TXBRONC
08-18-2009, 11:07 AM
I agree there is a quaterback controversy but did McDaniels do the right thing in quashing it? Time will tell.
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13147719
Kiszla: Quashing QB controversy can only undermine coach
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/18/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Josh McDaniels got us into this quarterback mess.
How McDaniels gets the Broncos out of it will go a long way in determining whether he is a worthy successor to Mike Shanahan or just another football coach anxiously twirling his whistle at the end of a string.
"Orton Hears a Boo" was a sign held Monday by a 12-year-old boy at Broncos training camp. Out of the mouth of babes . . .
Darn right we have a quarterback controversy.
As best I can tell, there has been a full-fledged quarterback controversy since Jay Cutler told Denver to kiss his No. 6 goodbye.
And just because McDaniels insists there is no quarterback controversy does not make it so.
Sorry, Coach.
You might be able to tell players to run a lap if they mess up at practice. But, take it from me, you can't tell Broncomaniacs what to think.
To name Kyle Orton over Chris Simms as the team's starting quarterback before training camp began was a rookie mistake by a 33-year-old coach.
Was first-year pro Chris Baker told he had no chance of beating out Ronald Fields as the team's starting nose tackle? Has veteran running back LaMont Jordan stepped aside and politely asked if he could carry the bags for top draft choice Knowshon Moreno?
On a team that was not competitive enough for Shanahan to retain his job, McDaniels should have welcomed full, open competition at every position until the starting lineup took the field Sept. 13 for the season opener in Cincinnati.
The way McDaniels has handled this QB controversy is unfair to Simms.
Worse, it's a no-win situation for Orton.
In a football town where even John Elway had to prove his worth, handing the job to Orton does nothing but undermine his credibility with a fan base already suspicious of everything from the arm strength to the pedigree of this newcomer from Chicago.
If the NFL charges full price for tickets to exhibition games, it's hard for fans to accept the three interceptions thrown by Orton against San Francisco don't count.
"I understand they want us to be playing perfect right off the bat, and that's just how it is in this league," Orton said.
At this point, Orton looks robotic in a Broncos uniform. He seems enslaved to his progressions rather than being the master of defensive reads.
But is it also fair to note that the noodle arm of Orton produced more touchdown passes during the 2008 regular season than Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger?
Simms has an unsettling tendency to procrastinate in the pocket until he unloads the football away like a Form 1040 filed a minute before the post office clock strikes midnight on tax day.
But should it also be noted that as a third-year pro in 2005, Simms finished with a higher quarterback rating than a much more ballyhooed young QB, Eli Manning?
This in no way suggests Orton or Simms ever will make anyone forget Roethlisberger or Manning. But both of Denver's candidates to replace Cutler have what it takes to be competent NFL quarterbacks.
McDaniels made a tough, but reasonable choice to move on when Cutler threw a hissy fit. The new coach, however, now owes it to himself to give both Simms and Orton every chance to succeed in an unforgiving environment.
Like it or not, McDaniels has a quarterback controversy on his hands.
No matter how McDaniels wants to spin it, if the rookie coach is serious about earning the faith of fans and retaining the respect of his locker room, there is only one way the Broncos can deal with Orton, Simms and the issue of who starts when the games count.
Let the best quarterback win.
The ability to deal effectively with the fallout from a controversial decision is a true sign of coaching maturity.
A stubborn young coach who wastes time trying to rationalize a controversial decision won't be coaching for long.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13147719
Kiszla: Quashing QB controversy can only undermine coach
By Mark Kiszla
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/18/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
Josh McDaniels got us into this quarterback mess.
How McDaniels gets the Broncos out of it will go a long way in determining whether he is a worthy successor to Mike Shanahan or just another football coach anxiously twirling his whistle at the end of a string.
"Orton Hears a Boo" was a sign held Monday by a 12-year-old boy at Broncos training camp. Out of the mouth of babes . . .
Darn right we have a quarterback controversy.
As best I can tell, there has been a full-fledged quarterback controversy since Jay Cutler told Denver to kiss his No. 6 goodbye.
And just because McDaniels insists there is no quarterback controversy does not make it so.
Sorry, Coach.
You might be able to tell players to run a lap if they mess up at practice. But, take it from me, you can't tell Broncomaniacs what to think.
To name Kyle Orton over Chris Simms as the team's starting quarterback before training camp began was a rookie mistake by a 33-year-old coach.
Was first-year pro Chris Baker told he had no chance of beating out Ronald Fields as the team's starting nose tackle? Has veteran running back LaMont Jordan stepped aside and politely asked if he could carry the bags for top draft choice Knowshon Moreno?
On a team that was not competitive enough for Shanahan to retain his job, McDaniels should have welcomed full, open competition at every position until the starting lineup took the field Sept. 13 for the season opener in Cincinnati.
The way McDaniels has handled this QB controversy is unfair to Simms.
Worse, it's a no-win situation for Orton.
In a football town where even John Elway had to prove his worth, handing the job to Orton does nothing but undermine his credibility with a fan base already suspicious of everything from the arm strength to the pedigree of this newcomer from Chicago.
If the NFL charges full price for tickets to exhibition games, it's hard for fans to accept the three interceptions thrown by Orton against San Francisco don't count.
"I understand they want us to be playing perfect right off the bat, and that's just how it is in this league," Orton said.
At this point, Orton looks robotic in a Broncos uniform. He seems enslaved to his progressions rather than being the master of defensive reads.
But is it also fair to note that the noodle arm of Orton produced more touchdown passes during the 2008 regular season than Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger?
Simms has an unsettling tendency to procrastinate in the pocket until he unloads the football away like a Form 1040 filed a minute before the post office clock strikes midnight on tax day.
But should it also be noted that as a third-year pro in 2005, Simms finished with a higher quarterback rating than a much more ballyhooed young QB, Eli Manning?
This in no way suggests Orton or Simms ever will make anyone forget Roethlisberger or Manning. But both of Denver's candidates to replace Cutler have what it takes to be competent NFL quarterbacks.
McDaniels made a tough, but reasonable choice to move on when Cutler threw a hissy fit. The new coach, however, now owes it to himself to give both Simms and Orton every chance to succeed in an unforgiving environment.
Like it or not, McDaniels has a quarterback controversy on his hands.
No matter how McDaniels wants to spin it, if the rookie coach is serious about earning the faith of fans and retaining the respect of his locker room, there is only one way the Broncos can deal with Orton, Simms and the issue of who starts when the games count.
Let the best quarterback win.
The ability to deal effectively with the fallout from a controversial decision is a true sign of coaching maturity.
A stubborn young coach who wastes time trying to rationalize a controversial decision won't be coaching for long.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com