Lonestar
08-21-2010, 01:20 PM
Krieger: Orton's extension gives Tebow time
By Dave Krieger
Denver Post Columnist
POSTED: 08/21/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Back in January, following Kyle Orton's first season as the Broncos' starting quarterback, I mentioned some of the game's top signal-callers to Josh McDaniels and asked if he thought Orton would ever get to that level.
"The guys you just mentioned, I think, are really elite players," McDaniels responded then, referring to a list that included Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre.
"I think there's also a level below that where you say, 'These guys all have really good quarterbacks who win games and are very functional and do the things that their team needs them to do to win games and win championships.' "
Friday, as McDaniels announced the first big-money contract of Orton's career, a one-year, $8.8 million extension that will take him through the 2011 season, I asked if that "very functional" evaluation had changed.
"I don't want to label a category on any one of those players," he said. "I think that ultimately your performance and your wins and losses and your playoff victories and chances to win championships, those will define where you're put in regard to the other players in this league.
"He's certainly a different player. There's no question about it. There's things that he does now every day that there's no way he was ready to do last year in our system. His ability to communicate with the players, to change plays, to get out of a bad play, I think the trust that the players have in him, that he's always going to try to put them in a great position to be successful — that's something that comes with time, experience, knowledge, hard work and just repetition."
The decision to extend Orton's contract was really two different decisions. One was about Orton and the unquestionable progress he has made in his second year in McDaniels' system.
The other was about Tim Tebow, the first-round draft choice and heir apparent to Orton's job. With Orton on a one-year deal heading toward free agency, the Broncos were betting Tebow would be ready to take over after one year, if not sooner. With Orton now under contract for two more seasons, the clock has been turned back on Tebow time.
McDaniels said the other day that Tebow and Brady Quinn were brought in to make the quarterback position more competitive, and that Orton raising his game in response is just what a coach hopes will happen as a result of competition.
That's an easier case to make about Quinn, for whom McDaniels surrendered only a player (Peyton Hillis) he clearly wasn't going to play anyway. Generally speaking, you do not trade three draft picks — one each from the second, third and fourth rounds — to acquire a player merely expected to make a position more competitive. That was the price the Broncos paid to move up to take Tebow.
But none of that will matter if Orton is really as improved as both he and McDaniels believe. Nationally, not much is expected this season of a Broncos offense without any recognizable stars. At Dove Valley, the expectations are considerably greater.
"I'm really excited about the group of guys that we have on offense, and I think we have a chance to be real special," Orton said Friday.
"I feel like I've come a really long way in three months and feel like there's still a ton of room for exponential growth going forward."
When Orton led the first unit to two touchdowns in three possessions during Saturday's truncated first-team audition at Cincinnati, it suggested to those inside the organization that the unit's progress in the second season of McDaniels' system may surprise outside observers.
"I don't think that's just my development in the offense," Orton said. "I think that's everybody's development in the offense. So much has been made of my second year in the offense. We've got 10 guys now in their second year in the offense, and that just makes the whole ship run smoother."
So if Orton's extension represents an admission that it won't be Tebow time for a while yet, it also represents a conviction that Orton can reach beyond the limits that have previously defined his game.
It would not be unprecedented. The NFL has had plenty of late bloomers at quarterback. Whether Orton turns out to be one of them, we won't know until the games begin to count.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15846220
By Dave Krieger
Denver Post Columnist
POSTED: 08/21/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
Back in January, following Kyle Orton's first season as the Broncos' starting quarterback, I mentioned some of the game's top signal-callers to Josh McDaniels and asked if he thought Orton would ever get to that level.
"The guys you just mentioned, I think, are really elite players," McDaniels responded then, referring to a list that included Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre.
"I think there's also a level below that where you say, 'These guys all have really good quarterbacks who win games and are very functional and do the things that their team needs them to do to win games and win championships.' "
Friday, as McDaniels announced the first big-money contract of Orton's career, a one-year, $8.8 million extension that will take him through the 2011 season, I asked if that "very functional" evaluation had changed.
"I don't want to label a category on any one of those players," he said. "I think that ultimately your performance and your wins and losses and your playoff victories and chances to win championships, those will define where you're put in regard to the other players in this league.
"He's certainly a different player. There's no question about it. There's things that he does now every day that there's no way he was ready to do last year in our system. His ability to communicate with the players, to change plays, to get out of a bad play, I think the trust that the players have in him, that he's always going to try to put them in a great position to be successful — that's something that comes with time, experience, knowledge, hard work and just repetition."
The decision to extend Orton's contract was really two different decisions. One was about Orton and the unquestionable progress he has made in his second year in McDaniels' system.
The other was about Tim Tebow, the first-round draft choice and heir apparent to Orton's job. With Orton on a one-year deal heading toward free agency, the Broncos were betting Tebow would be ready to take over after one year, if not sooner. With Orton now under contract for two more seasons, the clock has been turned back on Tebow time.
McDaniels said the other day that Tebow and Brady Quinn were brought in to make the quarterback position more competitive, and that Orton raising his game in response is just what a coach hopes will happen as a result of competition.
That's an easier case to make about Quinn, for whom McDaniels surrendered only a player (Peyton Hillis) he clearly wasn't going to play anyway. Generally speaking, you do not trade three draft picks — one each from the second, third and fourth rounds — to acquire a player merely expected to make a position more competitive. That was the price the Broncos paid to move up to take Tebow.
But none of that will matter if Orton is really as improved as both he and McDaniels believe. Nationally, not much is expected this season of a Broncos offense without any recognizable stars. At Dove Valley, the expectations are considerably greater.
"I'm really excited about the group of guys that we have on offense, and I think we have a chance to be real special," Orton said Friday.
"I feel like I've come a really long way in three months and feel like there's still a ton of room for exponential growth going forward."
When Orton led the first unit to two touchdowns in three possessions during Saturday's truncated first-team audition at Cincinnati, it suggested to those inside the organization that the unit's progress in the second season of McDaniels' system may surprise outside observers.
"I don't think that's just my development in the offense," Orton said. "I think that's everybody's development in the offense. So much has been made of my second year in the offense. We've got 10 guys now in their second year in the offense, and that just makes the whole ship run smoother."
So if Orton's extension represents an admission that it won't be Tebow time for a while yet, it also represents a conviction that Orton can reach beyond the limits that have previously defined his game.
It would not be unprecedented. The NFL has had plenty of late bloomers at quarterback. Whether Orton turns out to be one of them, we won't know until the games begin to count.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15846220