The Case for Eddie Lacy

Eddie Lacy may be the key to a Super Bowl win for the Broncos.

There’s 2 prevailing theories come draft day, the first and most predominate for most teams is drafting the best player available. The second is drafting by position. The Broncos should consider drafting by position this season because in my mind without better players at key positions they won’t make the big jump in the playoffs or the Super Bowl. The need for better defensive players is critical for the Broncos, but I think they need to go RB or CB first in the 2013 NFL Draft. Conventional wisdom says draft the best available but is that true this year?

If the Broncos are depending on Willis McGahee to get through a 16 game season and the playoffs they're making a big mistake. McGahee has been one of the great comeback warrior stories in the NFL. The brutal knee injury he had before he came into the NFL was as bad as any ever and at 31 years old, that’s ancient considering his knee. 

As a recent interview with John Elway indicates Knowshon Moreno is the #3 RB behind Ronnie Hillman. So if Hillman is the Broncos primary backup the Broncos can't expect to go deep in the playoffs with him as the starter should McGahee hail out. Elway says he'll draft for immediate impact but I can't believe that a RB wouldn't be high on the list. Maybe the Broncos are looking to trade Moreno and/or pick up a RB in free agency but I’m convinced that depending on McGahee to remain healthy come playoff time is a risky proposition.

The O is in good shape except at RB. They’ll score points but in crunch time they’re going to need a good tough between the tackles, 3rd & short and a goal line RB late in the season.

The Broncos need added depth at DB, DL and LB. The DB situation is far from settled. Champ Bailey is not the same CB he was in his prime, the last 2 years his speed and coverage skills have started to erode. They should move him to Safety and look for a speedy young cover guy to fill his Corner spot. He may not like it but if he’s being honest with himself he knows this is what is best for the team.

But let’s get back to the RB situation for a minute, if the whole idea of signing Peyton Manning was to win the Super Bowl “NOW” I doubt very seriously that with his small window they can do it without one. Too many forget that part of the reason Manning was so successful with the Colts was because they had Edgerrin James in the backfield. Without James in his early years he’s hard to say if Manning would have put up the kind of stats and wins had he not been his teammate.

In his prime he was one of the best in the game. James was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1999 and was All-Pro 4 times. James left Indy in 2005 as their all time leading rusher with 9,226 yards. He had 64 rushing TD’s and 11 receiving TD’s in his career at Indy. In his 11 year career he racked up 12, 246 yards on the ground and 3,364 yards through the air. Super Bowls are won with Defense but you don’t see many even getting there without a quality RB.

So if there’s an opportunity to grab Eddie Lacy from Alabama in the 1st round or make a trade for him the Broncos should jump on him. There are question marks about his receiving and pass blocking abilities because he’ll improve that part of his game but his ground game is tough and solid. He’s just the kind of bruising tough yards RB the Broncos need. IMO he’ll be the biggest impact player the Broncos could ask for if they get him in the draft. It's doubtful we have a shot at him but we can hope there's a way to make it happen. If not Lacy they need to look elsewhere.

The Law Of Karma turns on the Denver Broncos

Manning walks off the field a loser after throwing 3 INT's against the Ravens.

I’m still grinding, mourning and angry over the Broncos playoff loss today, it’s impossible not to. I know I shouldn’t but these opportunities just don’t come along every day. When making the comparisons about some of the worst losses the Broncos have ever had this one clearly is lower on the list but the pain is no less devastating.

It took the Broncos 38 years to win their first Super Bowl and it was on their 4th try. That’s why when you get into a rosy position and lose it completely knocks the wind out of you. This one hurt bad, but it doesn’t compare to 1996.

The Jacksonville loss in the 96 playoffs is the worst ever. 13-3, best AFC regular season record, home field advantage throughout and playing a team that was lucky to be there. After the loss there was talk that John Elway might retire and who would have blamed him. That season just like this one was set up for them to win a Super Bowl and again they were denied. As we learned later it would have given them 3 championships in a row had they advanced and won in 96.

The Redskins loss in the Super Bowl XXII in 1988 was the #1 most devastating until the Broncos lost to Jacksonville but now it’s #2 on my list. The Broncos had a better all around team than the Redskins that year. Not unlike the Ravens game the Corners and Safety’s helped give away that game too. Back then it was Tony Lilly instead of Champ Bailey and Rahim Moore who gave up big plays. Elway had a horrible day and the running game was a joke. The Defense let a scrub RB and a scrub QB torch them big time. Tim Smith and Doug Williams to that point in their careers had never put up that big of numbers and even following that game would never repeat the performances they had that day against the Broncos.

To be sure the losses to the Cowboys, Giants and 49ers hurt in the other SB’s but the sting wasn’t as bad because the Broncos didn’t match up well against any of those teams.

After a few days to digest this latest disaster I have to move what I consider the #3 worst loss to #4 and say that the loss Saturday surpasses it. The old #3 was the Jake the Fake meltdown in the 2006 AFC Championship Game against the Steelers. The Broncos had just come off a big win against the Brady lead Patriots (The best team in the playoffs that year) at home the week before in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. Beating the Steelers should have been an easier assignment if not for the poor play of the most important position player on the team, QB Jake Plummer.

So, today as I set here grinding I think to myself, this time we supposedly had the best QB in the game to make a Super Bowl run and we lost? Plummer’s bad game is way easier to forgive than Manning’s lousy performance because of his past resume. All be it a great regular season resume, his post season resume stinks.

I personally believe in a Higher Power greater than myself and I also believe in "The Law of Karma."

Short cuts, hired guns and throwing out a player that lead you to your second playoff win in 12 years like so much trash is definitely bad Karma. I’m not saying that Tebow could have taken this team to new heights this year with his skill set being far less than that of Manning’s, probably not. Still...Tebow deserved better, he's a winner and winners don’t always do it pretty. I’ll take winning ugly over losing pretty anytime. Check that, there is no such thing as losing pretty is there?

The other irony or should I say injustice about this epic loss Saturday is that last year when the Broncos got creamed by the Patriots nearly every media type and Broncos Fan out there blamed it on not having a good enough QB.

Today after this loss, it’s: Champ got beat twice for TD’s, Moore lost the game because he didn’t play deep enough on one play, the pass rush was non-existent, losing Moreno hurt, Kuper didn’t play well, Prater missed a kick he normally would have made, the refs made bad calls, the Broncos had 3 timeouts and 31 seconds on the clock in the 4th Q and didn’t try to score, Fox and McCoy called to conservative of a game etc.

Then… As an afterthought: "Oh yeah, Peyton Manning didn’t play well either." Instead of being on the top of the list he’s on the bottom because after all this was a “Team Loss.” I don’t disagree with the “team loss” mantra but Manning should be shouldering way more blame than he has to this point. HE not Mike McCoy was calling the majority of the plays on the field. 3 INT’s, 2 resulting in scores and that God awful throw in over time. The stupid throw in OT made all the throws Tebow has made in his career look pretty damn good. Many didn’t really say it was a team loss after the Broncos got slaughtered by the Patriots last year did they? Oh no, it was that lousy Tim Tebow's fault, if we’d of had a QB like Manning or any other QB for that matter the outcome would have been different right?

The bottom line is Manning should have been the ONE person on the team that made the plays necessary for the Broncos to win a close game, period, end of story. I can’t see it any other way. The Law of Karma as it turns out works both ways, hopefully the Broncos can recover and get the good Karma back next season. It's going to be a very long off season but as always I'll be hopeful that the Broncos can climb the ladder and make a run to the big show. That is all.

Brock Osweiler: The Elway 2.0 Project

Brock Osweiler's great arm and quick release isn't enough.

Instead of posting this as a reply to some of the debate I’ve been in the last 3 days about him, I’ve decided to cram it into a blog. Most probably won’t get through the first paragraph of this rant but I’m going to write it and post it anyway because it’s still bugging the holy hell out of me.

The stuff I read said he made questionable decisions in games and didn't always play smart. The trouble is he doesn’t have a large body of work to even judge if he is football smart. I think the Mark Sanchez example is the perfect one; he only played one college season. He played on a good team in a horrible defensive conference and by draft day he was projected to go in the 1st round then eventually the Hall of Fame.

It took a while but his ass and his game have finally showed itself in living color. He couldn’t beat the lowly Broncos team last year could he? Then what happens… irony of ironies the Jets trade for Tim Tebow, go figure? What does that say about an unproven college QB with a very small sample size of a record? And Sanchez’s resume at first glance makes Osweiler’s look like a chump. I know he’s not a chump I’m just saying.

All the arm strength in the world, all the pretty long balls in the world, all the quick release throws in the world don’t mean squat if that guy isn’t a winner. In clutch time I’d rather have a warrior who wins games ugly than a strong armed QB who loses pretty. The fact is losing is never pretty, it’s always about winning. So it’s extremely infuriating and nonsensical that we traded away a “Project” for another even more unproven “Project” and call that a brilliant personnel move or still dumber building for the “future.”

In this case Elway’s ego took over. He forgot why he signed Peyton Manning apparently. As I’ve said about a dozen times in the last 3 days as I understood it we signed him, paid him the big bucks and gave up cap room money so Manning could come in and win a championship NOW. Manning wasn’t hired to help rebuild the Broncos, it was to win NOW.

The better move in this draft was to sign a player who could contribute immediately with the 2nd round pick for that reason. If Elway thought that Caleb Hanie wasn’t going to cut it I don’t understand why he wasted the time, money and the roster spot when he wasn’t sold on him. Even so the Broncos would have been better off by signing some other cheap experienced free agent QB rather than wasting a pick grooming a 3 year “Project.” Hanie could carry the team for the short term if the worse thing happens to Manning. He isn’t going to be the next big thing we all know that but even he could have carried on for a half season if Manning got hurt. Then the following year the Broncos could have focused solely on getting a replacement either through free agency or the draft.

By the way fans, had we not drafted Osweiler guess what? They’ll be more QB’s available in the draft and free agency next year. Osweiler is not the first nor will he be the last great young “Project” in the history of the game

Regardless, the whole ffing strategy behind signing Manning was to win NOW. Not to sign a guy who’ll set on the bench for 3 years. Yes we need a back up for Manning but we also need every good player we can get that can tackle, cover, block, catch a pass or run well with the ball today not tomorrow. Osweiler does none of that, he detracts from it in fact and in this bid to win a championship NOW if that’s what we want we have to have players on the field that can help us do that NOW!

Running QB's Nothing New in the NFL

Staubach was one of the best in the game.

I was in a debate last night with some Broncos Fans about running QB’s like Tebow. In the discussion I mentioned that Otto Graham, Roger Staubach and Steve Young were great running QB’s. The fact is the list is long and distinguished of the ones’ I left out. Some have not won Super Bowls but many had productive NFL careers. So this idea that a raw unpolished and rough around the edges running QB like Tim Tebow can’t develop his game as a passer is utter nonsense.

We’ll get to that long list of successful running QB’s in a minute.

But first… In Denver Tebow played for 2 Coaches in 2 years and had a total of just 16 regular season starts. That’s only 1 season of actual real game experience. I love how the haters say he was a 2 year Pro and should have had his game up to par and been a successful throwing QB by now.

Really? He didn’t have the opportunity to get reps in during this past training camp because of the lockout. Then when the lockout was over he didn’t get reps before the season started because they gave the job to Orton. This really hurt his chances of running a conventional offense because he didn’t get any practice with the 1st team to grasp it. Had he a full training camp to absorb the playbook who knows how it would have went if he was the starter on opening day?

When he did finally get a chance to start the team was 1-4. Not only that, he played behind a young porous inexperienced offensive line that was one of the worst in the league at pass protection. Given that fact and given that Fox went to a very conservative offensive in which he rarely gave him chances to throw the ball and when he did it was totally obvious to the opposing D’s his chances to complete passes was limited.

When he did throw he was usually under heavy duress, and to many times when he did get the ball to Thomas, Decker or the TE’s they couldn’t hold onto it. Late in the season Thomas showed improvement but to many times he, like the others dropped too many balls and were not getting any separation so Tebow didn’t dare throw. Yes, at times he did miss an open Receiver but not anymore than any young QB pressed into service on want amounted to one the worst offensive teams in the league when he took over.

We all know that Tebow’s mechanics are not the best when it comes to setting himself up to throw a long ball or even a short one at times because of that weird cocking motion he uses. But as the season when on he did improve, he completed some very deep passes in tight coverage that too many forget about. He still needs work in that area but to those who say he can’t be a throwing QB with his style are wrong. Playing a timely game where you make one or 2 good throws that win a game is far more important than stats or style points.

If stats are your measurement of how good a QB can be check this out. In his 4 years at Florida Tebow threw 88 TD’s and had a completion percentage of 66.4. For a primarily running team these are damn good stats.

Stats aside Tebow’s toughness, his stubborn will to win and play until the clock runs out are his greatest intangibles. Not many QB’s have that quality and as you’ll see below just because he can run well doesn’t exclude him as a great player. His passing skills will improve with more playing time just like it has with this group of running QB’s.

Michael Vick, Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, Fran Tarkenton, Kordell Stewart, Steve Grogan, Jim Harbaugh, Daunte Culpepper, Doug Flutie, Greg Landry, Bobby Douglass, Steve McNair and here’s one that will amaze some of you younger fans Archie Manning, yes that’s right Peyton’s Dad was a good running QB.

In today’s game you could say Ryan Fitzpatrick, Aaron Rodgers, David Garrard, and Vince Young are on that list with Cam Newton being the best of the lot.

In this year’s draft the Top QB’s that’ll be selected Andrew Luck and RGIII are both good running QB’s.

And of course there’s the great John Elway…

Elway is the greatest quarterback in NFL history…period. Instead of getting to the many reasons why which I’ve done many times for purposes of discussion let’s just stick to the running QB issue.

Elway didn’t just win games with his arm. Throughout his career he was one on the best running and scrambling QB’s to ever play the game. Say what you want about his Super Bowl record (2-4), he was a winner as shown by his former NFL record 148 victories.

Throughout his career, whether it was running for big-yardage as a youngster or displaying grit in a helicopter run and dive in Super Bowl, Elway had the legs to match is rocket arm. He amassed 3,417 rushing yards – ranked 6th all-time for QB’s – and 33 TDs on 774 rushing attempts (2nd only to Cunningham by one carry). Elway also should be remembered for being the best running QB in the postseason as he produced 461 rushing yards and 6 rushing TDs in the playoffs. He also holds the distinction of being the oldest player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl at age 38 in Super Bowl XXXIII. And his four total rushing touchdowns in Super Bowl games are the most ever by a QB.

So… Given these stats about Elway (Bowlen and Fox in agreement of course) it’s hard for me to understand that he was so willing to dump Tebow out like so much trash. He of all people knows what it’s like to get mauled and hammered by the media for poor play in his 1st and 2nd seasons as Tebow did. I was there I saw all of his early games and remember well how the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain news tore him to shreds after every loss and even after some of the wins.

When comparing Tebow to Elway, Elway’s arm strength was far superior but his accuracy and decision making under pressure was not much better than Tebow early in his career. But Elway had that intangible of which I early spoke. Elway would play a horrible game for 58 minutes and win it in the last 2 either with his arm or his feet. Tebow did the same.

As a Broncos Fan I know I must move on but this debate about Tebow will not stop until Manning wins a SB. This is the price Manning and Elway must face. I wish for a successful outcome but this isn’t going to be a cake walk, it’ll have to be earned and done as a team. Manning can’t do it alone.

The "Stiff Arm" that could...

Greatest stiff arm in Broncos History.

What do I say 2 days later to describe the amazing game the Broncos played against the Steelers on Sunday?

First it would be… The Thomas “Stiff Arm” will go down in Broncos lore as one of the greatest plays ever.

Second would be the obvious…UNBELIEVABLE!!

Then it might be…ABSOLUTELY, UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Then it might be… YOU GOTTA BE KIDDIN’ ME? AMAZING!!!

Then… YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! (while jumping up high in the living room air fist pumping the whole time.)

I can honestly say I haven’t screamed and yelled this much since the Broncos beat the Patriots in Denver 27-13 in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game in 2006. Guess what guys? That happens to be our one and only playoff win since the last Super Bowl winning season in 1999.

Still…the intensity of yelling for the game on Sunday was probably at an all-time high considering the circumstances and how everyone had written off the Broncos to lose it. As it turns out this game and the play that won it have to be considered as one of the best ever and certainly the best game ever in the new stadium.

I loved watching Elway get excited on the sidelines after the win and the whole stadium going wild.

So what’s next?

I don’t think it’s impossible for the Broncos to beat the Patriots this week. Here’s what I consider the keys to winning.

ON DEFENSE

First they must completely shut down the Pats running game which they should be able to do. If they can I think it makes it simpler for them to put a better pass rush on Brady.

Then it’s up to the Broncos front 7 seven to get some big time pressure on Brady. I hope they get away from the 3-4 and go with 5 and 6 man fronts sending 6 or 7 guys on every obvious passing play. That means they have to go to tight man to man coverage in the secondary. Hopefully they can cover one on one. I just don’t see the point in playing a deep zone against Brady and only sending 3 guys in to rush him. He’ll just pick us apart. They have to gamble and get pressure on Brady.

ON OFFENSE

Avoid turnovers; the Broncos had 4 in the last meeting. The Broncos must be able to run the ball and control the clock. The Broncos can’t win a shoot out with Brady. That doesn’t mean that McCoy shouldn’t let Tebow have some opportunities on first down to throw down field, they should. But they must control the ball and the clock and give Brady as little time as possible on the field.

If the Broncos get into a 3 and out offense early I think the momentum of the game shifts to the Patriots and as great as the Broncos played Sunday they can’t compete with Brady because he can ring up points quickly. They can’t get down by 2 or 3 TD’s by halftime or it'll be over and besides Brady won’t let up in the second half either.

The game will be won with an aggressive pass rush by the front 7 on Brady and a smart well conceived ball control offense that grinds away time on the clock.

If it’s tough assignment but this team welcomes it and I’m not going to be the guy that says they can’t win this one. Give us another miracle guys. GO BRONCOS!!!

John Elway's Comments After Chiefs Game

“Tim managed the game very well and made the play to win the game when he had to.

Was an impressive team win for the Broncos and one of Tim's best game.

Tim didn't throw a lot because the game dictated us to run more. The bottom line is Tim and offensive line did what they had to do to get a win,

In the last four games the Broncos have the best rushing offense in the NFL.

Mentioned that the lack of a real off season put a delay on the lines getting in sync. Said the new backs on the team make a difference and of course the added dimension of Tim helps it all work together.

Lance Ball really stepped up and may have earned more playing time.

On potentially trying to win the division: We are trying to do that every week. The coaching staff was game-planning for the Jets game before and even "during" the Chiefs game.

Up to this point in time they are getting to their goal of being competitive offensively and defensively and putting Tim in the best position to be successful as a quarterback that can help the team. It's a process and they are trying to improve. Happy to go from 1-4 to 4-5 but knows there is more help and more growth needed.

Wants to build a program that will sustain itself. When dealing with a young QB and adjust an entire system on the fly, the staff has to tinker in season and its taken some time to start to put together what they needed to but very happy with the process.

On if he can win long term running 80% of your plays: We won like that early in my career. I don't think we'll do that every game, but when it makes sense we will.

On Von Miller: He's playing at a high level, the level we knew he could and expected for the second pick in the draft." Praised Dennis Allen for an awesome game plan and disrupting Cassel in KC. “

Elway & Tebow: A Tale of 2 Games in KC

JOHN ELWAY 1998

 In 1998 the Denver Broncos were facing a very good Kansas City Chiefs team who had home field advantage throughout the playoffs in KC in the second round of the AFC Divisional Playoffs.

The game turned out to be a very tough defensive battle in which Elway went 10 for 19 for 170 yards. One of his pass plays went for 43 yards on a catch and carry so if not for that play Elway would have had just 127 passing yards for the day. You must remember that the Broncos had Ed McCaffrey, Rod Smith and Hall of Fame TE Shannon Sharpe on that team. In this game the leading Receiver was McCaffrey who had 3 catches for 56 yards.     

Terrell Davis was the star of game as he had been all season for the Broncos and ran for 101 yards and 2 TD’s. The final score was 14-10 Broncos and this led them to a Super Bowl winning season and only the 2nd Wildcard team in NFL history to accomplish such a feat.

TIM TEBOW 2011

Today in a game that couldn’t come close to matching neither the importance nor the talent level on both teams a similar scenario did unfold.

Tebow was a measly 2 for 8 for 69 yards. One pass completion was to Matt Willis for 13 yards the other a 56 yard pass to Eric Decker for a TD. Tebow had 9 rushes for 43 yards and 1 Rushing TD. Final score 17-10 Broncos.

Here's 3 stats about Tebow that'll get little ink but should. He's been sacked 14 times behind the 2nd youngest Offensive Line in the NFL and only has 1 Interception and 1 Fumble lost in the 4 games he’s started this season. 2 TO’s in 4 games is an incredible stat given the constant pressure he’s been under in the pocket and with all the rushing attempts he’s had thus far this season.

While it’s complete insanity to compare Tebow to Elway from a skills prospective the one important similarity here is that both QB’s didn’t play great games nor put up great stats but still lead their respective teams to victories.

Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno were both out of the game in the 1st quarter. So Lance Ball was pushed into service and had 30 carries for 96 yards. It wasn’t like Tebow had a solid running game to back him up in this one but it was enough with the help of a great defensive game plan.

The Defensive effort by the Broncos was the best of the season. Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil and company shut down the run and harassed Matt Cassel from the opening snap on. The only negative aspect of their performance was the 2 drops by DB’s that should have been easy INT’s. Given that the Broncos no matter what set of players they’ve had on past or current rosters have had a hell of a time beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead. It’s no small feat to beat the Chiefs at home no matter who they've have had on their team or who lined up for the Broncos.

I don’t know about you but winning is the only thing that matters, the only thing. When the 2011 season is over Owners, Coaches, Players and NFL Pundits are not going to look back at losses where the losing team or QB put up fantastic stats and lost. The only stat that matters is the win/loss stat and this one belongs in the W column and was rightfully deserved since it was another team win.

One finally irony to me is that all the NFL Talking Heads had the Eagles in the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season. Today with Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy, Jeremy Maclin and a good TE in Brent Celek the Eagles lost to a Cardinals team with John Skeleton at QB, Beanie Wells at RB and of course the only great player on their offense Larry Fitzgerald at WR. The Cardinals have one of the worst defensive units in the NFL. So I don’t care if WR DeSean Jackson was in the lineup or not for the Eagles, this is game were they have no excuses because this is one they should have easily won.

The Broncos and Tebow are 4-5 and one game out of first place in the AFC West. The Eagles with what appears on the paper as a way better set of players on the offensive side of the ball are 3-6, 3 games out of 1st in the NFC East and tied for last with the Redskins.

I’ll take the ugly win all day long, over being an Eagles Fan that's for sure. I’m proud to be a Broncos Fan today and even more proud of the Broncos for winning a tough game on the road that many didn’t expect them to win.

Finally...The Tebow Era Begins

No matter what detractors of Tim Tebow had to say about him becoming the starter before the Chargers game Kyle Orton had an overall record with the Broncos coming in of 12-21, 12-22 after today. Another in your face stat is that Orton NEVER has won a game for the Broncos when the team trailed by 3 or more points at halftime.

So why didn’t Fox let Tebow become the starter on opening day? The reasons given were that Orton had more experience and gave the Broncos a better chance to win, really? Of course it wasn’t, the real answer was driven more by $’s and not how great Orton executed X’s and O’s. Orton couldn’t be traded prior to the start of the season and the Broncos are set to pay him a whooping $9 million dollars (Thank you very much Josh McDaniels) in this his last and one would think after today the final year of his contract. The sad truth is today Pro Football is a business first and a game second and that my friends was the primary reason Orton kept the job.

In today’s dollars this may seem to be a fair wage to pay a starting QB in the NFL. Man, I just don’t see it even in today’s dollars; he didn't even come close to earning that much money. The League minimum is $340,000 it could be argued he wasn’t even worth that given his results on the field.

If you’re still not convinced that Orton was an overpaid stiff keep this in mind. In 1983 John Elway was signed by the Broncos to a 6-year contract worth $12.7 million. In those 6 years he gave us 3 AFC Championships and 3 Super Bowl appearances. Not bad for $12.7 mill huh?

What has Orton produced? Zippo!! He came from a great Defensive team in the Bears who had a lot more to with the wins he has on his resume than he did with his skilled play at QB. As the Broncos starter without a solid D to back him up his bogus game has been proven a fraud for all to see over and over.

So with this as a the backdrop going into today’s game I was all set to watch another dark and dull horror show against the Chargers this week. Orton in his usually style came out and played horrible to start the game while the Boo-Birds came out early and often. 3 and outs, incompletions, an interception, underthrown and overthrown balls the same game we’ve all seen from game 7 of 2008 season until today. He was 6 for 14 for 32 yards and 1 INT in the first half. The Broncos had a whooping total of 126 yards of total offense at the half with Willis MaGahee being the only man who was generating anything. MaGahee had a 125 yard rushing day the first Broncos RB to go over a 100 since 2006. Tebow got a token 2 yard QB draw call in the first half that was completely obvious to the Chargers D and everyone in the stadium and that was it for offense.

The only play of note in the first half was made by CB Cassius Vaughn who had Interception return for a TD which was a great play but was negated by the 42 yard TD reception he gave up to Malcolm Floyd right at the end of the second half. He giveth and he taketh away. The Broncos CB’s stink but that’s for another time. The tackling in the first half by the Broncos was some of the worst I’ve seen this season.

After wading through another cesspool in the first half I was sure Orton would come out and start the second half and secure a another win for the Chargers, but NO!! To my surprise #15 trotted out onto the field and suddenly my heart started beating a little faster I sat up in my chair and just like that I was brought back from the dead. Did you notice the transformation of the fans at the stadium when he came in? They were on their feet and screaming. Believe or not for the first time in a year and half I was even screaming and excited.

After Tebow had two 3 and outs the game dramatically tuned. With the Chargers up 26-10 with 13:35 left in the 4th Quarter Tebow led the offense to one score then another off the Rivers fumble. And if not for a dropped pass and a catchable 2 point conversion by Brandon Lloyd the game would have been tied!! Kudos to Lloyd though, he did make a couple of circus catches to keep drives going.

Even after the Chargers kicked another FG to go up 29-24 Tebow was within one play of winning the game with just 24 seconds left in the 4Q.

Did you see the immediate impact the energy of Tebow translated to his teammates on O and even on D? It was dramatic and electric, something we just haven’t seen since Jay Cutler played in Denver. Tebow in just one half proved he’s a warrior, a great runner and scrambler. He also proved he could make the throws when he needed to get the Broncos back in game. To all the critics of his mechanics I say “So what”, if he gets the ball off and makes completions and the team scores in the red zone what more could you ask for? A game that was over at half time with Orton came down to the last play with Tebow.

We finally have seen the end of the Orton Era and the beginning of the Tebow Era and thank God almighty for us long suffering Broncos Fans it was sooner rather than later. Fox would be completely out of his mind to bring Orton back after the bye week. Its Tebow job to lose from now on and I don't see that happening, Orton is done.

I can hardly wait to see how well Tebow plays in his first start at Miami 2 weeks from today. GO TEBOW!!! GO BRONCOS!!!