Kyle Orton, passing during practice in September, was benched by the Broncos because he was struggling and because they wanted to see what Tim Tebow could
Kyle Orton, passing during practice in September, was benched by the Broncos because he was struggling and because they wanted to see what Tim Tebow could do in his second NFL season. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )

In the opening days of training camp, when there was almost as much optimism as sunshine around the Broncos, coach John Fox was quick to say that a lot of NFL teams would like to have Denver's depth at quarterback.

That was before Kyle Orton was benched. That was before Tim Tebow struggled as Orton's replacement.

That was before a 2-5 start in a season quickly going south.

Today, Fox is being pushed almost as strongly to send Tebow to the bench as he was to put him in the lineup just three weeks ago. With Tebow receiving a six-day vote of confidence as starter — "for this week" — the Broncos may be poised to make another change behind center if things don't go better Sunday at Oakland than they have the past two games.

"No doubt, the quarterback needs to improve," Fox said. "He knows it and we know it."

There are pros and cons to every decision. Here are three of each on whether Fox should pull Tebow or stay the course:

Time to pull Tebow

It's needed for the offense.The Broncos rank 27th in the 32-team NFL in yards per game and 23rd in points per game having played two quarterbacks already. Some people think it's best to look at all three quarterbacks on the roster in game situations before the season gets completely out of hand. Brady Quinn has yet to take a snap this season.

Orton wasn't mobile enough to escape pressure, and the mobile Tebow hasn't thrown well enough to escape pressure.

The Broncos have surrendered 22 sacks in only seven games — tied for sixth-highest in the league — and rank 28th in team completion percentage. They're not moving the ball, they're not scoring and they're not winning.

It's needed for Tebow.

He may just need a break from the pressure of being Tebow — on and off the field.

His long-term development might be harmed if he's asked to play the position before he's capable. He's having difficulty reading defenses and throwing on time, to the right receiver.

He and his representatives haven't done anything to pull him from the limelight, endorsements and book tours, and the Broncos put him on the cover of the season-ticket brochure even after executive John Elway and Fox said Orton was the starter. Is that best for Tebow the player?

Some in the league say it's time for Tebow's business handlers to let him work on first becoming a quarterback rather than a marketing magnet.

It's needed for the locker room. There is a faction of the Broncos' locker room that believes Orton was unfairly singled out for the team's struggles. Champ Bailey, Mario Haggan and Andre Goodman have said so. Professionalism demands a player struggling such as Tebow go to the bench, quarterback or not.

Rookie Von Miller, the team's sack leader, was benched against the Chargers after making two major assignment mistakes. Other players have gone to the bench after fewer mistakes than Tebow has made in two starts.

Staying with Tebow

You can't change quarterbacks like you change shirts. Enough is enough. The team already has tweaked its playbook significantly trying to adjust from Orton to Tebow.

To make another adjustment for another QB only sets them further back.

Tebow has yet to develop an on-field rapport with the receivers. The offensive line is struggling to block for Tebow when it doesn't know where he's going to be as he moves around behind the line of scrimmage.

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There is little on-field chemistry. And unless the Broncos are prepared to go back to Orton, it would take even more time to develop that if Quinn were put in the lineup.

It's been two games. If the task is to find out, without a doubt, where Tebow stands as the potential long-term starter for the Broncos, then an improbable victory over a winless team and one horrible afternoon against a playoff-bound team is not a representative sample. More time is needed to see if Tebow can change some of the things that need changing when the game-day heat is on.

It's time to just play. The Broncos have only one playoff victory in the past 12 seasons. They haven't even been to the playoffs since the 2005 season. They were 4-12 last year.


This isn't one of the NFL's elite teams trying to recover from a small stumble. This is a franchise that is far closer to the league's bottom than to the league's top. It's time for everybody, from the top down, to just dig in and play the hand they have.

Help is not on the way, they won't get another swing at free agency until March and the draft isn't until April. Quit looking for someone to jump in with a life preserver.

As Fox put it: "Part of the team (concept) is, especially when things aren't going well, you're best off looking at yourself and seeing what you can do better and not be so concerned about what somebody else is doing."

Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or