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MHR Staffers Get Opinionated On: Tebow vs Orton

Tim Tebow or Kyle Orton. It is a question that has been asked a countless number of times this off season. In week 15 of the 2010 season, Tim Tebow started his first game against the Oakland Raiders in place of the injured Kyle Orton. In fact, he ended up starting the last 3 games of the year. In those 3 games, he threw 81 passes and completed 40 of them while also throwing 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Additionally, he had 3 rushing touchdowns. After the final game, the question immediately became: "Who will be the starter for the 2011 year?" Many people think that Tebow will get the starting nod, but there are also plenty of people who think Orton should still be the starter. Everyone Bronco fan has an opinion on this subject. It's the most polarizing question heading into the season. I decided to ask the MHR staffers what they thought about the quarterback situation.

Jump and see the results..

Here are the questions that I asked Brian Shrout, Tim Lynch, Kaptain Kirk, Troy Hufford, Sayre Bedinger, Maxwellsdemon, Jezru, and Mdierk.

Do you think Tim Tebow will be the starter?
Do you think Kyle Orton will be traded?
Do you think Kyle Orton should be traded?
What price would it take for YOU to trade Orton?
Assume Orton is traded, take a guess as to where you think he will end up.

Brian Shrout

Let me start out by saying that my attitude towards the starts has been and will continue to be that the coaching staff is better at evaluating than I am and so if they start a player, that player is most likely the best available at that position at that time.

I think the answer to "Will Tebow start" is dependent upon a large number of factors (ex: how truncated training camp and pre season are, the performance of the QB's in the pre season, the long term goals of Fox/Elway/Xanders, and whether Fox will go with untapped potential or a veteran. A fairer question might be "Could Tebow be the starter" The answer to that is obviously yes. Will he? I don't know.

Will Orton be traded? I don't know. I'm inclined to believe there isn't a player that couldn't be had for the right price. The question is whether or not the other teams want to pay the price that is acceptable by the Broncos. So far, what I've heard is Denver wants a 2nd round pick for Orton. I've not heard much about teams beating down the doors to meet that price.

Should Orton be traded? That's a trickier question. Again, if a team gave an irresistible offer to Denver, I could see them taking it. Like the "Tebow as a starter" question a lot depends on the thinking of the Front Office. Orton's been supported by teammates as a leader. He's improved in most individual quarterback statistical categories in almost every season he's played. He has a wide variety of faults, but I do find myself wondering if what were shortcomings were not exacerbated into major flaws by the problems faced by the rest of the team in the last half of 2009 and 2010.

So do I think he should be traded? No
Do I think he will be traded? If the price is right, yes.

I would want a pick and player for Orton and I have no clue where he ends up.

Tim Lynch

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? Tebow should be the starter. We'll see if John Fox is a moron or not soon enough.
Will Kyle Orton be traded? Yes but he isn't good enough for any team to take on his bloated contract and give up draft picks
Should Kyle Orton be traded? No
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? 5th with that contract, 3rd without it.
Assume Orton is traded, take a guess as to where he ends up: Calgary jk Probably Minnesota

Kaptain Kirk

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? Eventually. I am really looking forward to seeing how much he has progressed in Training Camp. As of the last results that I've seen, I would say no, but not even the coaching staff has seen his progress, so I think it is premature to expect him to be the starter on opening day.
Will Kyle Orton be traded? It could happen, but I don't think it will in the upcoming Free Agency period. It doesn't make sense to trade a known quantity when you don't have a sure replacement. People can say what they want to, but Kyle Orton is a known quantity and Tebow is not at this point. Even if Tim ends up as the opening day starter, it will be too late to trade Kyle, IMO.
Should Orton be traded? See above
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? A 2nd round draft pick at the very least. Any team would pay a 2nd for a starting NFL quarterback.
Assume Orton is traded, where does he end up? Arizona Cardinals seem like the best choice for all parties

Troy Hufford

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? I think Tebow will start. It's time to hand him the reigns to the future
Will Kyle Orton be traded? No
Should Orton be traded? Yes
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? If it were my call, I'd part with orton for a first and third rounder. I don't advocate parting with talented player for chump change, which is why I would hold out for a deal that suits us.
Assume Orton is traded, where does he end up? I think Cincinnati would be a good landing spot.

Sayre Bedinger

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? Yes
Will Kyle Orton be traded? Yes
Should Orton be traded? Yes
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? 2nd round or better
Assume Orton is traded, where does he end up? Miami, Arizona, Minnesota

Jezru

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? I was at the Houston vs Denver game last year and I have to say, after seeing it with my own eyes, that Tebow will undoubtedly be the starter. Any time you have a stadium full of frustrated, demoralized fans chanting the name of your first round QB in a meaningless week 16 game, you have to take notice. I think the speculation that Orton could be in the mix is only a smokescreen to drive up his trade value (you can get more for a starter than a pine rider)
Will Kyle Orton be traded? Should Orton be traded? What price would it take for you to trade Orton? Assuming Orton is traded, where does he end up? Yes, I think Orton will be traded and he should be. He was never meant to be a long term solution to the QB problem. Truth be told I saw him as added value to the Cutler trade. I think we would have made that exchange if Orton wasn't part of the deal. Frankly, I take whatever the best offer is for him - be that even as high as a fourth or fifth rounder. We need to move on as a franchise and to do that we need to deal Orton away for the best possible deal we can get. I think he'll go to the Bills, Cardinals or as a longshot - the Bengals ( to ease the transition from Carson Palmer to Andy Dalton).

Maxwellsdemon

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? Will Kyle Orton be traded? Should Orton be traded? What price would it take for you to trade Orton? I do think Tebow will start next season, but it depends on a lot of factors, which are tied to the next two questions about Orton. As the season gets closer, the chances of TC and pre-season become less and less. Because of this, and the fact Fox hasn't spent much time with either player and has no emotion invested in either player, keeping Orton is the logical move, so if we don't see a CBA by the end of July, I don't think we trade Orton, I think Orton starts game 1, and Tebow comes in on goal line and RZ situations, like last season, possibly taking the job if Orton gets hurt again.
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? As for Orton's price, a 2nd is only fair, Kolb and Palmer are expected to be worth 1sts, and while Orton is just a hair below what people view of Palmer, Kolb and Orton are similar age, and Orton has more starting experience. So if those two guys are worth a 1st, a 2nd seems like a good deal to me.
Assuming Orton is traded, where does he end up? Arizona seems likely, the Cards can't waste a 1st round pick next season as they still have a number of aging players who only have a few years left. Trading for Orton will ease the transition to either Max Hall or John Skelton, and will also give them the chance to compete in their division.

Mdierk

Do you think Tebow will be the starter? Yes, there is way too much invested by the Broncos to not make him the starter. We may very well see how much more improved he is from last year.
Do you think Orton will be traded? Do you think Orton should be traded? Kyle Orton will be traded. His salary is too high for a back-up QB and Denver needs to get some value out of him. We saw enough to know what we have in Orton. He shows up when things are going well, but when the game is on the line and Denver had a chance to win, he folded.
What price would it take for you to trade Orton? I know that the Broncos would take a 2nd round pick, but I doubt that anyone would pay that price. I would take a 4th and a decent defender to be rid of Orton's services.
Assuming Orton is traded, where does he end up? Arizona

Results

6 staffers think Tebow will or should be the starter

5 staffers think Orton will be traded

4 staffers think Orton should be traded

3 staffers want at least 2nd round value for Orton

3 staffers will take less then 2nd round value for Orton

3 staffers think Orton would end up in Arizona if he were traded

2 staffers think Orton would end up in Cincinnati if he were traded

There you have it. Those are the opinions of the MHR staffers on the Tebow vs Orton question. Now, I want to make something very, very clear. I do not want to start an Orton vs Tebow flame war in the comments. I will say that again. I do no want to start an Orton vs Tebow flame war in the comments. This post is meant as an educational piece so you guys know what the MHR staffers are thinking headed into training camp and the pre season. So you can discuss the things that the staffers said, but please don't turn the comments into another Orton vs Tebow debate. We've been debating about this topic for the past 3 months.

Stay tuned. Next time, the MHR staffers will answer the final set of questions:

Other then Defensive Tackle, what area of the Broncos are you most worried about? What position battle are you looking forward to watching at Training Camp? What player do you think will/could break out this year?
Finally, can you give me 1 bold prediction about the Broncos. It could be about free agency, training camp, the 2011 season, or whatever you want. As long as it is Bronco-related.

Next Up: MHR Staffers Get Opinionated On Training Camp And The 2011 Season

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