For the second straight offseason, the Broncos have made a big trade involving a quarterback. The team’s acquisition of Brady Quinn certainly isn’t as big as the Jay Cutler deal a year ago, but any time a big-name quarterback is involved, it’s news.
As far as the trade itself, the Broncos were in a low-risk, high-reward situation. It was clear that Peyton Hillis was not going to factor in as one of the top two running backs for the Broncos. Head coach Josh McDaniels said on more than one occasion last year that he does not believe in getting three running backs regular reps because he believes that adversely affects the ability for any of these running backs to get into a rhythm.
Even though many fans have clamored for Hillis to get more playing time, it didn’t happen and never was going to happen (barring injury or some unforeseen situation) with Josh McDaniels as the Broncos’ head coach. Whether or not one agrees or disagrees with that makes for a good sports talk show topic or newspaper column, but it doesn’t change the fact that McDaniels did not see Hillis as one of the top couple of running backs. Thus, Hillis was not going to get meaningful playing time on a regular basis.
In making the trade, the Broncos did not take much risk. They packaged a player picked low in the draft (Hillis was a seventh round selection in 2008) and two low future draft picks to get Quinn, who was Cleveland’s first-round selection in 2007.
In Quinn, the Broncos get a player who could have a huge impact. If he turns into the player the Browns thought they were drafting, the Broncos just pulled off one whale of a trade. Of course, if Quinn becomes just another back-up quarterback and Hillis goes crazy in Cleveland, then the Broncos will have made not only a poor trade but also a serious error in evaluating Hillis.
While I believe Hillis is a good player and has ability to offer, I like the trade. There was no reason not to make it. On the surface, they didn’t have to give up a lot. Based on the numbers being reported, the Broncos’ financial risk is low. And at the very least, they increased their talent and depth at the most crucial position on a football team.
This last point is vital. Regardless of how good his team is, NFL head coaches and general managers are always looking to find players who are better than the ones they have. Like it or not, fair or not, that is life in the NFL, period.
Right now, I believe Kyle Orton is the unquestioned starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. But I also believe that if Brady Quinn shows he is better and convinces the coaching staff that he gives the Broncos a better chance to win than Orton does, then Quinn will be the starting quarterback.
People want to know if the Broncos were sending a message to Orton or making a statement about their confidence in him by trading for another quarterback. I think it is far simpler than that: I believe the Broncos saw an opportunity to acquire a player they believe makes them a better football team and they jumped on that opportunity.
It won’t be long before we start finding out if and how Quinn makes them better.
I know many of you have been weighing in on the deal, but feel free to share your thoughts.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
Tags: Brady Quinn, Head Coach Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton, Trade
I agree with Baylinocrush. Lets be optamistic. There will be football in 2011.
To chime in…. McD has proven himself to be a very good quarterback coach. The one thing you cannot teach is athleticism. That is what Quinn does have. Lets be optimistic that McD can teach Quinn how to be a good NFL quarterback.
GO BRONCOS
Westcoast who cares what the d WAS. I’m talking last year. He just cut the 3rd best defensive player on the team. I’m a Realistic fan. Not a sheep. You can make the wise cracks all you want about me but i’m not just blowin smoke. And the browns d last year? They beat steelers chiefs and raiders. How did we fare against those teams?
And I agree baylin. No lockout will happen. Owners and players both don’t want empty checks coming in this economy.
Well if the NFLPA and the NFL knew annything, they would know who is paying their bills……And that’s me and you. Nobody gets paid if nobody watches.
i’m hoping this Quinn move is a Brees-like scenario..talented, drafted by the Chargers, didnt work out, shipped off to NO,3years later,,BANG! SuperBowl champ….better supporting cast is big factor, but I think it comes down to the mindset that “he can” become a great QB after being so overlooked…IMO
@drunkenbronc..
I think Mcbean was already here, on reserve or something(or atleast, we signed him a couple of times),,,point is that Fields was the starting FA on the D-line last year..it was mostly Peterson, Fields, and Mcbean(when he wasnt injured)….But yeah, I get your point on questioning McD’ judgement…
Big D 44
I believe that is the biggest upsdie to Quinn over Orton, his athleticism. I hated wacthing Orton tripping over himself in the pocket. If Quinn can pick up the McD system, anything is possible.
Drunk Bronco, I dont; mean to crack on you too much. That is just your screen name though, right?
Seriously, we all agree that McD has not really stuck gold in the draft yet. I am sure we are all anxious to see some of last year’s rookies in thier Second year and make some real progress.
I guess all I’m trying to say is dline was a problem last offseason and it was a problem this offseason. I screamed for orapko and I’m no scout. We picked up players that are better Jamaal and bannan ( not a fan of green, got benched for getting lit up against the run a few tines by bb) but they aren’t a long term answer. Old players don’t make sense when your rebuilding a team, cause you will have to turn around and do it again in a couple years.
Lol no worries hometeam. What makes being a fan fun!
we beat 2 of the 3 once a piece, got KILLED by the stealers… but we picked peyton manning off what… 3 times in 1 game? so by your reckoning does that mean we had a good defense cuz no one else picked him off that many times, or did we just get lucky??
hometeam-
Quinn should already have a grasp of this offense. He ran pretty much the same offense at ND where Weis coached. (McD’s predecessor at NE)
@florio… ya and i think thats going to help him TONS once camp and stuff opens! i dont think he will be as far behind as some may think! which will IMO make for great competition for the 1 and 2 spot! cant wait!
Time to shut down my negativity lol sry guys. Virtual beers for everyone. Time for me to hit the positives. Martindale!!!! Loved him when he was a raider coach. Their lbs were always all over the ball an always at the top in turnovers. He brings the pain to our defense! Bannan will outplay all expectations. No more lefty simms. Marsh and doom still on the team for now. Exciting draft that’s filled with talent. Mcd getting rid of some goodies for his own style. Goodtimes.
Unless Peyton manning is on your team, every player you bring in, you should assume they are starting.
Especially with Orton not playing spectacularly last year. McD brought in Quinn so he could be starting or close behind. And the same mentality should be used for Orton, he should be the starter or close behind.
Let the best player win.
Hoodies** not goodies. Darn iPhone
Am I correct in saying that we are going to pay less for Quinn then we did Simms. If that is the case then this is one hell of a trade. I was a Hillis fan and was frustrated with MCD’s decision to keep him a special teams player but it is what it is and now we have more depth at quarterback. Quinn will be a great complimentary to Orton. So now at least if Orton is not 100% he does not have to risk his career and playing when he should be resting. Unlike I, most don’t believe Orton to be the future in Denver anyhow. The way I see it, if you aren’t behind Orton this trade is an upgrade. If you are like me and believe Orton is our future QB you kind of shake your head and wander if Quinn has the mental strength to handle taking a back seat being ready to go in case of injury like every other second string quarterback.
in other news..lol….Gerhart is scheduled to workout for the Broncos…yes , the plot thickens…lose Hillis, but bring in Gerhart..I’m down for that..
Quinn gets 5 plus million if he takes 70 % of the snaps.
I really think this is very simple….Here goes…
I am happy about the Quinnn trade. I am sad about the Hillis loss. Quinn has a possible upside. Quinn is an upgrade for simms. Quinn is more athletic than Orton. If quinn wins the starting job I want him to start.
Past is the past, now is now. How many times have we seen players go from one situation to a nother and do well. Many thought Cedric Benson was a bust and he gets to Cincy and is a beast. Give Quinn the benefit of the doubt. Listen to what Champ said,
“He has the tools all the kid needs is a better situation”
Its not that hard, we evalutae during camp and preseason like the coaches will…and decide on whether he is worthy. plain and simple
Broncs20 I’d rather take a step forward than take a step back then forward. Lose hillis get gerhart. Lose marshall get bryant. Those are moves that keeps u the same or worse. Could use those picks on positions you aren’t rich in
Morrison, simple as well
Proven NFL talent is a plus. Unproven NFL talent is a risk. We can get Morrison. We can get McClain. Morrison will take care of the here and now for the next 5 year. McClain could grow with us for Many years to come. We try to get Morrison, we possibly get blocked by al davis. We try to get McClain, he might not be around when we are picking.
They both have upsides and downsides along with reasons why we may get them or not. If the 49ers had no patience and got a free agent…they would never have Patrick Willis. Same can be said for many teams. The vets we want now were once rookies that a team took a chance on and it panned out. Depends on which way we wanna go. McClain as a possible anchor for the future. Morrison as a here and now for the next 5 years. McD will probably try everything. And since Don Wink Martindale drafted and coached Morrison, anythingis possible.
PS: Yea, i think we can al agree that McD sucks at picking young talent lol
I hope there is some credence in what broncos20 says, Broncos working out Gerhart, I have been a proponent of his before the season even ended when I was starting up the campaign for the need of a power back, since McD didn’t use Hillis. BFE will be very happy to hear that.
We should just trade all our draft picks away for players. That way we know what we’re getting. Then we don’t have to chance anything in the draft because we’ll be getting all proven players.
TRB, so far you are right, McD last year had some very poor judgment in the draft, but I will take him at his word (!?!?) when he says it was because last year the staff had barely been assembled and they were not well prepared. Well, this is it this time around, no more excuses, we definitely need a better draft than last year, or shut up, LOL.
DrunkenBronc…. Davis was the 3rd best player? Seriously? He was the biggest liabilty on the D side and that is why he was cut. Plain and simple. Not sure why you mentioned the Browns D but oh well. Very happy we have a coach that is not content with average players.
Go Broncos!!!!
3rd most tackles on defense. That’s pretty good. Someone else mentioned the browns d I was just responding.
As far as draft goes they all are crapshoots. Which is why getting stars in the 4th and 7th rounds can put a team over the top.
Food 4 toughs you take Tom Brady out of NE and put him on the browns how good is he without a line and receivers and a system that matches his talents? Or you take Jay Cutler out of Denver and put him in a terrible offensive team like Chico no QB is great alone you need a quality line a good running game and a sold receiving core but most important you need a system that can showcase you stars talents ! Quinn has proven he can run this system and run it well he can run and is a physical specimen (4 a QB) Its not if he starts but when ! This is the best ting for the team he will be in the upper echelon of Qbs within 2 years and time will tell but i believe he will do better than Cutler long term ! And Orton needs to accept he is a career back up take a deal and be a team player .
in other news also heard Matt Tennant Center, JD Walton Center and Vladimir Ducasse OG are also having private workouts…also latest Mock Draft on walterfootball.com has us taking:
Dan Williams, DT Tennessee (This is to learn from J. Williams and in case the aforementioned gets hurt)
JD Walton, C Baylor (This is because, well, we have no other Center)
Jonathan Dwyer, RB Georgia Tech (6’1 235, would be a power back (although I still prefer Gerhart)
Jacoby Ford, WR/KR Clemson (This is to free Eddie for full time WR duties)
Not saying its a bad deal there. I can also see us either trading down to get Pouncey in late first instead of Williams or I can see us drafting Williams and trading up in 2nd round to get Ducasse for OG
Either way you get:
Clady, LT – Pouncey/Ducasse, LG – Walton, C – Kuper, RG – Harris, RT
That leaves Hochstein, Fry, Olsen, Polumbus as backups
LT: 6’6 325
LG: 6’5 312(Pouncey) 6’4 332(Ducasse)
C: 6’3 305
RG: 6’4 302
RT: 6’5 300
Of course these numbers come from the internet but I would assume the height and weight should be close
west coast…. he i think only mentioned the browns D because i brought it up in our debate!
Someone mentioned matt tennant yesterday. He looked good. I want pouncey though. This draft will be full of surprises and questions all the way up to draft day. Wish it wasn’t prime time though. Always loved the Saturday drafts.
Im just glad simms is gone. how does orton pass for like 300 yards against washington and simms gets less than 20? Both quinn and orton are good qbs not top 15 but still solid starters. Just hope quinn doesnt become a griese oh god the horror
@darkeyes…. griese was not half the athlete that quinn is! he was more of an orton type of QB. and ya, those years were HORRIBLE!! lol
Josh Barrett resigned
Josh Barrett is a physical specimen, too bad he never became the safety we wanted, but he is a hell of a special teamer….I remember when he blew minds running a 4.3 at the combine. Something a safety had never done….especially not one that is 6’2, 225. With that speed and size and his hard hitting abilities…I can’t believe he never became our safety of the future.
cody,
I love that draft….Although I still think we should get McClain, not just size but also smarts and a vocal leader. It could come in REAL handy especially now that the line is taken care off. Dont care who our power back is as long as he can do the job…but i a most excited about JACOBY FORD. I have been talking about the man before the season ended and said he would run the fastest 40 and he did. This will free up eddie royal cuz he is also a return specialist as well as a reciever…would take him over McKinley. But i doubt he will be aorudn in the 4th…people think he can be like desean jackson and jackson (and royal) was taken in the second round….
Something must of happened in Chargers land, their chief operating officer, VP Jim Steeg is leaving his post March 31st.
Baylin,
Yea we can agree he sucks and defintiely no excuse this time…but to be honest…if they didnt have time to put together a well thought out draft….all they had to do was look at nfl.com or the millions of analyst guessing at our picks and they woulda been MUCH better off lol. And trading your first next year fo a second this year, a guy you passed on twice in the first round, who is a pint sized CB, just reeks of stupidity. If you passed on him twice in the first round…obviously not worth giving up a first rounder to get him in the 2nd.
As far as the Chargers, I take pleasure in the fact that I think they are slowly unraveling. since they are not happy with always ALMOST making it, they are sorta rebuilding and as a result production will suffer.
He is a HALF pint CB, LOL.
This is the year I believe the tables of the AFC West will turn. It will finally be us again at the top.
@DrunkenBronc,
thats very true on taking a step back and only taking one step forward to the same place…or was it?..lol…at least Hillis will get his chance to make an impact,,apparently he was losing favor in McD’s system,Best of Luck to him…
Barrett resigned???is it true??wow, this is great news for me…agreed, he is a physical specimen,, i hope we keep him throughout..
Actually, I think we and the Chiefs could be the teams on the rise, the Chargers on the decline and, well, the Raiders are the Raiders, no concern there, LOL.
@ lmao…. dirty raiders!! lol
Andra Davis says he is a Buffallo Bill now, good for him!
We are working out Gerhart???YEAH I like it!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s what I said, how excited BFE would be…
Where does it say we are working out Gerhart? I can’t find any articles on it.
BRONCOS 16-0.
Broncos20 said it, didn’t say where he got it, hope it’s true…
We are a couple of O linemen and a powerback away from a powerhouse running game,like the good’ol days.I like the fact that we could have a slash style cutter like Moreno and a Beast like Gerhart for short yardage,a 1-2 punch if you will.Too bad it couldn’t be Hillis,but Gerhart will do fine.IMO
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Source-Gerhart-to-work-out-for-Broncos-Jets.html … florio
I feel like getting Gerhart would be taking two steps forward. Hillis is a stud but I think Gerhart will be a superstud in the NFL. He rushed for nearly 2,000 yards as a 240 pound running back. He is very athletic and intelligent. I agree BFE. with addtions at guard and center our run game would be fearsome.
Can’t wait for draft and next season so our team can redeem themselves for the crappy finish last year.
GO BRONCOS….
Glad to see Andra Davis found a new jod,good for him,too bad it didn’t work out for him here,GOOD LUCK.
Morrison or McClain either one would be a good fit.IMO
No use arguing about $$$$ both of them will get HUGE contracts.