Hey everyone!  Here is a radio interview of Bill Belichick by the WEEI Sports Radio Network that delves into the Broncos role in the Matt Cassel trade, among other things.  I wasn't sure if anyone had posted it yet but I couldn't find it anywhere.  As far as I know this is the first time that Belichick has come out and talked about the Cassel trade since sending him to Kansas City.  There is a transcript of the interview on the site but it's not that great so I cleared it up a bit.  Here are a few excerpts from the radio interview.  

Belichick on the interest of Denver and other teams in Cassell:

First of all, teams like Denver certainly knew what the situation was and I think every team in the league has good personnel people and they’re on top of the personnel situation.  We franchised Matt and everybody knew what the situation was with that player in that situation and as I said there were a number of people that we contacted, or not contacted, but talked to after Matt signed his tender because that was a little bit of a change of circumstance once that happened.  We pretty much had the deal done with Kansas City because there really wasn’t any interest and some of the teams said that they, as part of a three way trade and that kind of thing, well those teams, I don’t want to get into the specifics.  But believe me,  those teams I personally had contact with 24 to 48 hours before the confirmation of Matt’s trade to Kansas City and they said they had no interest in the player.  So now we have a situation where we’re all of a sudden right at the last minute, well we would have done this or we would have done that.  There was no offer..... But the bottom line is that it was never really there presented.  You have like maybe it could happen, but it was never like here’s a firm offer that’s presented. 

 

Belichick's response to the radio interviewer on the rumor that there was an offer on the table from Denver for a first and a third:

They never made that offer to me

As far as i'm concerned this should end the idea that Denver was ever involved in any kind of serious trade talks to get Matt Cassel.  Bill said it, "There was no offer."  

Sure, Denver did "entertain" trade talks.  However, if they were so serious about getting Cassel then why not make an offer?  Because they had no real intention of getting him.  

They "entertained" the notion and they thought about it.  They may have even traded him if the price was right, but the talks were not serious enough as to warrant them even making an offer.  

Jay has said that Josh has wanted his guy all long.  But if Josh had wanted his guy all along then why wait till the last minute to not make an offer.  I may be sounding a bit repetitive but it all sounds a bit ludicrous.  Or may I say ludibus.

I was just browsing the latest of the DP Broncos articles that come up at about 9pm every evening in NZ and found this article by Mike Klis. The article also discusses the Denver running game and D-line, but obviously the juice of the article is the talk of the so-called Jay Cutler trade.

According to Klis, a source involved in the Jay Cutler trade talks...

...says Belichick aggressively pushed Cassel upon McDaniels from the onset. McDaniels may have allowed loyalty to cloud his judgment and entertained Belichick's proposals far too long.

But according to the source, not one of the many trade offers that swung through Dove Valley came close to pushing the Broncos into striking a deal.

 

Klis may have actually done some good reporting in the article but who's to say that his sources are accurate. With that said, I do think it is one of the more reasonable accounts of the Cutler supposed trade and it fits in quite nicely with Guru's theory of how it all went down.

If the article is true then I would imagine that one of the reasons that McDaniels "entertained" the trade longer than he should have was because of his relationship with Belichick. Wouldn't you listen longer to someone with whom you have a strong relationship as opposed to some random GM that calls you out of the blue. There's more to it than that of course but just one reason to think about it.

At the end of the article Klis says...

Maybe someday — maybe even Monday, when the new coach conducts his first team meeting — McDaniels and Cutler will share a laugh over the drama that was McJaygate.

Let's hope that Klis is right and McDaniels and Cutler will be laughing about this soon, not to mention all of us Bronco fans.  I was thinking, if all is to be looked back upon in hearty laughs and slaps on the back, and if we already have a name for the fiasco, "McJaygate", then why not have a slogan/phrase that sums up the whole situation in humor.  What do you guys think?  I'm thinking,

                                  "He's just not that into you."   lol.

Hello Broncos fans!

In the midst of all the Cutler chaos and Marshall arrest, glug, I would like to introduce myself not only as a one day old Mile High Report member but also as a lifelong Broncos fan.  

First of all, in short, you have an excellent site here at MHR.  It is extremely difficult to find a site where snide remarks and personal attacks are the exception and not the rule.  That is what I love about this site, not to mention the great writers.  MHR is first and foremost a positive place where Broncos fans are free to state their hopes but to also vent their frustrations.

If you were wondering, I have not come upon this site recently.  Although I have made a few comments in the last day, I have been a regular reader for the last ten months or so.  Why join now and start commenting?  You guessed it, the Jay Cutler Fiasco.  I don't want to be over dramatic but I just couldn't sit back and listen to all the bull anymore without saying my piece.  As the phrase goes, "You can't be neutral on a moving train."  I just hope the train does not become derailed.  But i'm not here to talk about that, nor am I worried about it.  Everything will be fine.  If not then I will continue being a strong Broncos supporter.  The sum of the parts does not equal the whole.

Funny enough, but I became a Bronco fan the same way many of you became Bronco fans, by watching John Elway.  I wish I could make up a story about how I saw Elway on TV taking the Broncos down the field and winning the game in the last few minutes and I was hooked from there but that wouldn't be true.  All it took was seeing Elway and the Broncos on TV on a dull Sunday afternoon the year of their Giants Super Bowl run.  All it took was seeing Elway play.  I think that's good enough.  

What endured was years of torture by family and friends. lol.  I distinctly remember my dad and brother heckling me as the 49ers were crushing the Broncos in Super Bowl whatever it was and then running to my room crying and heartbroken. ugh.  That still hurts.  I also remember my friend's dad, a Seahawk's fan, repeatedly remind me that John Elway looked like a horse with bucked teeth and he constantly derided the Broncos and how Elway would never win one because he was a cry baby.  Let's just say he was the first person I thought of on that infamous day in January of 98'.

But the Broncos finally won and they won again.  Two championships!  What more could I ask for.  I had reached my Sports fan pinnacle.  What was left to conquer.  I thought I could then die happily and wander the earth free of desire and realize my artistic self.  Or something like that.  

The thing is, ten years on, I am a stronger Broncos fan than I was when they won two championships.  I have no idea why.  They no longer have John Elway, they no longer have Terrell Davis, they no longer have Rod Smith.  Those guys are long gone.  But I keep coming back year after year.  I don't know why.  The only thing I do know is that I am a big Broncos fan and always will be.  No matter what.  

  What I wanted to do, since this is basically my first post on here, is to make a list of humble random thoughts (something like TedB's) that have stuck out in my mind as a fan of the Broncos over the years.  

1)  I was down right pissed off when Mike Shanahan started Brian Griese over Bubby Brister in the 99 season.  Sure, Bubby had a bad preseason, but starting a rookie over a guy who had won four games starting the previous season was nuts.  What might have been.

2)  I love Woody Paige!  It seems like a lot of people around here don't like him but I always enjoy seeing him on TV or reading his columns.  There is a place for personality in journalism.  It's only a problem when personality becomes journalism.  I bet he probably has crossed that line at times but I still love him.  

3)  I'm not really sold on Terrell Davis being in the Hall of Fame.  Someone would definitely have to try and convince me on that one.  That being said, I don't know enough about the hall.  I am a huge TD fan though.  

4)  Another point on TD.  I vaguely remember wondering, during the first 4 game span of 1999, whether or not TD would remain the back he was with Elway.  I don't remember him dominating during those four games.  It was just an innocent thought that had popped up in my head. 

5)  I don't care what anyone says - the Broncos running game has been shit the last two or three years or more.  You can give me all the stats you want but when they have needed the tough yards they haven't gotten them.

6)  Wesley Woodyard and Spencer Larsen are studs.  They have a presence.  I may be wrong, especially since I saw very few games last year, but from what I have seen they have it.  

7)  The 2006 draft day trade up to get Cutler was brilliant, even considering the present circumstances.  I wanted Santonio Holmes leading up to the draft.

8)  I was also hoping that Denver would get Lendale White in the second round.  Yikes.  I'm glad that didn't happen.

9) In last year's draft I was really hoping that Denver would trade up to get Sed Ellis.  I was also on the Chris Williams and Earl Bennett bandwagon.  You know what though.  It's good to be wrong once in awhile.  It keeps us honest.  And the truth is that most of us don't know shit and are forming our opinions based on other's opinions.  It's all a lesson learned.

10)  On a final note, I am a secondary school teacher in New Zealand, although I am originally from the states.  I actually got some kids together at school and taught them parts of American football and put together a staff vs. students game.  (American football is surprisingly relatively quite popular over here.)  After the game some of the students were like "Mr. you've got a strong arm."  I thought that was funny.  But what was even funnier, the other day a student mentioned that he thought I used to play in the NFL.  I told him that i'm still waiting for the call.  ha.

p.s.  Does anyone know how to change your name on here.  I wasn't sure what to put at the time and I just listed the island that I live next to.   I'm sure I can think of something better.

Cheers -  I look forward to enjoying MHR well into the future!