Sportsfrog.com

And here I thought it had all been ironed out between Josh McDaniels and Brandon Marshall. Apparently not. The fallout from Marshall’s benching, a benching that may or may not be related to whatever effort he may or may not have been giving after straining a hamstring in practice, is that he may have played his last down for Denver. From the Denver Post, this appears to have gone down much like the McDaniels/Cutler divorce:

After coach Josh McDaniels gave his version, and then star receiver Brandon Marshall communicated his take, there was but one mystery left unsolved in what has been the year-long soap opera that is “As Dove Valley Turns.” Exactly who broke up with whom?

McDaniels said at his news conference Friday that a pulled hamstring was not the primary reason he decided not to play Marshall on Sunday in the potential playoff-or-bust regular-season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs at Invesco Field at Mile High. “There’s a lot of players that play with things that are more difficult to play with than what he has,” McDaniels said.

Marshall said his hamstring first cramped up Sunday in the Broncos’ 30-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He then yanked it in practice Wednesday while running a slant route. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but Marshall indicated he would not have been able to play because he’s unable to take off from a receiver’s stance without his hamstring grabbing. Marshall, surrounded by reporters at his locker, seemed surprised at the suggestion it wasn’t the injury that would prevent him from playing Sunday but his unwillingness to play through pain.

I’ll say this for McDaniels, he is not boring. Discussion on McDaniels, carrying over from old swamp to new swamp has begun anew with the latest soap opera episode from Denver. McDaniels has won enough this season to get a mini-pass, but not making the playoffs after being 6-0 would likely shorten his rope considerably. Again. And replacing Brandon Marshall, should he be allowed to walk, will be no small task.

Pat Bowlen: It was all Jay Cutler’s fault

Josh McDaniels: I have no regrets

Chicago Bears: Thanks for the franchise quarterback! Seriously! Thanks!

For Kyle Orton, this year’s number one, and next year’s number one. For those of you scoring along at home, that is two number ones and a three. Or exactly the number that Mike Golic this morning said no one would pay for a 25-year-old all-pro quarterback entering his prime. Chicago also gets Denver’s third fifth round pick this year in addition to a pro-bowl quarterback.

Mike Golic. Wrong. Always.

Good move for the Bears. Not sure what the Jets et al were waiting on. As for the Broncos, I still deeply disagree with their having gone down this road, but since they decided to head in this direction, at least they did so decisively. So they got that going for them.

Interesting times. The swamp has been kicking it around here, here, and now, here. Drop by with a thought or two.

Good luck Josh McDaniels. It’s all on you, now:

—Washington has an interest (that should help drive the bidding)

—Jay Cutler claims it isn’t him that brought it to this point

—Josh McDaniels remains something of a cipher to the Broncos fanbase. And eyes are narrowing as that fanbase considers whatever it was that McDaniels did to help this situation get to this point.

—Denver wants at least two #1s as a starting point for negotiations, and doesn’t necessarily want a quarterback in return. A note here, Mike Golic has set a new record for being continually wrong on this story. He at first denied there was a rift, then that it would be lasting, then that Denver would ever actually consider trading him (after the Matt Cassell stuff fell through). 0 for 3 to this point. Now he is bloviating on Mike & Mike this morning in the 6:00 am hour that the notion of a starting point of two #1s is insane and no one would ever offer that. Oh, and he has been opining for weeks that IF it came to the point of trading him, that Denver would demand a quarterback in return. Apparently not, so 0 for 4. As for Golic’s position that two #1s as a starting point is too much for a 25-year-old quarterback with Cutler’s skill set, I would remind him that just last off-season Washington tried two give the Bengals two #1s for Chad Johnson, a 30-year-old receiver with colossal attitude problems. So, no, Golic, that doesn’t seem an unreasonable starting point for them to consider a trade. In fact, by not requesting a quarterback in return, it opens the bidding up to even more teams.

Mike Golic. Wrong. As usual.

—A fun running feature on this whole fiasco in the Denver Post here: McJayGate. Day 33. A region held hostage. A nation bewildered.

Like waking up the morning after and the 3:00 am beer goggles long since worn off, reality is starting to settle in out in the Mile High City. Dave Krieger in the Denver Post, shaking off the hangover and starting his walk of shame, starts to zero in on the issue in an assist to a good portion of a fanbase fixated on the wrong person in this blame game:

Before he organizes his first practice or calls his first play, Josh McDaniels has an indelible Denver legacy: In his first three months on the job, he drove away the franchise quarterback. Perhaps he’ll be around long enough to overshadow that legacy with brilliant successes of his own. Perhaps not. But in the colorful history of audacious rookie coaches, McDaniels just made the top 10.

…

McDaniels’ power play in his first few weeks as an NFL head coach was as audacious as it was puzzling. Did no one ever tell him that the first priority of a rookie coach should be to develop good working relationships with his key veterans? The notorious trade talks for Matt Cassel did not ruin this relationship all by themselves. McDaniels might have overcome those with a concerted effort he never made. Rather, it was pride, and it was arrogance.

…

So now we’ll see how McDaniels picks up the pieces. He can demand a veteran quarterback as part of the Cutler deal or he can prepare to draft a quarterback later this month and go with Chris Simms for now. Maybe this is the way he wanted it — to be rid of Cutler and able to blame him for the split at the same time. But that will work for fans only if McDaniels manages to build a competitive team around his new guy. In his first three months on the job, the Broncos’ new coach has driven off the franchise quarterback and made it difficult to believe anything he says. Give him this: Dude works fast.

What he said. Really solid read. Glad to see some sort of reality and awareness is setting in. Josh McDaniels, that’s a huge gamble you are taking. It is damn near unprecedented, the running off of a quarterback, on the edge of his prime, who has the skill set Cutler does. Good luck with this. It’s sure as hell bizarre to watch unfold. In the same way two girls and a cup was bizarre.