ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Denver Broncos have named Kyle Orton as their starting quarterback for the 2011 season.
Last week it seemed as though Orton would be taking snaps in Miami but a trade fell through when the Dolphins refused to meet Denver’s asking price. Head coach John Fox was already giving Orton all of the first team snaps as of yesterday which leaves Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn battling it out for second.
It almost makes you wonder what their plan was from the beginning. If they had traded Orton, would they have gone with Tebow to give the fans what they want or would they have held an open competition between Quinn and Tebow? There were other rumors that suggested that the Broncos would have added a veteran quarterback like Jake Delhomme given his familiarity with John Fox.
Tebow Mania gets put on the back burner again and will have to wait some before they get a chance to prove the doubters wrong.
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This is the way it should be. It looks as though Orton’s been working the hardest out of all 3 candidates during the lockout and the off season. And right now, a guy with experience needs to lead the team. Im not saying Orton is perfect, he has things to work on too. But Fox will help him and push him.
I honestly feel bad for a guy like Orton simply because he’s proven to be a good quarterback in NFL but there’s never going to be a team that see’s him as their quarterback. Despite being an upgrade to a number of NFL quarterbacks right now, teams are always going to be looking to future rather giving him a legitimate shot at being their guy.
Last year Orton threw for over 4000 yards which is exactly what Jay Cutler did and led the Bears to trade multiple draft picks for him, only Cutler had Brandon Marshall and Orton had to help Brandon Lloyd resurrect his career. On top of that the Broncos defense was so terrible that opposing teams were able to beat Denver by simply running the ball down their throats. You can’t blame Orton alone for their 4-12 record. Fox will be good him.
Miami should have pulled the trigger on the deal for Orton because it’s going to be another painful season with Henne under center.