Jay Cutler Should Follow the Example of Drew Brees

Butthurt (adj)
1. An inappropriately strong negative emotional response from a perceived personal insult. Characterized by strong feelings of shame. Frequently associated with a cessation of communication and overt hostility towards the "aggressor."
2. Jay Cutler

Aha, did you see that? Michael Irvin got all full of butthurt when PacMan went to the bathroom to do a line without him.

By now, everyone has got their shots in on Jay Cutler. It's actually gotten out of hand a bit, with some "experts" alleging that Cutler is a below-average NFL quarterback. That's ridiculous, but he's handled the Broncos courting of Matt Cassel with the aplomb of Terrell Owens.

Cutler's not the first young franchise quarterback to receive perplexing treatment from the team that drafted him in recent years. That's right, I think the Broncos are in the wrong.

But I also think Cutler is way butthurt.

He could learn a thing or two by looking back at how a quarterback who has become one of the most respected men in NFL history handled nearly identical treament...

After the San Diego Chargers took Philip Rivers with the fourth pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, Drew Brees was fed up. Despite an impressive second season, Brees had been forced to compete and share reps with Doug Flutie going into the 2003 NFL season. With the selection of Rivers, it seemed Brees' destiny was to become a journeyman backup quarterback after one last year in San Diego.

Brees didn't see it that way. Fueled by the insult delivered to his doorstep in the form of Rivers and fortunate that Philip became a training camp holdout, Brees turned 12 hour offseason work days into the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, a 104.8 quarterback rating and Pro Bowl appearance. This left A.J. Smith with just one option after splashing out on Rivers: Franchise Brees.

Once again, Brees felt slighted. He wanted to commit to San Diego long-term, he'd proven to be one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, he was loved by head coach Marty Schottenheimer, and he felt he deserved a fat signing bonus and job security. So, of course, he held out, pouted, skipped mini-camps, leaked information about the Chargers to ESPN reporters, and declared his career over in San Diego, right?

Erm, no. He put his head down, worked just as hard as he did the previous offseason, held off Rivers for the starting job in 2005, and produced another great season on the field. Unfortunately, in the last game of the season he suffered a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

Even after the injury, he was much-coveted in free agency. Despite how he'd be treated the last few seasons, he badly wanted to stay in San Diego. He even offered to give the Chargers a hometown discount. But in the end, they were ready to move on and so did Brees.

He was determined to once again prove A.J. Smith wrong, this time in New Orleans. Some doubted whether he'd ever throw a football more than 20 yards again due to the severity of his injury. He did that and more in finishing runner-up to best friend LaDainian Tomlinson for league MVP and sharing the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award with LT.

Cutler likely won't sniff one of those during his career if his character is as weak as it's seemed through the standoff. But if he starts acting more like Brees, his reputation with the public is still salvageable to some extent.

He should be thankful that he still is the starter in Denver and come back in 2009 more driven than ever to prove that he can win playoff games for the Broncos. If he does that, Josh McDaniels will look just as foolish as A.J. Smith does in retrospect.

And his name may no longer be the second best definition of butthurt.

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