Larry Brown Sports

With the NFL having decided to move the trade deadline back two weeks to Week 8 next season, Colts fans are left wondering if that would have been a good thing or a bad thing for their team last season. When asked about the rule change recently, former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian seemed fairly certain that the Colts would have had a different look last season if the deadline was Week 8. More specifically, he feels they would have had a chance to land a legitimate starting quarterback.

“I think the deadline being moved last year would have made a difference for us,” Polian told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. “We would have rekindled our interest in Orton. In Week 6, we knew our quarterback situation wasn’t great, but after a couple more weeks, we realized the situation was bad. We probably would have called Denver, who’d gone to (Tim) Tebow by then, and said, ‘Hey, we’ll give you a three (a third-round draft choice) for Orton.’”

That may be, but that would have also likely led to the Colts not landing the No. 1 overall pick and thus not drafting Andrew Luck. As we know, that would have made Indy fans like these ones quite upset.

Trading for Orton last season would probably have led to a few more wins, but it certainly wasn’t going to make the Colts a playoff contender. Not only that, but Orton isn’t exactly a quarterback you would want to build the future of your team around. Indy’s abysmal season may have ultimately cost Polian his job, but at the moment Colts fans should be pleased with the way everything turned out.

H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: Fernando Medina-US PRESSWIRE

Two underrated free agent signings in the past 24 hours were Jason Campbell and Kyle Orton agreeing to become backup quarterbacks. Campbell signed with the Bears for $3.5 million Tuesday to back up Jay Cutler. Orton signed a three-year deal with the Cowboys Wednesday to back up Tony Romo.

Campbell went 11-7 over the past two seasons as a starter in Oakland and was 4-2 before getting knocked out for the season last year. He’s not a big game-changer, but he doesn’t make too many mistakes and he gives his teams a chance to win.

Orton was 1-4 as a starter for the Broncos before being benched in favor of Tim Tebow. He was claimed by the Chiefs after being waived and went 2-1. He’s capable of putting up bigger stats than Campbell, but he also makes more mistakes.

What’s interesting about these signings is that it shows there are limited opportunities for quarterbacks to compete for starting jobs; most teams feel they have a quarterback or are planning to acquire one through the draft or free agency. Just looking around the league, either QB would be an upgrade for the Vikings, Seahawks, Cardinals, Browns, and Jags. I’m not sure why those teams weren’t interested.

Three months after the Broncos seriously discussed trading Kyle Orton to the Dolphins, they placed him on waivers. That means instead of getting a draft pick or two in return for him, they’re letting him go for nothing. Actually, the Broncos botched the situation so badly they already paid Orton around $6 million if our numbers are correct. Whoever claims him will be required to pay $2.58 million, according to The Denver Post.

The Broncos are now fully invested in Tim Tebow for the rest of the season. The decision makes sense given that Tebow has led them to four wins in their last five games. They also must believe that Brady Quinn is a competent backup. The statement from coach John Fox confirms that notion.

“We feel good about our quarterback group, and this gives Kyle an opportunity to help another team and showcase his talents.”

It’s a generous move by the Broncos to waive Orton. Now that he’s on waivers, a few quarterback-needy teams will likely be interested. The Redskins, at 3-7, could claim him just to keep other teams from getting him, though he probably isn’t much of an upgrade over Rex Grossman at this point in the year.

The other two teams that likely will be interested are the Chiefs and Bears. Kansas City is 4-6, still in the AFC West hunt, and they played Tyler Palko at quarterback Monday. They could desperately use some quarterback help and may be interested in an upgrade.

The Bears are the team that may have the strongest interes in Orton. The organization drafted him, and he played two seasons for them. The thumb injury to Jay Cutler also inspired Orton to ask the Broncos to be placed on waivers. Chicago is 30th in the waiver order, so 29 teams would have a chance to claim him first. If he does get to them, they could let him pass and sign him as a free agent for a cheaper price.

Right now, we’re guessing the Chiefs will end up with Orton.

We weren’t joking when we said John Fox was messing with fire by demoting Tim Tebow to third string on the Broncos’ quarterback depth chart. If this isn’t a sign from above, I don’t know what is.

During Broncos practice Thursday, quarterback Kyle Orton threw an incomplete pass in the end zone that hit a car in the players’ parking lot. Turns out it hit the windshield of Willis McGahee’s Porsche. Broncos beat writer Lindsay Jones tweeted about the incident.

“Inc pass into the end zone just cracked windshield on Porshe in players parking lot. Whoops. Came in fast and hard, off the bounce. For what its worth, only about 10 yards from back of end zone to the players’ parking lot. No fence. Not some crazy errant pass here.

Mystery solved: The Porsche belongs to Willis McGahee. Insurance will cover it. Broncos employees already taking care of it.”

The best part of the story was Willis’ response. According to Andrew Mason, “Willis McGahee came over to examine the damaged windshield on his Porsche. He said it’s no big deal because he needed a new car, anyway.” Ahh, now that’s the life, isn’t it? Just replace your entire sports car if the windshield gets damaged, right? Can’t imagine why some players end up broke. I think the Broncos may need to look at doing what the Braves did with their parking lot as a solution.

Helmet knock to Shutdown Corner for the story

The rumors of Kyle Orton being traded to the Dolphins — or any other team for that matter — are over. Denver officially named Orton its starting quarterback on Wednesday.  Coincidentally, Broncos receiver Brandon Lloyd had just finished ranting on Monday about how “the Tebow thing” needed to be sorted out so he and his teammates could enjoy some stability.

Broncos fans who don’t believe Tim Tebow is ready to take over yet will be pleased.  However, there is at least one group of fans that is greatly disappointed.  Many in Miami have grown impatient with Chad Henne and understandably so.  In two seasons as the full-time starting quarterback for the Dolphins, Henne posted passer ratings of 75.2 and 75.4 and threw more interceptions than touchdowns each year.  Although he is still young, the NFL now relies more heavily than ever on quarterbacks to win games.  Heading into his fourth season with the team, Henne isn’t feeling very wanted in Miami.

“I’m human,” Henne told Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel when asked about the “we want Orton” chants at training camp. “Deep down inside it does hurt. You want the respect of your fans. You want them to have your back. But obviously if I’m doing bad they will critique me.”

One thing you need to be a successful quarterback in the NFL is thick skin.  If the Orton chants hurt Henne’s feelings rather than simply motivate him to do better, he could be in for another long season.

Helmet slap to Pro Football Talk for the story.

The Denver Broncos drafted Tim Tebow with one thing in mind: he would be their quarterback of the future. You don’t draft a player in the first round to use him strictly in special situations.  Tebow is no different.  When the Broncos traded for Kyle Orton, they were looking for some stability at quarterback.  They seemed to have found it for a while, but now whether Orton will be traded has turned into one of the mysteries of the offseason.

Only six weeks away from the start of the regular season, Brandon Lloyd and other Broncos veterans have grown tired of the uncertainty.  Lloyd spoke with Jim Trotter of Sports Illustrated on Monday and gave us a glimpse into the frustration Denver players are facing as a result of not knowing who their quarterback will be.

“It’s the Tebow Thing,” Lloyd said. “They’ll put Kyle on the trading block because they don’t want to deal with the Tebow Thing. But it’s not going to end until [Tebow] plays. The faster they get this Tebow Thing over with, one way or the other …

“I spent the entire offseason preparing myself for Tim being the quarterback, because the organization put Kyle on the trading block at the end of the year,” he continued. “I spent the offseason asking myself, ‘What pass plays are we going to be running? Are we going to be running sprint plays? Throwing from outside the pocket?’

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Three weeks after getting thoroughly embarrassed at home by the Oakland Raiders, the Denver Broncos (partially) redeemed themselves with a 49-29 beating of the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver was up 21-0 by the end of the first quarter getting three straight touchdown passes from Kyle Orton. They led 35-0 midway through the second quarter and essentially had the game over well before halftime, proving that the Broncos’ coaches made excellent use of the bye week.

Kyle Orton, Knowshon Moreno, and Brandon Lloyd put up stats and made plays like they were John Elway, Terrell Davis, and Rod Smith. Orton hit Brandon Lloyd with a 37-yard pass down the middle on the team’s opening drive, setting up a touchdown four plays later. Lloyd caught the pass in traffic and had to dive for the ball making an incredible catch. Lloyd also hauled in a six-yard touchdown on their next drive, and he rounded out his terrific afternoon with a 15-yard touchdown catch in the 4th quarter. The 8th-year receiver from Illinois finished with 90 yards on six catches and two touchdowns, missing out on his 6th 100-yard game of the season by 10 yards.

Though the passing game exploded against Kansas City, the running game got going too. Second-year running back Knowshon Moreno had his first career 100-yard game, rushing for 106 yards on 22 carries. Moreno also took a short pass from Orton for a touchdown on the opening drive and finished with 50 yards receiving on three catches. Kyle Orton’s final stat line was 22/34 for 296 yards and four touchdowns. I have no idea what got into Denver in week 10, but their receivers were making spectacular catches and everything seemed to be working. I won’t get carried away here, but they looked pretty darn good. And having Knowshon Moreno healthy makes a huge difference for this team.

Photo Credit: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; AP Photo/Joe Mahoney