Elway's Distracting Comments Out of Line

As I browse through my daily Broncos RSS feeds, my left eye twitches a bit every time I see another saga in the Cutler-Marshall soap opera in which so many of us have become enamored. I'm going to cut to the chase; here's the bottom line: Brandon Marshall behaved like an idiot, he's gonna be ready for training camp, its over. Get over it.

Let's retrace history a bit. Brandon Marshall admits to "slipping on a McDonald's bag" (a lie). The media--smelling one of the centuries stupidest lies--attack like piranha. Just to inject some ethos into this conversation, recall that I was sick of this fiasco on day one. Shortly thereafter, Woody Paige derides Marshall, telling him to "grow up." Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a big Woody Paige fan. He annoys me. But to me, this comment was right on the money. To which Marshall responds in tabloid fashion. Yada, yada, yada...

So what exactly is Jay Cutler supposed to do? Does a team leader defend a guy who just showed up to a DUI hearing in an arm cast? The answer is simple: it's a lose-lose. If he defends Marshall he's not a leader; if he criticizes him, he's too outspoken. Really, I think Cutler spoke eloquently. His reaction was pretty much what you'd expect.

When did John Elway become a part of this conversation? Here were his recent comments on the issue:

"I was surprised to hear it, actually," Elway said Wednesday during his Colorado Crush Arena Football League news conference. "If that's what Jay feels like he needs to comment on, then he needs to do that. I mean, personally, I would have done it to (Marshall). To me, as teammates — even though I've tried to settle things in the press, looking back over the years, it's not been the right way to do it."

Is it just me or do these comments stink of hypocrisy? The message here is "always criticize privately." Oh really, John? I cannot side with the apologists here who will say that Elway is "just a guy" with every right to voice his opinion. I don't buy that. Elway is more than just a former player; he's an institution. In some ways, he's a euphemism for the whole organization. As a leader, an institution, and perhaps a future owner, I would think he'd be less incendiary.

One could argue that it would be less damaging for Bowlen himself to criticize Cutler. Suppose Isiah Thomas were to criticize the coaching ability of Phil Jackson. Would Jackson care? Would anybody listen? Now suppose Alan Greenspan--a (perhaps unwarranted) world-renowned monetary policy hero--steps in front of a microphone and criticizes Ben Bernanke in the middle of a financial crisis (sound familiar?). Bernanke's job just got a whole lot harder. How irresponsible.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of seeing John Elway's brilliance on the football field. I'm as big an Elway fan as you'll find; but no matter how I rationalize, I simply disagree with his tact in this situation. I think he should heed his own advice and criticize Cutler behind closed doors. Cutler already works hard enough to stay out of Elway's shadow; give the kid a break.

Of course, if the media didn't proliferate this sickeningly-sensationalized soap opera, its reverberations wouldn't be so frustrating. In an age where the most outrageous journalists seem to garner the most 'clicks', this seems to be what sells. Ultimately, the fans have the power to end the conversation: stop reading.

Speaking of Cutler criticism; this video is some of the best criticism of Cutler I've seen. Enjoy!


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