Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler's teams are heading in very different directions a year and a half after they were traded for each other. (photos courtesy of Life)

In the wake of the failed Josh McDaniel experiment in Denver, I thought it would be fun to revisit the Kyle Orton – Jay Cutler trade. I expected to find that the Bears ended up making a decent deal and overall the teams ended up about even, it being only one and a half seasons later.

What I found is that the Denver Broncos ended up screwing themselves multiple times over and failing to take advantage of what could have been a very productive trade for them. Let’s call this post a little more salt in the wounds of “what could have been” for Josh McDaniels and Broncos fans. This one’s for you, Jay.

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Your wish is granted.

Bears fans can thank Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels for where the Bears are today.  Go ahead and thank him personally.  He’s not busy right now.  Why?  Because the Denver Broncos fired the embattled head coach less than two years after his arrival in the mile high city.

Somewhere, I’m sure Jay Cutler is smiling.  They say that living well is the best revenge.  After finally settling down in Mike Martz’s offensive system, the Bears sit atop the NFC North with a 9-3 record largely thanks to Cutler’s impressive play of late while the Broncos have bumbled their way to a 3-9 record that led to McDaniels getting shown the door.

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Here’s a summary of the picks (Bears’ 2010 opponents in bold):

1    Rams    Sam Bradford    QB
2    Lions    Ndamukong Suh    DT
3    Bucs    Gerald McCoy    DT
4    Redskins    Trent Williams    OT
5    Chiefs    Eric Berry    SS
6    Seahawks    Russell Okung    OT
7    Browns    Joe Haden    CB
8    Raiders    Rolando McClain    LB
9    Bills    C.J. Spiller    RB
10    Jaguars    Tyson Alualu    DE

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The Broncos owned the 11th pick to start the draft and swapped it with San Francisco for the Niners’ No. 13 overall selection.

They parlayed that pick into the Eagles’ No. 24 and Philadelphia’s two third-round picks, Nos. 70 and 87 overall.

The Eagles selected Michigan pass-rusher Brandon Graham with the pick.

It will be interesting to see what the Jay Cutler trade from last season will ultimately mean to the Broncos.  All the while, the Bears a’re sitting on the sidelines watching tonight.

Keep up with all the action on CBS Sports’ Live Draft Show.

Watch Inside the Draft Live

Why should Bears fans care about this deal?  Here are a couple of reasons:

• Scheffler and Bears TE Greg Olsen are sort of in the same tier of tight ends (click their names to jump to their NFL.com stats pages), so this deal sets the market for tight ends of that caliber as about a 5th round pick.  That might quash some of the Olsen to the Patriots for a 2nd rounder talk.
• The Bears will now get to face one of Jay Cutler’s favorite targets twice a year with Scheffler in Detroit.  The Lions continue to make moves to improve their club.

So continues an offseason of  player movement unlike any I can recall.

Brandon Marshall is going to Miami

We can end the speculation Bears fans.  The dream of reuniting disgruntled wide receiver Brandon Marshall with Jay Cutler comes to an end as the Broncos are set to trade Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for a pair of second round draft picks.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Marshall will fly to Miami today to take a physical and sign “what will be one of the most lucrative wide receiver deals in NFL history, according to league sources.”  Not bad for the low, low price of a 2010 and 2011 second round draft picks.

Miami holds the 11th selection in the second round, one pick behind the pick which the Bears sent to the Bucs in the Gaines Adams trade (rest his soul).   Do you think Jerry Angelo wishes he had that one to do over again???

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Last year, the Bears sent two first-round picks (and more) to the Broncos for quarterback Jay Cutler. To date, the move has been a failure — and it has left coach Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo on wafer-thin ice.

The situation has created sufficient desperation to prompt the Bears to overpay for a trio for day one free agents – Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumaleuna — which in the short term has removed the sense of gloom and doom that had taken over Halas Hall.

So with the Broncos looking to unload receiver Brandon Marshall, why don’t the Bears try to get him? Sure, the Broncos want a first-round draft pick and the Bears already sent theirs to Denver in the Cutler deal. The Bears should instead dangle their 2011 first-rounder, and possibly throw in a conditional selection based on Marshall’s performance in the coming season.

If the Marshall plan fails, Angelo and Smith likely won’t be there to not use the first-round pick in 2011 anyway. If it works, Angelo and Smith would gladly give up the pick for the ensuing job security.

Though the Broncos may not want to enable a Cutler-Marshall reunion, they may not have many/any other options for unloading a guy they clearly don’t want.

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“Mistake-free” that McD.  Sure, Jay Cutler may have not been the right puzzle piece to the jigsaw here in Denver, and I trust McD’s evaluation of that scenario. However, the Broncos need to right the ship this offseason by bringing in someone with a powerful arm. It was apparent that last season the offensive coaching staff didn’t trust Kyle Orton’s arm enough to let him throw down field. Defenses stuffed the run, let Orton throw short, and quickly forced the Broncos into punting the ball. Orton wasn’t allowed to pass deep often enough to keep opposing defenses honest.

Josh McDaniels wanted a game manager, and that’s what he got in Orton. Orton kept the turnovers to a minimal level at the beginning of the season, but once teams figured out that his arm only goes for so many yards, they gave him those short passes. More than half of Orton’s passes went for 10 yards or less. When it was time for him to go long, he was out of practice, and I think he got the jitters. We need to complement guys like Brandon Marshall (if he’s back), Eddie Royal (nearly non-existent last year), and Jabar Gaffney.

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