Conspiracy Theory 101: Did Patriots Release Kevin O'Connell as Gift to Broncos?

On Aug. 30, the New England Patriots released former third-round pick, Kevin O'Connell, who played quarterback at San Diego State. It seems strange that the Patriots would do so after reports that the Raiders had attempted to acquire O'Connell in a trade for All-Pro Derrick Burgess. Before I continue, "CT 101" stands for "Conspiracy Theory 101," and is meant to be facetious.  Perhaps there is some unprovable truth to what I will ponder, or perhaps not. In the course of the 2009 NFL offseason though, we have seen the meteoric ascension of Josh McDaniels from New England assistant to head coach to replace Super Bowl winning coach, Mike Shanahan. Much of that ascension resulted from the 2008 success of QB Matt Cassel, whom replaced an injured Tom Brady, and led the Patriots to a record of 11-5, after many had thought that Brady's injury would prevent the Patriots from viability. Once Josh McDaniels became coach of the Broncos, he attempted to acquir...