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| Picture from broncotalk.net |
I'm not going to say that Orton was having a career year and shouldn't have been demoted. I agree with the timing due to the circumstances, but I can't put the poor record of the Broncos purely on Orton's shoulders. He threw to many interceptions this so far this season. The pick he threw on Sunday was particularly bad, but what about his other stats? He still had 8 TD's this season and was averaging more than 200 yards passing a game, though I'm not sure if he finished the game on Sunday that stat would still be true. Before Sunday's game he was completing just over 60% of his passes which would be a career high for him. Let's not forget that the receivers have not been healthy all season either. In one game Tim Tebow played receiver and Orton still has managed to get better every game when it comes to completing passes. Orton isn't to blame for the Broncos poor overall performance.
I wonder how many of the fans and sportscasters know that the defense is still ranked in the in the bottom third of the league. The defense allows almost 400 yards of offense by opponents per game. the defense also allows 28 points per game as well. In the first 4 games the Broncos scored 20.25 points per game. That's not great, but it should win more games then it looses. I feel like I should also point out that besides the game against the defending Super Bowl Champion Packers, the Broncos were in every game they played. It isn't like the team was getting blown out or embarrassed. They were getting better every week, Orton included.
Then the Chargers came to town and the offense looked bad again. Did everyone forget that the Chargers were ranked first in defense and offense last year? Or did they forget that they are the best team in the division? I didn't. I'll tell you something that I didn't know about the the Chargers; their defensive backs are much better than the Broncos receivers. If you want to blame someone for the poor stats that Orton had in the game on Sunday (besides the INT) they are the ones to to take the blame. Orton completed less than 50% of his passes because more than 50% of the time there was no one open. Orton, being the smart QB that he is, isn't going to make a bad situation worse by forcing balls into bad spots. That is why his yardage was so poor, he was hitting the check downs because that was his only option. Proof of the fact that the receivers weren't open is Tebow's 2 completions in the second half before the final drive against umbrella coverage.
I can't stand the politics involved in playing QB in this city. A player who has been very good during his stay here and getting better every year has just been run out of town for a player that is 2 years from being ready to play in the pros. That's sad because he will be run out of town at the end of the season because he won't win more than 3 or 4 games. Miami and Kansas City (twice) are the only teams left on the schedule that the Broncos should beat. Minnesota has Adrian Peterson and the Vikings seemed to just realize that too so I don't see that game going well for the Broncos. Everyone else on the schedule is vastly better than the Broncos.
So, if the Broncos go 4-12 again this season, like I believe they will, will the fans and sportscasters treat Tebow like they did Orton? If Tebow goes 4-10 as a starter, meaning 3-8 this season, will it be time to go in another direction and blame the QB for yet another failed season? Probably, because that is what they did to Griese, Plummer and now Orton.
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