Major kudos to Mike Klis of the Denver Post and the folks in the Mile High City who have covered as much of the Broncos' unofficial organized team activities at the sports bubble as is possible. Klis provides us with a juicy quote from recently arrived quarterback Brady Quinn, who thinks he should be given a shot at the starting position just like his competitors Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow:
"I want to be No. 1," Quinn proclaimed, per the Denver Post. "I feel they [Orton and Tebow] both had a chance last year and I didn't get an opportunity. I'd love to get an opportunity to help us win games and get this team to the playoffs and see what happens from there."
Wow, talk about swinging for the fences!
If nothing else, you have to love Brady Quinn's heart in all this. He didn't prove anything to us fans in the pre-season last year, but in limited NFL duty he has actually been quite erratic. We all saw his first career start when the Broncos traveled to Cleveland for a Thursday night showdown, and he didn't look half bad nearly leading the Browns to a huge victory before Eddie Royal, Brandon Marshall and the gang had something to say about it.
However, Quinn's seasons with the Browns were plagued with injuries and inconsistencies, not to mention inaccuracies as he started 12 games and finished his two starting years with a completion percentage slightly higher than that of calling heads or tails.
If Quinn wants a starting job, he's going to have to come out in training camp and the pre-season and show some vast improvements. The physical skill has always been there for Quinn, who is one of the more athletic and frankly ripped quarterbacks in the league. He is pretty good on the move but he tends to make way too many overthrows, and he didn't look comfortable at all last year in the pre-season, though he was barely one offseason into learning one of the most complicated offenses in the NFL.
The Broncos are moving to a power offensive scheme, and Quinn may very well get an opportunity this offseason to work with the first string. I certainly feel he has more of a chance of starting than Chris Simms did in 2009 when rumors were swirling that he could take over the starting void left by Jay Cutler, and with the lockout, everyone is going to be starting from the ground up, quarterbacks included.
Maybe Brady Quinn's not so crazy, or maybe I just need the lockout to end.