Thread: Krieger: Broncos hedging their bets on Tim Tebow

Krieger: Broncos hedging their bets on Tim Tebow
By Dave Krieger
The Denver Post
POSTED: 08/20/2010 02:20:39 PM MDT


Rookie quarterback Tim Tebow looks on during training camp at Dove Valley this week. (Getty)
Just in case you didn't know what it means to hedge a bet, this is what it means. The Broncos just hedged their bet on Tim Tebow by at least one year.

Naturally, coach Josh McDaniels emphasized Kyle Orton's improvement as he announced the first big-money contract extension of the veteran quarterback's career this afternoon.

What he didn't say is that it has taken only a couple weeks of training camp and one preseason game to confirm what many NFL talent scouts believed back in April — that Tebow is not ready to run a pro offense and isn't that close to being ready.

Before Orton signed the one-year extension that will keep him in blue and orange through the 2011 season, he was headed for unrestricted free agency at the end of this season. If the Broncos were willing to accept that situation, that meant they expected somebody else to overtake him as their starting signal-caller within the next year.

Based on what we've seen so far, that's a pretty high-risk bet.

"I think the fact of the matter is Kyle is the starter, has played like the starter, is playing very well and is playing at a different level than Tim or Brady (Quinn) both play at," McDaniels said.

Still, it's a one-year deal, not a multi-year deal. It commits the Broncos to give Tebow at least two years behind a veteran quarterback, which is pretty much the minimum timeframe veteran NFL personnel analysts predicted it would take Tebow to transition to the pro game.

The popular rookie's first NFL game experience, in Saturday's preseason opener at Cincinnati, showcased both his positives and negatives. He displayed not only the competitiveness and determination that make him intriguing, but also the mechanical flaws and high-risk tendencies that make him controversial as an NFL prospect.

If Tebow and Quinn were supposed to provide immediate competition for Orton, that plan failed. Orton is more entrenched as the starter than ever. What the contrast with the two younger quarterbacks did is convince the Broncos that for the foreseeable future, Orton is still their best bet.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/DaveKrieger

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15842026