I’ve been avoiding writing this for some time now, but with Orton’s win on Monday night, and Cutler’s contract extension yesterday, I guess it’s high time, since the whole world is proclaiming Denver has the better quarterback now. The Bears have been hoodwinked, they’re saying.

Look: I’m rooting for Kyle Orton. I liked the guy when he was here. I wish him no ill will. I’ve written this before. And yes, he’s having a better season than Cutler. One look at Football Outsiders can tell you that. He’s only thrown one pick, and it was on a Hail Mary. He’s lead the Broncos to a 6-0 record. He’s having the best season of his career, and I’m extremely happy for the guy.

But let’s consider the situation. Does anyone — even the most ardent of Orton supports — think for one second that on this Bears team, Orton would be doing a better job than Cutler? I can’t fathom how anyone would. The Bears have a horrendous offensive line at the moment, Matt Forte has been pretty much nonexistent and this team, as much as people are loving Johnny Knox, has an average receiving corps, at best.

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Steve Rosenbloom has declared the bye week a bad one for the Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith because, he says, Cedric Benson and Kyle Orton doing well is an indictment of the Bears’ management. In fact he goes so far as to say it should call into question whether Smith and Angelo should keep their jobs.

Let’s put aside how Rosenbloom calls for someone’s job on an average of once a week - I could get a whole post out of that. Let’s also put aside that it’s been five weeks and anyone can have a good third of a season. Rosenbloom’s premise is that Orton and Benson not performing as well in Chicago as they have in their current jobs is the fault of the Bears.

First, there’s Orton. He points out that Orton’s 48 pass attempts was a “month’s worth here.” I’m shocked - shocked - that a quarterback would throw a lot in a game that goes to overtime where his team was down most of the game. But I think Rosenbloom is trying to make the point that the Bears just didn’t give Orton a shot. That’s crazy. Orton threw the ball more than 30 times in nine of the fourteen games he played from start to finish last year. It’s not that the Bears didn’t give him a chance. He went from a team with a bad offensive line and bad receivers to a team with a great line and great receivers. Of course he’s doing well with the Broncos. He’s not a great quarterback, but the pieces surrounding him are a lot better than the ones he had surrounding him in Chicago. You can blame the Bears for not assembling good players on offense, but it’s not like Kyle Orton was being underutilized here.

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People sell tons of stuff on Craig’s List. Including athletes. Only they’re usually fake, obvs, because people can’t sell other people on Craig’s List. It’s like a violation of the terms of service or something. But some prankster-gangster type of fella is rejecting society’s mores and making it happen anyway, putting Brandon Marshall on the block.

The poor fella. He’s so “cantankerous.”

One slightly used, partially dinged up, occasionally unreliable, extremely agitated, currently insubordinate Brandon Marshall receiver! I really don’t want to sell my Brandon Marshall as there were some good times with Brandon Marshall, but for the posterity of the entire fleet, it is time to part ways with Brandon Marshall. I purchased this Brandon Marshall in 2006, and it was really a good “bang for your buck” situation at the time. This is your chance to get in on this Brandon Marshall before it is too late and on the free market. Trust me, I could easily sell Brandon Marshall at a police auction.

And so on and so on the listing goes. It’s awesome. It’s funny. It’s standard Craig’s List humor. But most importantly, it’s a perfect anecdotal-type example of what’s going on with the Denver Broncos and Brandon Marshall right now. Keep reading →

When Kyle Orton was injured during the second quarter of Sunday night’s Broncos-Bears game, it was hard to tell what happened. Sure, Orton was bleeding from his right index finger, but how was this possible? After all, it was just Adewale Ogunleye’s left hand colliding with Orton’s right. Did Ogunleye have a long fingernail hiding under his glove? Did he have a knife in there?

Or was it just some freak accident? Turns out that’s pretty much what it was. Per the Denver Post, Orton has an “open dislocation” of the finger. Which means the bone popped out of his skin, causing the bleeding. Gross, bro.

NFL sources said that while Kyle Orton’s injured finger was not fractured, the Broncos quarterback suffered an open dislocation (meaning it penetrated the skin) of the right knuckle.

That would explain the blood dripping from Orton’s finger and the excruciating pain the quarterback endured as the dislocation was popped back into place by trainer Steve “Greek’’ Antonopulos.

Since it’s not a fracture, Orton has yet to be ruled out of the season opener Sept. 13 at Cincinnati, though he won’t be playing in Denver’s final preseason game Thursday. The main problem right now is the stitches that were required to sew up the skin.

This concludes Dr. Ryan hour. Stay tuned next time when we discuss the wacky, wild world of sports hernias.

Because that’s all I’ve been reading since he was traded out of town. The shirt-burning meme runs deep in Denver.

Via the Denver Post (HT: Jay Cutler Superstar), the latest reported round of Cutler jersey destruction took place over the weekend at, of all places, a Chicago-themed bar out in Denver: Wrigley’s Chicago Bar in Golden.

The fine folks who took to the destroying couldn’t get a permit to burn the jerseys (the audacity of the local law enforcement!), so they got creative: a weed whacker, a sander and a can of tar to bust out some tar-and-feathering of the jerseys were all employed.

Oh, and then there’s this:

Later, the patrons who partook in the event also flushed their dignity down the toilet. All and all, it was a good day.

It’s nice to know that with all the Milton Bradley pouting these days (and the incredible outpouring of media coverage on it this week), there are disgruntled athletes in other markets, too!

Like Brandon Marshall, for instance.

Drew noted this today, and on his podcast yesterday, but holy hell have the Broncos changed, and changed quickly. They’ve gone from a model and respected franchise under Mike Shanahan to a bad reality TV show. Jay Cutler had beef with their new head coach before he even coached a game, and demanded a trade out of town.

And now Brandon Marshall, their Pro Bowler and top receiver, is getting all pouty and wants a trade, too. But he’s not just vocalizing it; he’s actively practicing in a nonchalant fashion.

Take a look at him at Wednesday’s practice:

OK, that’s kind of funny. But as MJD notes, this kind of behavior only lowers his trade value. You can be mad at the organization, want out of town. That’s fine. But when your behavior distracts from teammates trying to get in reps and make the roster, when you’re being disrespectful to the team, that’s not cool.

As a result, the Broncos just suspended Marshall for “conduct detrimental to the team,” and he’s not expected to play in Sunday’s game against the Bears.

If Cutler’s on and he’s clicking when he’s in, and the Bears absolutely trounce a Brandon Marshall-less Broncos squad, it’s going to be a long, long night for Denver fans.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If I was a Broncos fan, I’d forever curse the man they call Jay Cutler. But, I’d like to think I’d be much more passive about it. This is because I’m lazy. I wouldn’t burn his jersey, for instance.

I also wouldn’t go out of my way to fashion a t-shirt in mocking remembrance of him (via Colorado Sports Desk/Jay Culter Superstar):

Remember, Denver: you now have this man as your quarterback. The t-shirt possibilities are really endless, you know?