This year, the Denver Broncos lost the services of Rod Smith as a player. For fans, this was difficult on several levels.

Rod Smith was not only a great receiver, but a stand-up guy. In post game interviews, you could count on Rod to call other players to task, and more than anything, to call himself on his short comings.

He stood out because he was a self-made standout. While physically able, few would have the ability to argue Rod was an all pro most specifically because of his will and ethic. He is a rareity.

I didn't realize, however, how much I will miss him until I watched Jay Cutler's interview on Denverbroncos.com. Peppered with questions about last season's performance, his views of the off-season moves the team has made, and his hopes for the upcoming season, Jay decided to break from the mold of standard responses and call Brandon Marshall to task.

Granted, this may have been more a casual sidenot than Foxsports wanted to make it out to be, but all the same, I found myself thinking... who the heck does this guy think he is? Yes, it's one thing to express disappointment that Marshall, due to an accident, will not participate in off-season workouts, but to indicate Marshall might one day "run out of chances" with the Broncos? I knew we let some people in the front office go... I just didn't realized Jay was asked to pick up the slack.

And while some have already applauded his statements as "leadership", it's your job as a leader on a team to know when to speak up about other players on your team, and when it's OK to bring it into an interview (hint: it's not).

But wait... didn't I say that Denver fans will miss Rod's ability to call things as he sees them? Yes I did. And yes, I just said Jay Cutler should be smart enough to keep his yap shut on certain subjects... and here is the difference.

We knew Rod. We saw Rod's will and sacrifice. He earned our trust, and we, as fans, knew that we were of concern in what Rod said and did. He would only say things in hopes to improve the team. Jay is still earning people's faith and respect. He's been handed chances and opportunities. Yet Broncos fans have not seen him hold himself in the same light that he feels OK to cast on others. He dodges questions about his involvement in the teams needs of improvement. There was no thought of the fans or the betterment of the team. It was a classless attack on his #1 guy, and if even in passing, it was a bad move. Despite Marshall's willingness to admit he needs to grow up, I think Jay should realize before he speaks out of turn, he's got some growing to do himself.