Tim Tebow vs Kyle Orton

The Denver Broncos are in the process of starting from scratch to once
again be among The National Football League’s elite. The Broncos have
made six Super Bowl appearances winning twice, so drafting second
overall as they did in April’s draft is uncommon in The Mile High City.
For any team to succeed they need a quarterback. For The Broncos, they
have to decide soon on Kyle Orton or Tim Tebow.

Both Orton and Tebow have different skill sets, but they can play the
“no respect” card. In 2005 Orton went 10-5 for The Chicago Bears before
being benched in favor of another Florida Gator quarterback that was
drafted in the first round in Rex Grossman. Orton was traded to Denver
in 2009 and has thrown for 7,455 yards in two seasons under former
Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels. The problem is that Orton’s record in
Denver is 11-17. Orton doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he is more
accurate than Tebow.

Since arriving in Denver Orton hasn’t had the best running game behind
him or a good defense behind him. Both units have ranked near the bottom
of the league. The defense gave up 471 points last season which nearly
averages out to 30 points per contest. The offense was constantly
playing catch-up which eliminated the threat of the running game. The
main problem in Denver is that Tim Tebow was drafted in the first round
which puts added pressure on the team to play him and for Orton to
constantly look over his shoulder.

I have all the respect in the world for Tebow, but he should not have
been picked in the first round. Coming out of college I looked at Tebow
as a third or fourth round draft pick. This was one of the reasons
McDaniels was fired after nearly two years as head coach in Denver.
McDaniels traded back into the first round to draft Tebow which left
everyone in the football world doing some head scratching. Being a
quarterback who was drafted in the first round comes with a ton of
pressure as the team expects you to play at some point during the rookie
season.

Both Tebow and Orton are winners. Orton is 32-29 as a pro while Tebow
left Florida as one of the most decorated players in the school’s
history. Tebow helped The Gators win two BCS Championships as well as
winning The Heisman Trophy in 2007. Tebow has intangibles that cannot be
coached such as toughness and natural leadership. Tebow put The Gators
on his back after an early season home loss versus Ole Miss in 2008.
Tebow vowed that no one would work harder than him and his teammates got
in line after him as The Gators never lost another game that season en
route to winning it all.

Since The Broncos have drafted Tebow he has welcomed every challenge
thrown at him including winning over his veteran teammates. Last season
the vets made the rookie sport a ” Friar Tuck” hairstyle and Tebow took
it in stride which garnered respect. Tebow has been one of the first
players at the team’s facility as well as one of the last ones to leave
which goes a long way with players and coaches alike. Tebow earned his
first start towards the end of the season versus The Oakland Raiders.
Tebow played well enough to win at hostile Oakland, but just like Orton
he was stymied by a porous Bronco defense that gave up 39 points that
day.

Tebow has seen critics knocking him since his freshman season in
Gainesville and he constantly proves them wrong. His toughest critic is
not a beat writer or a television analyst. Former Bronco quarterback and
current executive vice president of football operations John Elway is
not exactly sold on Tebow as a franchise quarterback. Elway’s word is
golden in Denver as he helped the franchise win two Super Bowls. Elway
cast a lofty shadow in Denver as the team has only won one playoff game
since Elway retired in 1998. In that time The Broncos have had a
carousel at quarterback ranging from Brian Griese to Jake Plummer. It is
time that the team and fans get a signal caller that everyone can get
behind. Elway questions Tebow’s mechanics and it very tough to question a
Hall of Fame quarterback in Elway. One of Tebow’s main problems is that
neither Elway or current Bronco head coach John Fox drafted Tebow, so
neither man holds any allegiance to him.

Going forward The Broncos need to decide on a quarterback soon. We’ve
seen quarterback controversies draw out in other cities where the ending
wasn’t pretty. The San Diego Chargers stumbled in 2005 to a 9-7 record
with quarterback Drew Brees constantly looking over his shoulder
wondering about Phillip Rivers. Brees bolted after the season to New
Orleans. 51 other players on the team rely on knowing who the leader of
the ball club will be. For my money I believe it will be Tebow. At 6’3″
250 lbs. he is tough man to bring down and as a quarterback he will only
get better. Tebow has been proving detractors wrong for a long time.
Where some athletes tend to whine and pout where people criticize them,
Tebow uses it as fuel to improve his game.The fans in Denver love him as
well as his teammates which will make it tough for Elway and Fox to
break up that chemistry. Orton is more expendable as a veteran
quarterback. Right now The Broncos are more likely to get more back for
Orton in a trade than they would for Tebow as Tebow is unproven. Only
time will tell what direction The Broncos will go in.