The Bruins pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators last night, and took a step closer to clinching the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Check BruinsLinks.com for the coverage this morning.
The Denver Broncos traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears last night for QB Kyle Orton, two first round draft picks and a third round draft pick. When the trade was announced last night, a BSMW messageboard poster made the comment that we could count on Dennis and Callahan banging the “Belichick could’ve gotten more for Cassel” drum this morning.
That was a gimme. The angry morning duo jumped on the topic with more than the usual enthusiasm this morning, insisting that Belichick bungled this one, or was in the tank with Pioli on the deal. (The term “severance package” came up.)They mocked the “Patriots talking points” that they say have come from the team and that a memo had been relayed to media lackees such as the Big Show crew.
They also presented themselves as the only people brave enough to say these things. They’ve certainly shown the courage of a lion in this episode.
Their list of “Patriots Talking Points” included:
- A three-way deal such as presented by Denver and Tampa would’ve taken too long.
- The Patriots needed to get the deal done quickly so they could re-sign the immortal James Sanders.
- The second round pick is somehow more valuable than a first because you pay that player less for comparable talent.
- No one approached the Patriots about Cassel prior to the Chiefs offer, even though they all had time to do so.
Dennis loudly proclaimed that Cassel only signed his tender just a few days prior to the start of free agency, so that argument that the Broncos had plenty of time to contact the Patriots was false. Dennis of course, couldn’t be more wrong about this. Cassel signed his tender on February 7th – three weeks before the start of free agency. What’s interesting in that link is that the esteemed Adam Schefter – who they’ve been quoting as gospel in whatever he says, including his claim that Cassel was a top 5 NFL QB, had this to say about Cassel:
The only way the Patriots would trade Cassel is if they know QB Tom Brady is healthy, and even if they do, the bidder needs to be to Cassel’s liking and offer a contract to his liking, or there’s no deal.
That’s not to say it can’t happen. But it’s not going to be easy to make it happen.
So the guy D&C go to for all things NFL was saying three weeks before the trade that it was going to be difficult to trade Cassel.
And difficult it proved to be. For the value most “experts” seem to project, anyway.
In addition, WEEI regularly plays a promo in which D&C’s other NFL expert, Boomer Esiason says that the rest of the NFL wasn’t sold on Cassel yet, and that’s why the Patriots didn’t get as much as expected.
Dennis and Callahan this morning naturally ignored the biggest reason why Cutler was worth more in a trade than Cassel was. Hopefully they and all the other conspiracy theorists and Blind Belichick Bashers can read this slowly so they can understand it.
Cutler was valued more because he was under contract for three more years at reasonable money.
Cassel is playing under the franchise tag -$14+ million this season – then he can walk again next season if a deal isn’t done. He still has the hammer. Cutler was under control for three more years, and thus is a more valuable property. He also went to the Pro Bowl last season (Cassel didn’t) and was near the top of the league in many passing categories. He does come with his own set of immaturity issues, but teams always feel they can work on those.
The Cassel situation is unique. What player has ever changed teams under a one year, $15 million contract and STAYED with that contract? (notice there has been no extension in KC?) Not many.
I’m sure that the Patriots thought they would get more for Cassel than they did. Could they have gotten more? That’s hard to say. It’s evident that there was no big list of teams lining up to outbid each other for Cassel, and that had they waited, they would not have been able to move forward in free agency, where they have in fact been very active.
Would it have been worth it to wait a few days, move up a few picks, or get another third round pick but not be able to sign Fred Taylor, Chris Baker, Shawn Springs, Leigh Bodden, James Sanders, Greg Lewis (trade) and Joey Galloway? It’s likely many of those players would be elsewhere today had the Patriots waited to make a deal.
What’s the old saying? A bird in hand is worth two in the bush? The Patriots determined that grabbing that pick, and being able to move forward in free agency was worth more than waiting and hoping that something better might come along.
Dennis and Callahan are a difficult combination of both agenda-driven and clueless. Bill Belichick is now on the same level as Manny Ramirez and Pedro Martinez in their eyes and they will take every opportunity to try and bash him, even if they are clearly off the reservation in their grasp of the most basic facts.
This comes on the heels of their constant talk that Belichick has sabotaged Josh McDaniels in Denver, leaking the fact that the Broncos were interested in Cassel so that Cutler would be upset. This, they claim was retribution for McDaniels leaving and then signing Lonie Paxton. (and Jabbar Gaffney, but they don’t mention him)
Could this be any more ridiculous? Paxton is a long-snapper for crying out loud. McDaniels offered him silly money. The Patriots replaced him with a guy who has had a very similar career to Paxton (without the snow angels) at the same money that Paxton was making before.
Boston Sports Media Watch 
Listening to D&C is like listening to your brain cells pop one at a time very slowly over the course of time.
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The frustrating thing is that reasonable sports fans could debate whether the Patriots got less than they could have for Cassel. I think it’s possible that they may have mishandled this one. If I want to hear that debate I certainly won’t listen to D&C.
To be fair, it should also be pointed out that The Big Show is just as bad on the opposite side of things. the next time they criticize anything Belichick does will be the first time. Their cheerleading has turned them into caricatures.
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Thanks Bruce for putting your ears at risk and listening to the Miserables in the Morning. I stopped a long time ago and… life… got… better.
Of course the two QB scenarios are worth discussing but those douche bags seem to believe intelligence and open-mindedness is a vice. Personally I’m glad the Patriots were able to get Springs, Bodden, Baker & Taylor instead of milking the market and letting those guys sign with other teams. The only thing I’m sure of is that Belichick knows more how to build a team than I do and, more importantly much more than the Shouting Morning Angries. Hope their loyal listeners don’t get their knuckles wet today – the sidewalks are nasty today.
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D&C need to learn about Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one.
And I do like their show…except when they go off about how Meter is cheap and talk about 24.
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taking the opposite position of D&C is the quickest path to correct
they are spiteful, mean, misanthropic garbage
p.s. Manny never cost his team a championship, Callahan did by commiting a penalty behind the play
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Best explanation of the Cassel trade I have read yet.
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sounds like typical D&C bullshit….notice how they NEVER say a discouraging word about any of THEIR regular interview subjects? (Doc Rivers, Curt Schilling, Tom Brady, Larry Luccino, Brad Faxon,Adam Schefter etc…etc) yet they love to bash the other shows regular interview subjects? (especially Belichick) They also love to bash Richard Seymour, surprise,surprise! a regular Dale &Holley interview!…..This is a typical D&C ploy….it’s all an ACT and they are laughing all the way to the bank
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Brad Faxon? Who’s Brad Faxon?
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Why do people still listen to these two clowns?
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it’s one of the great mysteries of the universe
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Location, lack of competition and signal strength. D & C are in tenth place if they’re in another city or if WEEI actually had reasonable competition with good signals.
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i actually heard this on the way to work and it was brutal
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These guys should just make the switch to conservative morning talk radio, and give up on sports. They cling to tired talking points, and as proven above, completely disregard any factual material that counters their points. The only guy on that show who seems to actually follow sports is Meter, and he’s only good for fantasy stats and the latest lines. Its a good thing Toucher and Rich moved to the mornings. Now there is actually something worth listening to during that time.
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Why does any of what D & C or the Big Show does surprise you? Ratings = money. Controversy = ratings (in their eyes) Accuracy = boring (in their eyes) Actual sports analysis = boring (in thier eyes) Sports radio methodology = get a controversial issue and ride it over and over again. Why is it a number in the media dislike BB, because he wants to talk accurately not speculate and about football analysis not controversy.
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I find it interesting that practically nowhere (except here and maybe one other Internet site) has the financial aspect of the Cutler trade been discussed.
I do think the Bears overpaid heavily for a guy who’s never been to the post-season, but to equate Chicago’s stupidity with Belichick and the Pats making the wrong move with Cassel is to apply pretzel logic, at best.
A $14 million price tag for one year, plus no guarantees at all that you could get the guy signed beyond 2009 (not to mention the fact that he’s had 15 pro starts–8 of them good ones), would definitely limit the amount of risk a team would be willing to take when trading for Cassel.
Cutler is the Bears’ property for the next 3 seasons, at far less than $14 million per year. Given that he’s also been a starter for two years and has been to the Pro Bowl too, it all adds up to him being worth much more than Cassel on the open market (and I say this while still clinging to my belief that Chicago went too far to make this deal happen).
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Dennis and Callahan have slowly turned into a couple of old kermudgeon housewives. They are concerned with whos at the game then the game itself. They are the ‘Inside Track’ of radio. They mine as well switch to FM do to tabloid morning radio. They are as clueless as they come.
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