28-year old Kyle Orton was having a solid year until he was injured and replaced by rookie Tim Tebow.  Orton played in 13 games for the Broncos last season and he completed 293 of 498 passes (58.8%) for 3,653 yards with 20 TD passes and 9 INTs (87.5 QB Rating).  Orton also carried the ball 22 times for 98 yards (4.5 ypc) last season.  Orton has now played in 62 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,134 of 1,952 passes (58.1%) for 12,774 yards with 71 TD passes and 48 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 99 times for 261 yards (2.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career to date.  If the Broncos are truly going to go forward with Tim Tebow at QB then they need to deal Orton because he won’t be happy as a backup.

23-year old rookie QB Tim Tebow gave the Broncos a spark at the tail end of last season.  He played in 7 games in which he completed 41 of 82 passes (50%) for 654 yards with 5 TD passes and 3 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  Tebow also carried the ball 43 times for 227 yards (5.3 ypc) with 6 TD runs last season. It will be interesting to see if the Broncos are really willing to hook up the wagons to Tim Tebow. 

26-year old Brady Quinn didn’t get into any games for the Broncos last season.  He has played in 14 games in his NFL career and he has completed 184 of 353 passes (52.1%) for 1,902 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  Quinn has also carried the ball 25 times for 119 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Quinn will move up to #2 on the depth chart for the Broncos in 2011 if they do indeed deal Kyle Orton.

VERDICT:  I see the Broncos going with Tim Tebow at QB in 2011 and dealing Kyle Orton to the highest bidder.

The Denver Broncos have hired 55-year old John Fox to try to right the ship as the teams’ new head coach.  The Carolina Panthers were only 2-14 last season which led to his firing but it was definitely not all his fault.  The team got rid of a lot of players to save some money and his QBs were Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen and Brian St. Pierre.  He won’t have that problem in Denver with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow to choose from.  Fox has a 73-71 (50.7% wins) record during his first nine regular seasons as a head coach in the NFL.  He won three NFC South Championships in his 9 years as the Panthers’ head coach.  Fox was also 5-3 (62.%) in the post season as the head coach of the Panthers.  The Panthers were NFC Champions in 2003 but they lost Super Bowl XXXVIII, 32-29 to Tom Brady and the Patriots.  John Fox has the reputation of being a solid defensive minded head coach so he might just be the right choice for the Broncos, whose defense was pathetic in 2010.

The Broncos fought hard yesterday but they just came up a tad short in the end.  Tim Tebow was making things happen yesterday for the Broncos.  Tebow completed 16 of 36 passes for 205 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 13 times for 94 yards (7.2 ypc) with a TD run yesterday.  Knowshon Moreno rushed for 41 yards on only 6 carries (6.8 ypc) as he looked good yesterday.  Lance Ball (6 carries for 21 yards) and Correll Buckhalter (3 carries for 8 yards and 4 receptions for 49 yards) also helped out the Broncos a tad on offense in this game.  WRs Brandon Lloyd (5 rec, 73 yards, TD) and Eric Decker (2 rec, 22 yards, TD) led the way for the Broncos in ths passing game yesterday.  The Broncos finished up with 146 yards rushing on 29 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 36 passes for 191 yards as they only had the ball for 25:38 yesterday.

The defense was pretty awful for the Broncos in this game.  LB Mario Haggan (9 tackles and 1 QB hit), safety Brian Dawkins (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and rookie CB Perrish Cox (7 tackles and 2 passes defensed) led the way for the Broncos’ on D in this game.  Safety Renaldo Hill pitched in with 4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception in this game.  The Chargers finished up with 164 yards rushing on 31 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes for 283 yards.  The Broncos did have a bright spot on special teams as CB Cassius Vaughn returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD.  The Broncos finish 4-12 on the season, finishing in last place in the AFC West.

The Broncos won last week to break a 5-game losing streak in Tim Tebow’s second NFL start.  Tebow will try to lead the Broncos to victory to help going into the off-season on a bright note.  The Broncos got thrashed in the first matchup of these teams in San Diego by a score of 35-14.  The Chargers have won 6 of their last 8 games but it will be interesting to see just how motivated they are knowing they won’t be playing starting next week which is odd for them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos might just let Tim Tebow wing the ball around the field tomorrow.  He has the ability to buy time with his legs making big plays in the passing game down the field.  The Chargers have 44 sacks this year so look for Tebow to roll out quite a bit in this game.  He is also one of the best runners on the team so look for him to take off a few times.  It would be nice if Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter or Lance Ball would step up and give the Broncos some ground support.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers are definitely coming out throwing the ball against the Broncos.  The Broncos only have 18 sacks so far this year so he might have all day to throw the ball.  I really have a feeling that WR Vincent Jackson is going to have a statement game forcing the Chargers’ hand in contract negotiations.  The Broncos will also have to deal with stopping Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles in the running game.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 24, BRONCOS 20

23-year old rookie QB Tim Tebow will get his third start of the season tomorrow against the Chargers.  If he has a good game I really think the Broncos will try to deal Kyle Orton during the off-season.  Tebow has played in 8 games (2 starts) for the Broncos so far this year and he has completed 25 of 46 passes (54.3%) for 449 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 INT (100.7 QB Rating).  Tebow has also carried the ball 30 times for 133 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far this year.  Ex-head coach Josh McDaniels took a chance in picking Tebow with the 25th overall pick of the first round and it might turn out being quite a going away gift.

The Broncos have signed 26-year old DT Louis Leonard and they have placed linebacker Lee Robinson on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury.  Leonard played in 2 games for the Panthers earlier this year and he had 2 tackles.  Leonard has now played in 20 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 33 tackles and 1 sack.  Leonard will be an extra big body for tomorrow’s game against the Chargers and little more.  Robinson played in 3 games for the Broncos this year and he had 2 tackles.