To me, it is a classic case of needing something to talk about.
Last week at the beginning of the annual scouting combine, reports came down like wildfire that Broncos head coach John Fox said that Kyle Orton was the Broncos starting quarterback.
Of course he is, at least as we sit here in late February. Certainly that could change at some point.
What Coach Fox said was that the competition between Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow will determine which guy ultimately wins the starting job.
“I don’t think we’ll really figure it out until we start competing,” Fox said. “It’s a group of three that I think are very capable. Right now, Kyle Orton’s our starter. We got a young guy, a high draft pick in Tim Tebow that got his feet wet last year towards the end of the season. (He) did an outstanding job. He’s got some of those intangibles that you’re looking for. And then, shoot, Brady Quinn I’m looking forward to seeing play. He’s a young guy that has about 13 starts under his belt. We’ll see. All three…I’m excited about.”
When one takes what Coach Fox said, coupled with his casual, informative delivery (the video of his comments are on this very website), one hardly gets the idea that the Broncos already know who will be the starting quarterback for the regular season opener, whenever that game actually takes place.
Broncos’ Vice President John Elway echoed that sentiment.
“I have talked with Kyle and I told him the same thing that I have told you guys, that right now, he is the starting quarterback,” Elway said.
“We are in February, but if we had to play a game tomorrow, Kyle would be the guy. We will continue down the path, obviously we have the draft and a lot of things ahead of us. It is not going to change until we get down the road and see what happens.”
This is hardly a news flash. The Broncos wouldn’t put Tebow, a young and unproven player, at the top of the depth chart right now over an established and productive veteran at the most important position. This is especially true when Tebow only got the opportunity to start late last season because Orton was injured.
Broncos’ general manager Brian Xanders was asked if support for Tebow in the organization is waning.
“There are a lot of people in our building that are behind Tim Tebow,” Xanders said. “He had a very successful career at (the University of) Florida and he is working hard in his career to be a better quarterback at the NFL level. He is somebody that the franchise invested a lot into, in terms of draft picks and the contract, but he is going to create his role and he has done a good job so far with his limited opportunities. The big picture is every player has to create their own role on the team. John Fox wants competition at every position and we are going to go from there.”
Again, this is hardly information worthy of a debate.
Why is it necessary, in the month of February or March, to have an in-depth discussion about who might or might not start at quarterback, or any other position, in August or September?
I’m not naïve. I know people want to talk about football all year long. Maybe it’s just me but this got completely blown out of proportion.
We’ll know the Broncos starting quarterback when the time comes for the players themselves to decide it. And that time is not now.
Right now, I’m excited to get the news from the scouting combine. Some of these guys might very well be wearing orange and blue soon. I’m also getting more and more curious about what the Broncos will do in the upcoming draft.
And, needless to say, there is this little labor issue that the league and the players need to get resolved.
Those are all, to me, much more pressing than who is at the top of the February depth chart.
Thanks for reading and feel free to post your thoughts.
Best,
Mike
Mike, you are absolutely right in everything you metioned! This got out of context and proportion for some reason… Is the media is out of off-season material or what!? LOL. Anyways, I am seeing this as a “cautious speech” that is important for 2 different situations:
1. If we “show commitment” with Orton as our QB for next year, we might avoid any potential decrease in his trade value, would be bad if teams consider we don’t really need him or count on him for next year(talking about market value, of course).
2. If for many reasons(like CBA issues or mingy trade value) Orton is not able or likely to leave, the coaches and front office staff showed they have his back. Remember he still is under contract, would you like to work in a place where your supervisor and managers wanted you out of there!? I think I know the answer to that…
Besides all the speculation, I am confident we are going to trade him at some point for a fair value, if all the off-season issues don’t have repercussions on potential trades and FA.
Worst that would happen is we keep Orton for one more year right!? Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for Tebow to be out there as our starter and learn at real NFL speed, but another year watching from the sidelines and working with the coaches and coordinators to improve with his footwork and mechanics(honestly, his trowing motion doesn’t concerns me) as well as getting to know the offense better.
If we get some defense talent we could easily go back to .500 record, even with Orton!
I knew(in my humble opinion) that it would take TT 2 full years for him to become the QB I know he could be and we all want him to be!
It is no secret we would trade Orton if the opportunity presents so stop paying that much attention to the media because they are just trying not to loose their job for a couple of months! LOL
Mike! I think I got your blog post fresh out of the oven… XD
The only reason to me that it has been a worthy subject of discussion is that by what has been said Orton is the starter until the QB competition opens up and I think most realistic folks around would tell you there will be no cba until late summer, hence no off season, hence no QB competition, hence Orton would be the starter when the season starts.
This is not a regular season where you can think like any other one, so whoever is called “starter” by the coach now, specially at the QB position, should be of great importance to all of us, just my way of thinking.
But nice effort to deflect the debate on that whole issue.
And by the way, it has been a while since that first hit the blog and I have since gotten used to the idea that Fox saying Orton is the starter now is not a ploy to get more value for him in a trade like some are claiming, but that he in fact he does intend to start Orton if things stand as they are, and they very well might.
I don’t care I don’t have a Tebow jersey, LOL.
Here is some realistic stuff about the cba from most always reliable Klis:
For all the predictions that have been made regarding the 2011 lockout, no one believes it will set a record for games canceled. Not when each game seems to set new viewership and revenue records.
Many of the league’s coaches and executives who have gathered in the hotel lobbies here believe the deadline is just before the April 28 draft. Their thinking is the nearly 500 free- agent players won’t stand to see teams fill their roster spots with rookies.
Some veteran football scribes wonder if the eleventh hour is the last weekend of July, when training camps are supposed to open and owners start squirming about losing preseason game revenues.
I believe the lockout will carry the conversations around the Labor Day grills, otherwise known as the final family moment before the regular season takes over American lives.
Whatever the deadline, it’s not 10 p.m. MST Thursday. The noticeable absence of owners during the negotiating sessions last week should have told federal mediator George Cohen that he is wasting his time.
“The leverage the owners have is when there is no bargaining agreement, and the players know there is no bargaining agreement and they start getting nervous,” Spencer said. “And what happens when players start getting nervous?”
League business shuts down Thursday night. No free-agent signings. No Kyle Orton trade. The players won’t start shaking then, though. Union leader DeMaurice Smith met privately here with player reps and board members, including Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, Friday. The team leaders were told to constantly stay in touch with their teammates during the likely lockout.
“Solidarity into September” should be the players’ mantra. Better believe the owners will test that bond. One agent said during the meeting intermission that during the Cohen mediation sessions, the union made one proposal, and the owner-absent management committee said no. The union made another proposal, and management said no.
This is a game the players can’t win; they can only hope they lose by a touchdown. If the players took the owners’ proposal as it’s typed now, the defeat would be equivalent to the 59-14 home whipping the Josh McDaniels-led Broncos took from the rival Oakland Raiders in October.
Hey, who besides Tim Tebow and the Broncos’ new coaching staff needs minicamps, anyway?
Funny ending, pretty much where I was heading earlier…
I agree with Mike’s rake on the situation, but also agree with Bay’s realism. If there’s no off season it limits the opportunity for Tebow to “win” the starting job, and worse yet hurts his ability to develop as a pro quarterback for next season by not allowing him to work with the offense and get timing with the #1 wideouts.
And the world goes round and round and round. When we finally left the Shanahan motto of speed over size and started to get some beef, now we are likley to dump the beef to go back to speed. Makes my head spin…:
Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen comes from a New Orleans Saints scheme that prefers speed over size and so does Fox.
This is how Denver general manager Brian Xanders described the type of player the Broncos would look for to play in their 4-3 defense: “What’s good is Fox, since 1997, is 10th or 11th in defense, and Dennis is from the Gregg Williams school and the Saints won the Super Bowl with big-time takeaways and disruption and negative plays. And what’s happened is a blending of those philosophies in a 4-3 playbook, the Broncos’ 2011 defensive playbook. Obviously, play speed is a big thing in the John Fox model of linebackers and (defensive backs). And the whole front seven is disruptive playmakers who can create negative plays in run and pass.”
Better get used to the flavor of the day….
And OLB Von Miller is quietly but surely entering the conversation as Klis points out:
INDIANAPOLIS — Defensive end Da’Quan Bowers has merited consideration because the Broncos need a pass rusher.
Nick Fairley and Marcell Dareus also have been connected with the No. 2 overall draft pick because the Broncos need a new defensive tackle or two as new coach John Fox switches from the 3-4 to 4-3 alignment.
But there is another element to the defensive front seven that gets rare mention among the numerous 2011 mock drafts with the No. 2 pick: linebacker.
On his way out the Dove Valley doors last season, Don “Wink” Martindale, the Broncos’ defensive coordinator in 2010, said the most difficult personnel adjustment in switching to the 4-3 is acquiring speed at linebacker.
This is why the Broncos are considering Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller, especially if the team can trade back a couple spots in return for an extra draft pick.
But I think that would be stupid.
But I just posted how we are going to go back from size to speed, so Von Miller would be just that, speed, and Dareus is beef, so is Fairley, and Bowers is speed, or kind of, so what now????
And I was starting to think those would never come:
Cuts coming.
Expect the Broncos to cut a player or two around midweek. A few players have nonguaranteed roster bonuses due soon after the start of the new league year, which is supposed to be 10 p.m. MST on Thursday. Even if the new business season is pushed back because of the labor impasse, the Broncos are expected to do some roster cleaning.
And well needed may I add.
And finally, one more thing to make me want to take Dareus over Fairley:
Fairley’s combine weigh-in was a mere 291 pounds. That’s good-sized for a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4 defense but light by NFL defensive tackle standards.
BTW, Dareus showed up at 319 lbs.
Good anology on last paragraph with the comparison to Raiders whipping. Owners hold the cards.
NFLPA proposals are going nowhere.
I’ve been wondering when Miller was going to enter the mix. I wouldn’t be opposed to getting a top notch LB if he was a man beast. I’m not sure Miller is man beast, but mostly because I haven’t researched him enough yet. I do wonder if it would be wise to draft a LB without building up your line first. We may be a year out on that pick. You can build a defense around a Willis or Lewis type but I’m not sure he’s that guy. Start up front. That said, I’d still be ok with a certain CB with our pick because his play isn’t quite as impacted by the DT’s.
He can’t be that type, he is an OLB, we need a man beast as you say at ILB.
Thanks for post Mike…. we definitely have bigger fish to fry right now.
Woodyard should have a shot at WILL LB, (weakside), as I mentioned a few blogs back. I now see DP addressing the same thing… provided he comes back.
I thought that’s where DJ would go back to to be effective once again, at the weakside.
The Denver Broncos likely will use LB D.J. Williams at weakside linebacker in their new 4-3 defensive alignment next season, reports Mike Klis, of The Denver Post. That was about 10 days ago.
And the Josh McDaniels Quarterback Quagmire continues on into the abyss without it’s Captain…. Ahoy!
Thats what you get when you keep the entire McDaniels Offensive coaching staff……???
Are we really going in a different direction? Or just doing what Josh would have done anyways???
INDIANAPOLIS — Everyone knows Nevada DE Dontay Moch can run. It’s just a matter of how fast.
Moch wears a “DL” on the front of his green NFL Scouting Combine jersey, but his speed is rare and impressive at any position. Moch registered an unofficial time of 4.45 on his first run (and a 10-yard split of 1.62) to set a Combine record for defensive linemen since 2000. If his time stands, he’ll have bested the previous mark of 4.47 by UAB’s Bryan Thomas in 2002.
Speed is what were looking for you say?
DJ should be able to play either WILL or MIKE…(MLB), as he has the speed and range for both. Also a bigger than WW. WILL was his original position. Based on current roster and the need for a solid MLB, he seems to fit mold. Don’t like Haggan for middle as he’s too big, (if that sounds right).
Hopefully we p/u a MLB in the draft, (or F/A… I know- pipe dream..lol), then we could shift DJ back to original position. Woodyard is quicker than DJ and can flow side to side with more speed.
See what plays out. JMO.
If that’s what Klis says, then we’ll need another MIKE backer.
I agree Mike but at the same time I think its worth talking about in the sense that many fans just really dont wanna sit through another Orton season and the thought of it scares them. Also we want Tebow to get a full offseason and training camp as the guy. When there is a competition (like in last offseason/training camp in McD era) the guy that is still considered the starter gets the lionshare of the reps. Now how can Tebow improve and how can it be a true competition without equal reps.
As far as von miller….pass, he is a OLB … we could use one but its not mandatory.
DJ will play weakside (his natural position) as was stated by Bay (at least thats what ive been hoping for since we got fox)
Dont like woodyard, altho he did seem to play very well in shanny scheme back when we were still 4-3….in 3-4 however, he has been unimpressive and cant cover a TE to save his life (and he is probably the fastest LB we got) … But he might be better in 4-3 …. still remember his rookie season (especially preseason) … he had a nose for the ball and was all over the place
Only TE worth getting at number 2 is if there was a guy like Patrick Willis at MLB in this years draft…alas, there isnt so I would take Dareus, Peterson, or Bowers instead.
Also I heard there was talk about peterson going to safety….would make sense, the man is big for a corner but i dont mind that, i hate pint sized corners, but at the same time like i read on here once …. the thing alot of championship teams tend to have in common on defense is a all pro safety (not an all pro corner) … We have been dying at the safety spot for a while so if we were to get him and he was to become a safety…i wouldnt be opposed (but number 2 pick for a safety is high).
dunno why i said TE … i meant LB…
Only LB worth getting at number 2…..***
TOMMY HARRIS, TOMMY HARRIS, TOMMY HARRIS !!!! Someone please get the memo to Xanders and company asap!!
I think I `m going to have to hop on the Dareus wagon just for the sake of the weigh- ins. Fairley is well under 300 lbs and Dareus weighs in at 319. I think I`m going to be more comfortable drafting Marcell now.
And how about Paea`s record setting 225lbs bench pressing at 49 times. Now there`s a strong dude. Thats indurance right there.
If Von Miller was a MLB I mght be for it, but that isn`t the case. I`ll take my chances with snagging Casey Matthews in the 2nd round.
Speaking of Harris’ I really think we should 120% sign Ryan Harris to a long term deal. We cannot afford to use a high pick on a Tackle and I believe he is very underrated. I also believe that he will be more motivated than ever after not being sign immediately.
I also think the pick should be Von Miller. We should be looking to bring in as many athletic 250lb people as possible. LB, LB, TE. It will increase our team speed and create the mismatches that will show up in the Win / Loss column.
We can Bring Tommy Harris and Match him with Justin Banan. With Elvis and a healthy rotation of Ayers and Miller we will create the pressure needed to let our secondary shine.
For the record I have always been a Safety guy. I own Dennis Smith, Atwater, Lynch, Dawkins and a Mcbath jersey so Patrick Peterson is extremely attractive but like I said before we need 250lbs that runs a sub 4.55
If we stuck to that philosophy the last couple of years we would have…Patrick Willis instead of Moss. Orakpo, Mathews and Melyaugla instead of Alphonso smith…and Rob Grankowski, Sergio Kindle, Brandon Graham etc. All solid guys
After Harris I think it should go Matt Prater then Wessly Woodyard then Marcus Thomas in the pecking order. Maybe WW first
honestly, we are in need of LBs but come on… I think the chances to get Miller in with the 2nd overall are almost null, unless we trade down for more picks and a an early mid first rounder, which seems improbable as well…
I hear ya when you talk about the “weight issue” of that DT we should consider at 2nd overall… Don’t like that fact! almost 25 pounds difference!?
Hell, you have to take that into consideration! Everybody has been talking so many good stuff about Dareus that I am undecided now…
By the way Mike, who would you consider to get with that 2nd overall pick!?
ooppss I though i read 296 pounds on Fairley… More than 25 pounds???
I’m sorry to say this but it’s about time they woke up and got rid of Daniel Grahm!!! Not that it has happened I am happy for the team, but sad the guy!
GO BRONCOS!!!
I feel even though Orton did a great job for the most part but i dont feel that he’s a guy that has the ability to bring a team back if they get behind buy alot
also i feel even though Tebow is raw hes proven he can bring a team back like he did against houston.ps With a year under his belt and a full offseason and training camp i think he will win the starting gig hes just has it the IT factor in my opinion
Borrachazo C.R…I’m really not trying to dodge your question but I just don’t have a feel yet for what the Broncos might do with the second overall pick. Part of thinks they’ll stay there and pick someone. Part of me thinks they’ll trade the pick and try to get an extra pick (or two) or player from another team. I really don’t know…which is one reason why I’m looking forward to the draft so much!
Mike