After witnessing yesterday's brutal loss, and the subsequent fallout among the fan base, I've noticed a disturbing trend.  The trend I'm talking about is one that has no doubt existed since the birth of the sport of football itself.  The trend I'm talking about is the desire to remove the current QB in favor of the next guy in line.

Over the last three weeks there has been a steadily rising chorus of shouts for the removal of Kyle Orton.  This is to be expected after a succession of tough losses, including a performance against Pittsburgh by Orton that included 3 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.  As fans, it's easier for us to throw the blame at the feet of the most visible position on the team, while overlooking other potentially greater contributing factors.  And certainly in this case, our displeasure with the quarterback is justified to some extent.

So it is not surprising that coming into the game in Washington, there were more than a few calls for Chris Simms to get the start.  After all, on a struggling team, there is no more popular player than the backup QB.  Here's a case in point:  One commenter rather regrettably vocalized that he or she was "Just waiting till he (Orton) gets hurt.", because "I think Chris Simms could do a better job if he was in there."  I am by no means suggesting that ths sentiment was common to those wishing for a change at quarterback.  Rather, it shows just how invested in and attached to the issue some of us have become.

Well, be careful what you wish for...

After a very poor outing in relief of Orton, Simms was promptly thrown onto the same trash pile that Orton occupied the week before.  The new cry going up was for Tom Brandstater,  the rookie quarterback currently tasked with holding a clipboard on the sidelines during games.  The same rookie quarterback that has zero starting experience against real, professional, first-string defenses.

Forget for a moment the names of the players involved, and think about the phenomenon.  Let's extrapolate the trend out to its likely conclusion:

Suppose Brandstater gets the nod against San Diego.  Suppose that he struggles mightily in his first NFL start in a game of huge implications, and he makes some mistakes that contribute to the Broncos losing the game.  What's next?  There is no quarterback on the roster behind Brandstater, so where do we as fickle fans go for redemption?  After all, the source of all that ails the team originates from the quarterback position, just as the source of all redemption does as well, right?  But what happens when the supply of scapegoats and saviors runs out?

Perhaps we need to take a deep breath and look at our situation from a wider view.  We are 6-3.  We are preparing to face at home one of our most hated rivals in a game that has implications far beyond the playoffs.  We are a team that has just experienced our first across-the-board failure under the new coaching regime.  We have issues to be addressed with our special teams, our defense, play-calling, tackling, and most importantly, our pride as a team and a fan base.  With all of those issues in mind, is this really the best time to throw in an unknown quantity at quarterback?  I say emphatically, NO!

Keep in mind that Simms the 'reliever', and Simms the 'starter' are two different quantities.  In an ideal world, he would have come in and the offense would not have skipped a beat.  But he didn't, and they didn't.  In fact, he had the worst showing in a 'save' situation that I have personally ever seen.  But the whole time, I had to remind myself that he's coming in without a game plan designed for his skills, protections designed for the fact that he is left-handed, and play-calling that protects him and the rest of the offense as he attempts to find his rhythm.  Don't take this to mean that I'm making excuses for him.  During the game, I said in the open thread that I thought the INT was a combination of a bad play call by McDaniels, and a worse decision by Simms.  So I'm in no way a Simms apologist.  I simply believe that we as fans should support the players on the field.

I firmly believe that, assuming Kyle is a no-go, Chris Simms affords this team the best chance to win against San Diego.  But to do so, he needs the full support of his team, his coaches, his fellow players, and the fans.  We all know that this is a home game.  He needs a stadium full of supporters that will cheer for him when he succeeds, not wait in anticipation of his mistakes for the opportunity to boo him.  Give the guy a game plan based around his skill set, a week of practice with the 1's, a dedication to the run game, and a home crowd that will support him, and WE WIN THIS GAME. Create a QB controversy where none should exist, and a home crowd just waiting to boo him, and say good-bye to the division and the season.

What I'm asking is that you support the quarterback position, even if you aren't a fan of the man playing that position.

Let the guy be Bubby Brister.  Don't turn him into Danny Kanell.