Lonestar
10-04-2010, 01:32 PM
Kiszla: Broncos need to take better care of Orton
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
POSTED: 10/04/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
It was an all-too-common occurrence Sunday: Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton being sacked, this time by the Titans' Dave Ball. Despite being dumped six times, Orton completed 35-of-50 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos' 26-20 win at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post )
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of these times, Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is not going to get up from under that pile of sweaty, angry men. And then this NFL season will be broken beyond repair for Denver.
While we genuflect in the presence of Peyton Manning and enjoy having our world rocked by Troy Polamalu, let us add: Right now, Orton is as valuable to his team as any player in the league. The Broncos can hang in the playoff race so long as he remains standing.
"We were under siege maybe a little bit," said Orton, who pulled out a 26-20 victory Sunday against Tennessee, despite being sacked six times. If Orton had been knocked down once more while leading the Broncos on scoring drives, the NFL's new rules on head injuries would have required he be painted yellow and black, in accordance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines for a crash-test dummy.
Denver won on the road less traveled, beating the Titans after coach Josh McDaniels took the bold and unconventional move of shredding half his playbook with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
"I think it was 9:27 to go in the fourth quarter, we were: That's it, that's enough. I'm done talking about the running game," McDaniels said.
Guess McDaniels figured if he didn't mention it, the running game would go away.
Oh, wait. That already happened, hasn't it?
Instead of being listed as running backs on the Denver depth chart, maybe Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter should be listed as TDs: tackling dummies.
But it's not Maroney and Buckhalter that I'm worried about.
It's Orton.
"He stands in there, and he took a lot of hits," McDaniels said.
The Broncos must find a way to protect a quarterback with a history of injuries and remove some of the offensive burden from his shoulders before somebody such as Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis crushes Orton like a grape.
The last time the Broncos produced two 100-yard rushers in a game was 2005, when Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell both went over the century mark against Philadelphia.
Heck, this Denver team might not draw a pair of 100-yard rushing performances all year long. Against the Titans, Buckhalter and Maroney averaged 17 inches a carry before McDaniels couldn't stand to watch any longer.
OK, we interrupt this rant to give McDaniels credit for items the young coach's detractors would rather blindly ignore.
Despite an error in clock management that allowed the Titans to tie the score with a field goal on the final play of the first half, McDaniels thoroughly out coached Tennessee counterpart Jeff Fisher, an old pro on the NFL sideline. The Denver game plan reduced opposing running back Chris Johnson from a superstar to an asterisk in the story of this game.
The Broncos might have also rediscovered a killer instinct that had gone AWOL during a stretch of 10 losses in 13 games dating to last season.
"That's the biggest thing in almost every game for almost every team in this league," said Buckhalter, whose 6-yard touchdown reception from Orton put Denver ahead with 1:33 remaining in the final quarter. "Most games in the NFL are going to be close. If you can't finish in the fourth quarter, you're going to lose."
In a league dominated by quarterbacks, you look at the remaining 12 games on Denver's schedule and figure the Broncos have a pretty good shot against
most foes, because other than Philip Rivers of San Diego, how many teams will suit up a significantly better QB than Orton? Nobody is going to confuse Bruce Gradkowski, Derek Anderson and Alex Smith for Ken Stabler, Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
But here's the strangest thing for a quarterback Broncomaniacs wanted to run out of town a year ago: Denver never was as dependent on John Elway to the extent this team must count on Orton now.
"Certainly we are not helping him one bit with the running game, and that's difficult to continue to take that burden on and really move the football only through the air," McDaniels said.
More than 85 percent of the total yardage gained by Denver through four games has been through the air.
In a league where playing .500 football allows you to be a playoff contender, the Broncos might be able to stay erect in the AFC West race despite lacking any semblance of offensive balance.
But Orton can't survive this way.
If something doesn't change, Tim Tebow will be quarterback of this team before anybody is ready.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
Read more: Kiszla: Broncos need to take better care of Orton - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_16245367?source=rss#ixzz11PrfM3wD
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
POSTED: 10/04/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
It was an all-too-common occurrence Sunday: Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton being sacked, this time by the Titans' Dave Ball. Despite being dumped six times, Orton completed 35-of-50 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos' 26-20 win at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post )
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of these times, Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton is not going to get up from under that pile of sweaty, angry men. And then this NFL season will be broken beyond repair for Denver.
While we genuflect in the presence of Peyton Manning and enjoy having our world rocked by Troy Polamalu, let us add: Right now, Orton is as valuable to his team as any player in the league. The Broncos can hang in the playoff race so long as he remains standing.
"We were under siege maybe a little bit," said Orton, who pulled out a 26-20 victory Sunday against Tennessee, despite being sacked six times. If Orton had been knocked down once more while leading the Broncos on scoring drives, the NFL's new rules on head injuries would have required he be painted yellow and black, in accordance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guidelines for a crash-test dummy.
Denver won on the road less traveled, beating the Titans after coach Josh McDaniels took the bold and unconventional move of shredding half his playbook with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
"I think it was 9:27 to go in the fourth quarter, we were: That's it, that's enough. I'm done talking about the running game," McDaniels said.
Guess McDaniels figured if he didn't mention it, the running game would go away.
Oh, wait. That already happened, hasn't it?
Instead of being listed as running backs on the Denver depth chart, maybe Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter should be listed as TDs: tackling dummies.
But it's not Maroney and Buckhalter that I'm worried about.
It's Orton.
"He stands in there, and he took a lot of hits," McDaniels said.
The Broncos must find a way to protect a quarterback with a history of injuries and remove some of the offensive burden from his shoulders before somebody such as Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis crushes Orton like a grape.
The last time the Broncos produced two 100-yard rushers in a game was 2005, when Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell both went over the century mark against Philadelphia.
Heck, this Denver team might not draw a pair of 100-yard rushing performances all year long. Against the Titans, Buckhalter and Maroney averaged 17 inches a carry before McDaniels couldn't stand to watch any longer.
OK, we interrupt this rant to give McDaniels credit for items the young coach's detractors would rather blindly ignore.
Despite an error in clock management that allowed the Titans to tie the score with a field goal on the final play of the first half, McDaniels thoroughly out coached Tennessee counterpart Jeff Fisher, an old pro on the NFL sideline. The Denver game plan reduced opposing running back Chris Johnson from a superstar to an asterisk in the story of this game.
The Broncos might have also rediscovered a killer instinct that had gone AWOL during a stretch of 10 losses in 13 games dating to last season.
"That's the biggest thing in almost every game for almost every team in this league," said Buckhalter, whose 6-yard touchdown reception from Orton put Denver ahead with 1:33 remaining in the final quarter. "Most games in the NFL are going to be close. If you can't finish in the fourth quarter, you're going to lose."
In a league dominated by quarterbacks, you look at the remaining 12 games on Denver's schedule and figure the Broncos have a pretty good shot against
most foes, because other than Philip Rivers of San Diego, how many teams will suit up a significantly better QB than Orton? Nobody is going to confuse Bruce Gradkowski, Derek Anderson and Alex Smith for Ken Stabler, Kurt Warner and Joe Montana.
But here's the strangest thing for a quarterback Broncomaniacs wanted to run out of town a year ago: Denver never was as dependent on John Elway to the extent this team must count on Orton now.
"Certainly we are not helping him one bit with the running game, and that's difficult to continue to take that burden on and really move the football only through the air," McDaniels said.
More than 85 percent of the total yardage gained by Denver through four games has been through the air.
In a league where playing .500 football allows you to be a playoff contender, the Broncos might be able to stay erect in the AFC West race despite lacking any semblance of offensive balance.
But Orton can't survive this way.
If something doesn't change, Tim Tebow will be quarterback of this team before anybody is ready.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
Read more: Kiszla: Broncos need to take better care of Orton - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_16245367?source=rss#ixzz11PrfM3wD