Just As I Thought; Jets NEVER HAD A CHANCE!!!

[SoFlaJets]

Gary Myers

Jay Cutler, even with his crybaby whining, would have been a big upgrade for the Jets and made them playoff contenders right away. But for the crazy price the Bears paid to get him, he'd better turn out to be Peyton Manning and not Jeff George.

Ever since the Cutler situation blew up in Denver the last weekend in February, I've been advocating that the Jets go hard after him if the Broncos elected to trade him. Why not? Is anybody really excited about the Kellen Clemens-Brett Ratliff showdown this summer in some remote upstate New York town, other than Clemens and Ratliff?

Rex Ryan has put together what could be a formidable defense and other than the Trent Dilfer aberration that Ryan witnessed as an assistant in Baltimore in 2000, it's very hard to win the Super Bowl playing around the quarterback.

Cutler is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, a young gunslinger like Brett Favre was back in the day. If there were any guarantees he would really be the next Favre, then giving up what the Bears did would have been easy to rationalize and something the Jets should have done.

As it turns out, sources said Thursday night the Jets never even had the opportunity to consider topping the Bears offer. They let the Broncos know they wanted Cutler before he was on the market and called Denver after Broncos owner Pat Bowlen opened the auction earlier this week.

And guess what? The source said the Broncos never called back GM Mike Tannenbaum. The Jets got absolutely nowhere. They got the same treatment Cutler gave the Broncos: No return phone calls.

Denver never gave the Jets a chance to make an offer. Clearly, with the Jets the only AFC team showing serious interest and all the NFC teams in the derby picking right around the Jets' No. 17 first-round spot in the draft on April 25, the Broncos were determined to ship Cutler out of the conference. Now, they will play Cutler every four years instead of every three and don't have to worry about him beating them in the playoffs unless they meet in the Super Bowl.

The Bears gave up their first-round pick both this year and in 2010, plus a third-rounder this year and quarterback Kyle Orton in exchange for Cutler and the Broncos' fifth-round selection this year.

"I think they gave up a lot," one general manager said last night. "An extraordinary amount."

The Jets never reached the point of having to empty their draft for Cutler. Would they have made the same deal and subbed Clemens for Orton if that was acceptable to the Broncos? I don't think the Jets would have done it. And they shouldn't have. It's just too much. Cutler is very good, but he is not the pre-knee surgery Tom Brady.

The Broncos are likely to take a quarterback in the first round with their No.1 pick (12th overall) or the Bears' pick (18th). But for 2009, Orton can keep things respectable. He is 21-12 as a starter and surely will go into camp ahead of recently signed Chris Simms. Of course, it's ludicrous that the Broncos divorced Cutler after just three years, but both sides are to blame.

There are questions about Cutler that do concern teams: His complaining, leadership, passing the blame and his battle with diabetes, although fortunately he has the latter under control and threw for 4,526 yards with 25 TDs last season after it was diagnosed last offseason. He never won at Vanderbilt and didn't win in Denver, and that has not gone unnoticed.

Still, for the right price, which I thought would have been a first- and third-round pick and perhaps linebacker David Harris if that was a deal breaker, it would have been tempting for the Jets. Cutler was 17-20 in Denver playing with a bad defense. When the Broncos held teams to no more than 21 points, Cutler was 13-1.

"You can't minimize the importance of the position. You win because of the quarterback. He's always been the centerpiece," Bears GM Jerry Angelo said Thursday night. "We felt this was the right thing to do. He is highly competitive, highly emotional. It comes with the territory."

The Bears were highly motivated to get Cutler, who grew up in Santa Claus, Ind., as a big Bears fan. The Redskins also wanted Cutler very badly. "We decided if we got in it, then we would be in it to win it," Angelo said.

The Jets passed on Cutler with the fourth pick in the 2006 draft and took D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Tannenbaum tried to trade back into the top 10 from his No. 29 spot to Detroit's No. 9 spot. If he pulled that off, he would have taken Matt Leinart over Cutler, in effect passing on Cutler twice. If the Jets had gotten Cutler now, the price would have been much higher.

They could still take a quarterback in the first round, but it won't be Matt Stafford, a virtual lock to go first to Detroit, and if they want USC's Mark Sanchez they might have to trade up to get him. Kansas State's Josh Freeman should be there at No. 17.

If nothing changes, then it's Clemens versus Ratliff. Buy your tickets early.

gmyers@nydailynews.com

[Aten]

How on earth do you take Gary Myers saying 'I don't think the Jets would have done it' to mean we 'NEVER HAD A CHANCE?' That's just stupid.

[SoFlaJets]

How on earth do you take Gary Myers saying 'I don't think the Jets would have done it' to mean we 'NEVER HAD A CHANCE?' That's just stupid.

read the bold lines Aten-when you let the world know you want the guy and make the calls and Denver doesn't even RETURN THE CALLS-well, that's how I make that jump

[Sperm Edwards]

How on earth do you take Gary Myers saying 'I don't think the Jets would have done it' to mean we 'NEVER HAD A CHANCE?' That's just stupid.

First of all, there's no reason to throw "stupid" SFJ's way.

Second of all, he didn't even draw the inference you're suggesting he did. As I read it, particularly if you see what part of the article he put in bold, he's saying the Jets never had a chance because Denver didn't even consider us, to the point that they didn't return Tannenbaum's phone call.

IF none of the NFC teams in the running ante'd up enough, THEN Denver might have called Tannenbaum back with a, "OK, what are you offering?"

Given what Chicago was willing to part with, an opportunity for the Jets never materialized.

[afosomf]

First of all, there's no reason to throw "stupid" SFJ's way.

Second of all, he didn't even draw the inference you're suggesting he did. As I read it, particularly if you see what part of the article he put in bold, he's saying the Jets never had a chance because Denver didn't even consider us, to the point that they didn't return Tannenbaum's phone call.

IF none of the NFC teams in the running ante'd up enough, THEN Denver might have called Tannenbaum back with a, "OK, what are you offering?"

Given what Chicago was willing to part with, an opportunity for the Jets never materialized.

then Denver is dumber than a bag of rocks

Tanny may have offered revis as part of the package

You always listen to any F'n offer

Bowlen has a phucking mess on his hands

[Aten]

read the bold lines Aten-when you let the world know you want the guy and make the calls and Denver doesn't even RETURN THE CALLS-well, that's how I make that jump

You have to be kidding me. He called to express an interest? Pffft. Coffee is for closers only. It was being reported all week that Denver expected to do something by Friday. Chicago made an offer instead of waiting for one to be solicited. I can't believe the official explanation is that Tannenbaum was sitting around with his thumb up his ass waiting for Denver to call him.

[aec4]

How on earth do you take Gary Myers saying 'I don't think the Jets would have done it' to mean we 'NEVER HAD A CHANCE?' That's just stupid.

You answered your own question when you said "Gary Myers".... He is stupid.

[SoFlaJets]

First of all, there's no reason to throw "stupid" SFJ's way.

Second of all, he didn't even draw the inference you're suggesting he did. As I read it, particularly if you see what part of the article he put in bold, he's saying the Jets never had a chance because Denver didn't even consider us, to the point that they didn't return Tannenbaum's phone call.

IF none of the NFC teams in the running ante'd up enough, THEN Denver might have called Tannenbaum back with a, "OK, what are you offering?"

Given what Chicago was willing to part with, an opportunity for the Jets never materialized.

somebody made a comment the other day in the Cutler thread "Some people make comments without even reading the article" . The guy completely missed the point and says what I write is stupid-I decided NOT to call him a moron or an idiot...figuring hey, maybe it's just early and he hasn't finished his coffee yet.

[Sperm Edwards]

You have to be kidding me. He called to express an interest? Pffft. Coffee is for closers only. It was being reported all week that Denver expected to do something by Friday. Chicago made an offer instead of waiting for one to be solicited. I can't believe the official explanation is that Tannenbaum was sitting around with his thumb up his ass waiting for Denver to call him.

It was also reported that Denver would not trade him within the AFC and that Denver wanted a QB in return.

You dismiss these reports yet ascribe fact to a purportedly-desired deadline. Guess what? If they didn't get an offer better than a 1st & a 3rd alone, no one would remember "by Friday" at all.

And in negotiation, particularly when there are so many potential suitors and the compensation is going to be so great, you don't beg. That's a one-way ticket to a demand of three 1st rounders and a young defensive starter.

[Aten]

First of all, there's no reason to throw "stupid" SFJ's way.

The suggestion that we didn't have a chance is stupid. They came right out and told the world they were going to trade him. They ended up trading him for a package we should have beaten. I dunno what we were waiting for, but I sure hope it wasn't a call back. That's just incompetence.

[SoFlaJets]

You have to be kidding me. He called to express an interest? Pffft. Coffee is for closers only. It was being reported all week that Denver expected to do something by Friday. Chicago made an offer instead of waiting for one to be solicited. I can't believe the official explanation is that Tannenbaum was sitting around with his thumb up his ass waiting for Denver to call him.

OK, I give up....go back to JI

[Sperm Edwards]

The suggestion that we didn't have a chance is stupid. They came right out and told the world they were going to trade him. They ended up trading him for a package we should have beaten. I dunno what we were waiting for, but I sure hope it wasn't a call back. That's just incompetence.

He wrote the Jets never had a chance in his thread title, which is quoting near-verbatim an article that the thread is about.

You want to direct that at Myers, fine. But the thread title is not "stupid" since that is what the article basically says.

[Aten]

The guy completely missed the point and says what I write is stupid-I decided NOT to call him a moron or an idiot...figuring hey, maybe it's just early and he hasn't finished his coffee yet.

No. I actually completely understand everything in the article and I still think it's stupid. Accepting everything in it as true, it's as valid to conclude that we got caught with our pants down as that we didn't have a chance. What is this didn't have a chance crap anyway? Tannenbaum tried to make an offer but McDaniels stuck his fingers in his ears and yelled LALALALALA?

[AFJF]

The suggestion that we didn't have a chance is stupid. They came right out and told the world they were going to trade him. They ended up trading him for a package we should have beaten. I dunno what we were waiting for, but I sure hope it wasn't a call back. That's just incompetence.

MadMike?

[Aten]

He wrote the Jets never had a chance in his thread title, which is quoting near-verbatim an article that the thread is about.

You want to direct that at Myers, fine. But the thread title is not "stupid" since that is what the article basically says.

Article is stupid. Myers is stupid. Everybody else is getting there. If McDaniels wasn't going to trade him inside the conference, there'll be no reason he won't say so when he's inevitably asked. You're going to get your answer on that. There's no need to try to read it into the fact that we were expecting a call and didn't get one.

[SoFlaJets]

No. I actually completely understand everything in the article and I still think it's stupid. Accepting everything in it as true, it's as valid to conclude that we got caught with our pants down as that we didn't have a chance. What is this didn't have a chance crap anyway? Tannenbaum tried to make an offer but McDaniels stuck his fingers in his ears and yelled LALALALALA?

OK, let's try it this way; say there's a hot girl you like and you let her know through her friend that you are interested. So the friend says "hey that Aten guy is sweet on you" and she says "EWWWW" so you ask the friend what she said and she says she didn't really say. So Aten decides to get her number and call her himself and she sees it's you and doesn't pick up-sends you to voicemail where you leave a message asking her if she wants to go to the Soda Shop after school on Friday golly gee whiz. YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE-same as the Jets

[Aten]

OK, let's try it this way; say there's a hot girl you like and you let her know through her friend that you are interested. So the friend says "hey that Aten guy is sweet on you" and she says "EWWWW" so you ask the friend what she said and she says she didn't really say. So Aten decides to get her number and call her himself and she sees it's you and doesn't pick up-sends you to voicemail where you leave a message asking her if she wants to go to the Soda Shop after school on Friday golly gee whiz. YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE-same as the Jets

I had a chance. I just blew it by ****ing around with that soda shop horse**** instead of making a real offer. So it's actually a perfect analogy.

[Sperm Edwards]

OK, let's try it this way; say there's a hot girl you like and you let her know through her friend that you are interested. So the friend says "hey that Aten guy is sweet on you" and she says "EWWWW" so you ask the friend what she said and she says she didn't really say. So Aten decides to get her number and call her himself and she sees it's you and doesn't pick up-sends you to voicemail where you leave a message asking her if she wants to go to the Soda Shop after school on Friday golly gee whiz. YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE-same as the Jets

[SoFlaJets]

I should have used Sock Hop instead of Soda Shop-I was thinking back to my Archie comics days waiting for a crew cut at the Barbershop

[newjakecity]

Again I will ask:

Let's just say for the sake of argument that Denver decided to take the Jets phone calls. Chicago had to give up two first rounders, a third, and their current starting quarterback to get Orton.

Keeping in mind that Chicago is not in the AFC and the Jets are, what type of offer would it have taken for Denver to even consider the Jets having a better offer? Three first rounders? Two first rounders and Revis?

Just because you want Cutler doesn't mean that if you cry like a five year old long enough that you will get him for cheap.

[Sperm Edwards]

I should have used Sock Hop instead of Soda Shop-I was thinking back to my Archie comics days waiting for a crew cut at the Barbershop

You are an old, old man. I, on the other hand, will remain under 40 forever.

[Mo Lew]

I had a chance. I just blew it by ****ing around with that soda shop horse**** instead of making a real offer. So it's actually a perfect analogy.

Hilarious!!

I do agree with SFJ though. I dont think denver was going to keep cutler in the afc, if it came down to it Bowlen would have taken less in return to make it happen.

[SMC]

How on earth do you take Gary Myers saying 'I don't think the Jets would have done it' to mean we 'NEVER HAD A CHANCE?' That's just stupid.

Uhm, if you read the article you would see that multiple sources confirmed that neither the Broncos nor Bus Cook returned Tanny's phone calls.

Myers isn't speculating on what happened. He was only speculating on what the Jets could offer. He's reporting that the Broncos and Cook gave Tanny the cold shoulder.

[SMC]

You have to be kidding me. He called to express an interest? Pffft. Coffee is for closers only. It was being reported all week that Denver expected to do something by Friday. Chicago made an offer instead of waiting for one to be solicited. I can't believe the official explanation is that Tannenbaum was sitting around with his thumb up his ass waiting for Denver to call him.

No, he called to MAKE AN OFFER and his call wasn't returned.

Come on, Aten, you know better. You're any attorney who negotiates deals. Do you call the bank's lawyer and leave a voice mail with your offer? Of course not. You say, "I'm going to make you an offer, call me back to discuss."

[rillo]

Hilarious!!

I do agree with SFJ though. I dont think denver was going to keep cutler in the afc, if it came down to it Bowlen would have taken less in return to make it happen.

I really can't see how people can deny this, IMO it was a good deal for the Broncos but the Jets could have easily beat that deal. BRONCOS DO NOT WANT HIM IN THE AFC, no other way around it.

[afosomf]

No, he called to MAKE AN OFFER and his call wasn't returned.

Come on, Aten, you know better. You're any attorney who negotiates deals. Do you call the bank's lawyer and leave a voice mail with your offer? Of course not. You say, "I'm going to make you an offer, call me back to discuss."

Again if all this is true

Denver FO is dumber than anyone could imagine

F'n Mumbles traded Blesoe within his own div

you take best offer to help your team and not worry about what Cutler

will do

[MikeNugent]

I really can't see how people can deny this, IMO it was a good deal for the Broncos but the Jets could have easily beat that deal. BRONCOS DO NOT WANT HIM IN THE AFC, no other way around it.

What would you be ok offering that would beat that deal?

[Sperm Edwards]

No, he called to MAKE AN OFFER and his call wasn't returned.

Come on, Aten, you know better. You're any attorney who negotiates deals. Do you call the bank's lawyer and leave a voice mail with your offer? Of course not. You say, "I'm going to make you an offer, call me back to discuss."

You certainly don't keep calling & calling & calling just to beg a returned phone call & then expect not to give up more than you're willing to.

Repeated calling is an act of desperation. This isn't like the Favre deal in that there weren't upwards of 8 other teams interested in offering multiple 1st round picks. Hell, the only other serious contender there was Tampa and they wouldn't even part with a 3rd.

With the minimum compensation being what Chicago ended up forking over, what would the Jets be able to offer to a team they'd have to show desperation to just to get a phone call returned?

[Green DNA]

The suggestion that we didn't have a chance is stupid. They came right out and told the world they were going to trade him. They ended up trading him for a package we should have beaten. I dunno what we were waiting for, but I sure hope it wasn't a call back. That's just incompetence.

How do you make an offer when you are unable to speak with a representative of the other team? Should they have hired a plane to tow a banner over the Broncos complex listing the Jets offer or stood outside with a bullhorn maybe?

[afosomf]

How do you make an offer when you are unable to speak with a reresentative of the other team? Should they have hired a plane to tow a banner over the Broncos complex listing the Jets offer or stood outside with a bullhorn maybe?

Would you run your business the way Bowlen has?

mindboggling

[SMC]

You certainly don't keep calling & calling & calling just to beg a returned phone call & then expect not to give up more than you're willing to.

Repeated calling is an act of desperation. This isn't like the Favre deal in that there weren't upwards of 8 other teams interested in offering multiple 1st round picks. Hell, the only other serious contender there was Tampa and they wouldn't even part with a 3rd.

With the minimum compensation being what Chicago ended up forking over, what would the Jets be able to offer to a team they'd have to show desperation to just to get a phone call returned?

FYI, this was reported BEFORE the trade happened.

''Nobody can get a call back,'' one league source said. ''It could mean something's happening fast, or maybe they're just overwhelmed.''

***

A source said the Broncos would prefer to trade him to an NFC team to get him out of their conference. Any deal for Cutler would be a blockbuster, with teams lining up for a chance to get a 25-year-old Pro Bowl player with a golden arm.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/1507812,CST-SPT-mully02.article

It would seem that the Broncos got the offer they wanted from the Bears and ignored the other teams.

The criticism of Tanny in this situation is frivolous.

[SoFlaJets]

How do you make an offer when you are unable to speak with a representative of the other team? Should they have hired a plane to tow a banner over the Broncos complex listing the Jets offer or stood outside with a bullhorn maybe?

what we SHOULD have done is use the Kris Kristofferson method. When he was in Vietnam he was a helicopter pilot so when he wanted Johnny Cash to hear one of his songs (when he was still a struggling unknown songwriter) what he did was to rent a helicopter and fly into the Cash's backyard and DROP the tape down. Hey cray? Sure but it worked...Sunday Morning Coming Down...

[CTM]

You have to be kidding me. He called to express an interest? Pffft. Coffee is for closers only. It was being reported all week that Denver expected to do something by Friday. Chicago made an offer instead of waiting for one to be solicited. I can't believe the official explanation is that Tannenbaum was sitting around with his thumb up his ass waiting for Denver to call him.

+1

I can't believe people are satisfied with this answer. This makes it WORSE!

How nonchalant.. Make a call and wait for them to call back, Oh well, I guess Tanny will know better for the next time a 25 year old QB comes available who just through for 4500 yards..

And ftr, I've seen middle management in corporate america get their asses reemed for this excuse.

[CTM]

No, he called to MAKE AN OFFER and his call wasn't returned.

Come on, Aten, you know better. You're any attorney who negotiates deals. Do you call the bank's lawyer and leave a voice mail with your offer? Of course not. You say, "I'm going to make you an offer, call me back to discuss."

NO! In a highly competitive situation such as this if you take that tact you lose. It's as simple as that..

[Aten]

No, he called to MAKE AN OFFER and his call wasn't returned.

Come on, Aten, you know better. You're any attorney who negotiates deals. Do you call the bank's lawyer and leave a voice mail with your offer? Of course not. You say, "I'm going to make you an offer, call me back to discuss."

And then I take my place at the back of the line. If the deal is important enough and time is of the essence, then no, it's certainly not enough to indicate a present intent to make an offer in the future. You find a way to get it in front of the offeree. If we didn't like the price, fine. If they refused to trade him in the conference, fine. And if we did get something in front of them and they just refused to dignify it with a response, that's fine too. Waiting for them to call us and inquire about the terms of our offer when there were obviously other teams out there who did more to be taken seriously, not fine. It makes it seem as though we didn't even manage to suggest a reasonably concrete jumping off point for talks to commence and lost out to something that did. Like I said, it's certainly possible that we did not ever have a chance to land Cutler. The conclusion just doesn't logically follow the few actual facts presented.