got their panties in a bunch over Jay coming over to the Redskins, whether you thought it was a good idea or a bad idea it is not happening now, the guy in charge of making or not making that deal, shadow general manager Vinny Cerrato?

Yeah the first thing Marty Schottenheimer did in January 2001 was fire him.

Since Dan Snyder re hired Vinny in 2002 after Marty was fired, the Redskins are 50-62.

Beware what you ask for.



Redskins owner Dan Snyder and new head coach Marty Schottenheimer at Marty's from here via here.

Michael Westbrook Now a Literal Sideshow

Ahh good times

Both Jason La Canfora and Dan Dan the Sports Bog man caught former Redskins receiver Michael Westbrook beating the shit out of some hapless guy on a pseudo reality TV show last night, it took me back back back... Joseph White AP story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 20 August 1997:

Redskins practice marred by attack
Westbrook's punches leave teammate bloodied

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington Redskins receiver Michael Westbrook's injuries and work habits have cost him a regular place in the starting lineup. Now, his bloody attack yesterday on a teammate during practice will likely cost him even more.

Westbrook, the team's volatile 1995 first-round draft pick, punched running back Stephen Davis several times, leaving the second-year player face down and bleeding.

Westbrook was ordered off the field immediately by coach Norv Turner, who then told television camera crews to stop filming. Westbrook ran back to the locker room, while Davis lay on the ground.

Westbrook later left Redskin [sic] Park without comment, shaking his head as he walked past reporters. Davis was not available for comment, and trainer Bubba Tyer refused to discuss Davis' injuries.

Before the incident, Westbrook, Davis, [cornerback] Cris Dishman and Brian Mitchell were standing together on the sideline engaged in what appeared to be light-hearted conversation. Westbrook, who is 6 foot 3 and weighs 220 pounds, then hit Davis (6-0, 234) in the face; Davis fell to the ground, with Westbrook punching him several times in the back of the head.

It was unclear what prompted the incident. As Davis lay on the ground, Dishman walked up to Westbrook and said: "That was wrong, man."

Turner said action would be taken against Westbrook, but declined to say whether it would be a fine, suspension or both. (NYT link also here)

Way to stand up for your teammate there Cris.

Michael was fined 50 thousand dollars for the incident and started the season opener, a victory at Carolina, on the bench, Michael did not record a catch in that game.

At that point in Redskins history, Michael was a entering his third year, he was the number four overall selection in the 1995 NFL draft, he had managed exactly 34 catches in each of his first two seasons and had had recurring knee problems. Oddly enough he also pulled in exactly 34 catches in 1997 and was remarkably consistent with between 505 and 559 yards in each of the three seasons. Not exactly stellar first round numbers.

Stephen was a rising second year player, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1996 draft and had not seen much action in his rookie year as Terry Allen set a franchise record with 1353 rushing yards and led the NFL with 21 rushing touchdowns.

There is no official story of the incident, though there is still a bath ring of echoes that we can put together:

Perhaps Michael was unpopular in the locker room. We certainly know he was a first round pick prima donna. Maybe there was locker room ribbing or pejorative nicknames that had become regular. And yes, perhaps Michael was a shitty blocker and Stephen was not afraid to call Michael out on it. Perhaps that sideline conversation between Michael, Stephen, Cris Dishman and Brian Westbrook was about how jealous the other players were of his house and cars and how the other Redskins treated Michael like an asshole in the locker room.

What seems most reliable is that during that sideline chat Stephen let loose and called Michael a faggot, a homo, a queer or some other derogatory name associated with male individuals of homosexual orientation. Michael, perhaps having heard it before and having had enough thank you very much felt the spontaneous need to assert his manhood and beat the crap out of Stephen, who was taken by surprise and did not even really defend himself.

Michael himself has disputed this to some degree, though not in a way that is necessarily contradicts the story. Michael says he and Brian Mitchell and Terry Allen, no mention of Cris Dishman and the AP made no mention of Terry Allen, were talking on the sideline, about how the veterans should be left to quote handle unquote the team.

Michael admits he addressed this line of discussion by insisting that everyone was jealous of what he had, presumably as a wealthy first round pick who had signed a whopping seven year eighteen million dollar contract. Stephen interjected that Michael was saying a bunch of gay shit, where the term gay here connoted stupid and not homosexual.

Michael goes on in the ESPN piece linked above to describe the anguish he felt and still feels over how that episode morphed out of control into persistent rumors that Michael was slash is gay. It is worth noting that his football regret is over supposedly being labeled incorrectly as gay and not for beating the shit out of a teammate, thereby further alienating himself from the rest of the team.

For my part I never did and still do not give a shit about Michael Westbrook's sexual orientation, nor that of any other player or person on the planet for that matter. I only cared that he was an asshole and a disappointment as a football player of no small expectation on the team I choose to follow.

In all, Michael played seven seasons for the Redskins, by far Michael's best year was 1999 when he pulled in 65 catches for 1191 yards and six touchdowns, the Redskins made the playoffs for the only time in Michael's career.

Maybe his most memorable play though came in game three of that 1997 season, the Redskins played the Cardinals to a pathetic 13-13 tie at Redskins Stadium, just under two minutes into overtime quarterback Gus Frerotte dodged two Cardinals pass rushers, first stepping left and transferring the ball to his left hand, then dodging back to his right, resetting the ball and slinging it forty yards in the air to Michael Westbook who caught it in the end zone and fell backwards for the winning touchdown in overtime, Redskins win 16-13. We all thought Michael had arrived.

When it was all said and done Michael Westbrook played eight seasons in the NFL, caught 285 passes for 4374 yards and 26 touchdowns, had one thousand yard season in his career and is a consensus top fifty NFL draft bust of all time. Stephen Davis played eleven seasons in the pros, carried the ball 1945 times for 8052 yards and 65 touchdowns. Stephen had four thousand yard seasons and set the Redskins franchise record for rushing yards twice, in 1999 and again in 2001.

Redskins fans remember Stephen Davis as the face of the franchise in his time, one of the greatest Redskins ever, the very personification of ball control football. Michael Westbrook, well he was mostly a waste of money on the field who now does reality TV.



Redskins receiver Michael Westbrook attacking Redskins tailback Stephen Davis on 19 August 1997: uncredited image from here, this is a vidcap from what I am pretty sure is WUSA Channel 9's cameras.