Given what we've been hearing out of Denver Broncos camp in the last two weeks, we knew it was going to happen. But on Monday, it finally became official:
Tim Tebow is the Broncos' No. 2 quarterback.
It's true. The latest report from the Denver Post says so. It also says that Kyle Orton is indeed the No. 1 quarterback, with Brady Quinn bringing up the rear at No. 3.
In other words, barring any injuries, the Broncos depth chart will be the same as it was in 2010: Orton, Tebow, Quinn.
Somewhere out there, thousands of people are outraged. After all, Denver's starting QB gig was supposed to be Tebow's. Moreover, 2011 was supposed to be his year. The Broncos, and new head coach John Fox in particular, have gone and screwed that up.
On the contrary, the Broncos have done quite well here. At the very least, their current QB depth chart shows that they've been paying attention for the last two weeks.
By all accounts, Orton has looked every bit like a seven-year NFL veteran who passed for over 3,600 yards in 2010. On the flip side, those same accounts have often had Tebow looking like a second-year QB with plenty of issues -- both physical and mental -- that he still has to iron out.
Through it all, the one thing Tebow and his many fans stuck by was that he is a gamer, a competitor, a winner. Give him the ball during a game, and he would do wonders for you.
Until he didn't. The Broncos played their first scrimmage this past weekend, and Tebow failed to impress. As Pro Football Talk recounted the tale, Tebow completed just one of three passes and took three sacks. If anything, his outing showed that rookie linebacker Von Miller is indeed a pass-rushing beast and that Elvis Dumervil is ready to go after missing all of 2010 with a torn chest muscle, not that Tebow deserves to be the team?s No. 1 quarterback.
To be sure, it's tough to get anything done when you have guys like Miller and Dumervil chasing you around, so you can?t blame Tebow for that. But that's probably not much of a silver lining as far as Tebow is concerned, nor should it be.
Making matters worse, Quinn looked great when he was put into the game. He completed seven of his eight passes, one of which was for the scrimmage?s only touchdown. True, he did it against the No. 3 defense, but he also did it primarily with the No. 3 offense. No small accomplishment, that.
So if Fox and the Broncos were going by results alone, Quinn would probably be the No. 2 quarterback right now, with Tebow stewing in his own juices in the No. 3 spot.
If a silver lining absolutely must be had here, that's it. Fox could have made Tebow his No. 3, but the fact that he didn't suggests that he still has plenty of faith in Tebow.
Either that, or Fox didn?t want to rub those who actually do have faith in Tebow the wrong way. A wise decision either way, I guess.
Lucy Liu Luján Fernández Magdalena Wróbel Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal
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