The Broncos named Kyle Orton the starter at quarterback in a move that shouldn't surprise any of us. Matt Bowen
Over the weekend, the Denver Broncos and new head coach Josh McDaniels named quarterback Kyle Orton the starter going into training camp. Today, I want to discuss why the Broncos made the move so early and why they chose Orton.
The Winner By Default
It’s safe to say the Broncos had this planned all along.
APOrton is the choice of the Broncos to run Josh McDaniels' offense.
This offseason, Orton came from Chicago as part of the deal that sent former starting quarterback Jay Cutler to the Bears. Sure, they signed Chris Simms — someone I think could play a role in 2009 — but this was Orton’s job the day the trade went down.
Because as much as we want to believe there was a highly contested competition going on in Denver this spring, no one can beat out someone when they’re running around in shorts at OTAs or mini-camp — even at the quarterback position.
The Broncos preached to the media that this was a true competition, but let’s be honest. If we look across the league at the various QB battles that will go on this summer at camp, we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t agree that there was a favorite heading in.
Orton was that guy in Denver -- just as he was last summer here in Chicago when he supposedly competed against Rex Grossman in a competition that took all but three snaps to decide.
One thing we have to understand is that Orton was targeted by the Broncos when they pulled off the trade. Simms is on the roster for insurance purposes (and injury help), but when the Broncos line up for the first play of team drills in training camp, Orton will be the man.
And doing this early has some positive aspects, such as giving the offense a quarterback and telling the team that this is the guy they’re going with. Now they can concentrate on playing football instead of wondering who their quarterback will be.
But how does this move reflect on McDaniels and the Broncos?
The Right Choice
We don’t know what McDaniels and his coaching staff look for in a quarterback.
Yes, we can analyze his offensive schemes and see what he did with Matt Cassel in New England during the 2008 season, but to understand the parameters they have in Denver for a QB, you have to be in those meeting rooms.
APSimms will serve in a backup role to Orton this season.
And because of that, we can’t doubt the Broncos for choosing Orton this early, based purely on the fact that no one has seen him play in a real game in that offensive system.
Like I said, if you win a competition in the spring and early summer, it means there was no competition to begin with. It was planned.
But I still think we need to keep an eye on Simms when training camp rolls around — especially in the preseason games.
Now, we have to agree that this is Orton’s job to lose. And by saying that, we have to understand that if Orton doesn’t start for the Broncos on opening day, it would be because of injury or a colossal collapse in training camp.
Simms hasn’t played meaningful minutes at the quarterback position in this league for quite some time, and that was a knock against him when the Broncos signed him this offseason, but I think we can all now see that this move was purely made as an insurance package.
Allow Simms to learn the new offensive system under McDaniels throughout the spring and then see what he can do with it during camp and preseason games when he faces a real rush and takes a real hit.
If he shows that he still has the ability to move the offense down the field in August, well, then the Broncos suddenly have the best of both worlds in their minds — a starting quarterback in Orton, plus a former starting quarterback who’s on their roster for back-up money.
We all know the Broncos took a huge leap of faith when they traded away Cutler, but for some reason, McDaniels and his staff believed they could win and score points in their offense with Orton under center — or rather, in the shotgun.
Will it work? Is Orton the right choice for this job? Did they make the call too soon without giving Simms a true opportunity to show this franchise what he can do in a real football setting — in August?
Those questions and the validity of McDaniels’ offensive scheme will be tested in camp and put on the big stage in September.
Until then, we’ll just keep asking questions — and wait to make our own judgments.
Have fun with Orton Broncos fans...
I have to agree with Danh here...
This new Broncos/old Pats offense doesn't look too different than the spread attack Orton ran at Purdue...
I think he has a good year, but can he score enough points to combat the poor defense in Denver?
how long before mcdaniels goes to bellicheck for his job back?
Orton will be fine... but, will Marshal show up and act like a grown up?
What has Orton done at any time in his career to make anyone believe he will be fine or excel? He averages a 55% completion rate and less than 6 yards per attempt. He gives up tons of sacks because of immobility and has the exact same career interception percentage as Cutler, so don't blow a bunch of smoke about ball control and turnover reduction.
@Romo4MVP: I hope the Cowboys have a good year.
@NECutlerFan: It's time to move ahead. Who cares what has been done in the past; Don't get too stuck with it :).
Let's just see if a different leadership will make Orton a better QB. The Bears offense was not made to light up the sky. Who was Orton's receivers? I believe they put a pure kick returner in there for him.
If he fails, he's done but let's not discount him off yet. I said the same thing about Matt Cassell last fall after Brady went down and and Cassell excelled as a QB hat never played a serious game since high school.
So let's see how this plays out.
Orton is a McDaniels kind of guy. "Heady, intelligent passer with solid intangibles." He's pretty tall, too.
When Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round he was tall, intelligent, and strictly a dink-and-dunk passer. No arm.
He got better.
Orton is not Brady. Cassell took over a team that went 16-0 and didn't make the playoffs. The trade was two months ago, not 20 years ago. That trade is the sort of thing that shapes franchises for decades.
NE CutlerFan-
Still have to give Cassel credit for making the throws... Let's not say he was Geoff George with talent around him.
No offense NECutler, but to say he took over a 16-0 team and didn't make the playoffs is absolutely meaningless since they were one of two teams in modern NFL history to finish 11-5 and not make the playoffs. Had they gone 7-9 or something, perhaps you might have a point.
I expect Orton to be productive in Denver.
Matt you are right that there was never a competition. Why? Chris Simms is terrible. Period. He was terrible at Texas and he's been terrible for most of his NFL career. No one is ever going to confuse Orton with Elway, but he's, at the very least, a solid few mistakes QB. Trust me. I spent 4 years watching Simms at UT and he NEVER lived up to the hype. He'd put up great numbers against the Northern Texas' and Eastern Washington's, but he imploded in every big game.
I refuse to believe Kyle Orton is better than Chris Simms for Denver . This isn't Chicago . The Bronco D. is horrible . Denver is going to have to throw to win games & Kyle Orton doesn't have much of an arm . I'm starting to wonder if Josh Mcdaniel is deserving of his current "it" coach status . Chris Simms hasn't played in a while but has a great arm . It would seem much smarter try & build him for 2009 . For Denver to win it will have to score & I don't see that being remotely possible with Kyle Orton at qb .
Orton isn't Brady, but he was more highly regarded coming out of college. Point being...he has the physical ability and access to the same coaching to be at least solid, which is the most that Denver can hope for at this point.
As for the reinvinted Cutler V. Orton's arm, Orton just won't try all the throws that Cutler routinely missed. Cutler can huck it, but he can't hit moving targets with any consistency down field and he doesn't have a 6-4 230 post up target to force the ball to 25 times a game. He connected on all of three deep balls the last two years...two were called back and Eddie Royal saved the day on the other. Those visions of Devin Hester running under deftly thrown balls on mid to deep crosses, fly patterns and posts is pure fantasy. In otherwords, Jay Cutler is going to have to evolve as much as Orton to close the gap on that won-loss advantage Orton holds. He, as much as Orton, relies heavily on YAC. But nobody is willing to believe that until it plays out.
If healthy, Orton will have better numbers than Cutler this year. Yes, you read that right... More yards, TD's, and less interceptions. Good luck Bears fans. When those unknown receivers can't get open, Cutler will throw it to them anyways regardless of coverage. Also get ready to hear him snivel and whine when they try to run the ball too much!! As a true Bronco fan, I say I'll take Orton, Simms, who ever over that garbage.
Does every Broncos fan feel better off without Cutler? That is surprising to me as an outsider.
The BB coaching tree and the trunk haven't been doing to well lately.
NT:
Actually, I'd rather none of it happened. I'm as big of believer in Cutler's potential as anybody. I'm not saying he's going to fail. I'm just getting tired of the reinvention of Jay Cutler. Everybody talks about his huge arm, but Shannahan wouldn't let him use it much in 2007 because he is so erratic, and though he was given more liberty in 2008, he hardly set the world on fire. A lot of his passing stats came on Marshall post ups, Royal YAC, and Brandon Stokely finding and sitting in zones after the original play brokedown. He benefited greatly from Marshall's physical size and Stokely's moxie, niether of which Chicago offers right now. The fact is, Kyle Orton has the arm to do the same things that made Cutler successful in Denver. The big arm, game carrying gunslinger is still a work in progress and hardly a given at this point. Add that to his behavior this winter, and it adds up to many Bronco fans, myself included, being willing to move on with Orton and hope for the best.
Kyle Orton = Drew Brees.
NE CutlerFan-
Right on!
Thanks for saying it first..Orton will be Orton and Mcdumbass will lead this franchise to the toilet. I think my Chiefs will Win 4 games this year and two of them will be the Broncos! Cassell will get killed this year. Bad O line and know one to throw the ball too. The only highlight of the season is we won't loose the the Broncos.
The only Broncos fans that feel the team is better off without Cutler are the ignorant ones who believe all of the propaganda the team puts into the media.
The problem was the defense, not the offense. Now the entire starting secondary is older than 30, and there are still no NFL caliber D-linemen on that team. The Broncos will be 4-12 and not even have the top 5 pick to show for it.
Of course Orton won the job, he had to, if he didn't it would make McDaniels' trade look even worse.
Northwoods Tom: Does every Broncos fan feel better off without Cutler? That is surprising to me as an outsider.
As a Broncos fan for 25+ years, I was bummed to see Cutler go, but I don't see how it could have worked out any other way. I think Cutler would have been awesome in McDaniels' defense, but I'm pretty sure Orton will be servicable. I agree with a previous poster who wrote that Cutler will need to evolve in Chicago. There's lots of noise about how Cutler was the driving force in Denver, but the Broncos DID have a decent running game statistically, even if it ate up 8 starting RBs, and Cutler was still terrible inside the red zone, so he gets more credit than he was due. Cutler was also protected by one of the top o-lines in football, which he won't have in Chicago, regardless of the signing of Orlando "Last Stop" Pace.
But when all is said and done, nothing speaks louder than win-loss record, and since the season is still relatively far away, expect all the worst smack-talking elements will continue to say anything and everything that is de facto unprovable until the season begins (and ends). Personally, I think the real keys in this play are Ron Tuner (OC in Chicago) and McDaniels in Denver -- how these two coaches react and adjust to their QBs talents is paramount. Orton genuinely seems well-suited to McDaniels offense, and Cutler seems particularly unsuited for the traditional Chicago offense -- he's a huge (and often stubborn) gambler in a (traditionally) ball-control, slow march offense.
But either way, all the bickering (and, frankly, name-calling) is pretty pointless until the boys are on the field.
@ DREW T., yeah, that's pretty much the feelings of most Broncos fans I know out here in NYC.
With Cutler, Marshall, Stokely, and Shanahan, the Broncos finished 21st and 16 th in scoring the past two seasons. Take away Denver's first three games of last season, and they are barely pedestrian at scoring points.
New England was 1st and then -- with a guy who hadn't started a game since hs -- 8th in scoring.
Moving the ball between the twenties and racking up yards only matters in fantasy football. The Bears were better than the Broncos at scoring last season -- partially due to ST and defense, sure (though the Bears' defense wasn't much better than average overall) -- but Orton had no weapons and a terrible o-line.
Still, as the field shortened, he excelled: his QB rating in the red zone was much higher than Cutler's.
And Brandon Marshall, for all his catches -- and for having a "franchise QB" targeting him more than any other receiver in the league was targeted -- managed 6 TD receptions.
Orton will spread the ball around, make good decisions, and let his weapons work for him. To me, that beats a QB who locks onto his favorite receiver and then tries forcing the ball into coverage.
Cutler has the arm to get away with that kind a play on occasion. But believe me, he routinely dismissed wide open check downs in favor of forcing the tough (and showy) throw into coverage.
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Jun 15, 2009
09:49 AM
I believe Orton will thrive in this offense. I do not see how any QB would not like to have the ball spread out. The Broncos will probably have a strong running game that will only open up this potentially awesome offense.
Now let's hope the defense can improve. They can only go up from here.