We were all set.  Bret Favre announced his retirement early, setting the table for a relatively drama-free off season.  Incessant updates of "will he or won't he" would be gone and we could simply focus on free agent signings and the impending draft.

Not so fast.

The Broncos stepped up and did their best to provide football writers with enough material to rival any soap opera.

First, in a surprising move, owner Pat Bowlen fired Mike Shanahan after a 14-year tenure.  After initial success, the team struggled over the past few years forcing Bowlen to make a difficult and emotional decision.  Franchise quarterback Jay Cutler was upset over the dismissal saying, "I'm disappointed. I'm not happy."  You can easily infer the bond between Cutler and Shananhan, so the anger was an appropriate and completely human reaction.

Enter Josh McDaniels.  A 32-year old former Patriots offensive coordinator with a reputation for running a high-octane system.  Cutler began to warm up to the scenario, perhaps realizing the benefits surrounding McDaniels' offensive schemes.  After all, look at what he accomplished with Matt Cassel. 

Cassel barely played over the past several years, but emerged as a legit fantasy quarterback once Tom Brady went down for the year.  New England slapped the franchise tag on him, committing themselves to 14 million dollars for the 2009 season.  It was a very expensive insurance policy in case Tom Brady couldn’t return.  Apparently convinced of Tom Brady's health, the Patriots put Cassel on the trading block and eventually sent him along with Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs for a second-round pick.

However, word got out that Josh McDaniels made a major play to trade for Cassell.  They had a preexisting relationship and McDaniels decided that the Broncos would be better off with Cassell as their leader.

As you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with Cutler. "I'm upset. I mean I'm really shocked at this point."

The combination of a young and immature quarterback clashing with a young and inexperienced head coach was bound to be volatile.  Throw in seedy comments from agent Bus Cook, and the relationship had no chance of being repaired.  Cutler rebuffed pleas from McDaniels and Bowlen to meet and discuss the issues at hand, instead opting for a trade demand.

The Broncos promptly entertained offers deciding on a package from the Chicago Bears.  Denver would receive first round picks in 2009 and 2010 along with a fourth-rounder and Kyle Orton.  The Bears get Cutler, and the franchise QB they have lacked for decades.

The prevailing opinion is Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal won't perform as well with Orton at quarterback.  Orton simply doesn't have a comparable arm to Cutler, so the numbers should dip.  He is a QB2 with flashes of QB1 potential; he's not established enough to be relied upon as your every-week starter.  On the other side of the coin, Cutler's new receivers aren't as talented as Marshall and Royal.  Devin Hester and Earl Bennett receive a tick up in value, but Cutler's worth is almost the same - if not slightly worse.

The biggest benefactor in the whole debacle is Matt Forte.  He carried the ball 316 times in 2008 after 361 attempts in his last year at Tulane.  With Cutler in the picture, Forte doesn’t have to carry the work load as much.  Defenses have to respect the passing game and spread their attention, which gives Forte more room to run.

Will they all live happily ever after?  Only time will tell…..