The difference here is subtle, and dhazer's stance here is a function of his perception on how strong a parallel between two situations can be drawn.
Well, let's compare:
Favre retired for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers was subsequently told that he's the starter. Favre wanted to returned and the possibility of a open competition was floated. Rodgers mentioned that he would be happy to compete if needed. In the end, the Packers front office showed their commitment to Rodgers over Favre.
New coach McDaniels enquired about the possibility of trading for Cassel. Cutler, upon hearing the thought that he isn't a guaranteed starter, started to complain. When hearing the words that nobody is safe from being traded, even he, Cutler took major Offense and began his Bus Cook induced spiral towards trade-dom.
In either situation, neither of the QB's fears had happened; Favre never did come back to the Packers and a trade involving Cutler never materialised. But Rodgers held his tongue and said the right thing, even though such a move would have annoyed him, while Cutler bursts his pipes and is now learning a new offense with no WR to throw to.
Now, to address some of the previous sentiment, I am of the opinion that if Favre would have returned, Rodgers would have seriously considered signing a contract elsewhere. At that stage, he would still be a young QB, having just completed his first season (if Favre retired after returning 1 year). If he performed well, he could be looking at a fresh start riding on momentum, paying possibly better than what the Packers would normally pay, which one would consider as less than the league average. If he performed poorly, he probably would have stayed. We don't know what he would have chosen, but my thoughts, and that of others, was that there was a potential for Rodgers to go elsewhere, as is the typical life of an NFL player. In that situation we would have never saw a return for our investment in Rodgers, because he never got the proper chance to display what he learnt form Favre in our WCO. We did not expect Rodgers to pout and demand trades, holdout or publicly complain the way Cutler seems to do a lot of the time.
My conclusion is that there is no contradiction in the posters' attitudes here because the potential for Rodgers being a crybaby, which he never displayed in any shape or form, does not absolve Cutler for actually moaning and being a crybaby. If Cutler wasn't blowing so much smoke, he would have never said "I didn't expect them to trade me so soon". If he really wanted out so badly, he would have said "good riddance."