CINCINNATI — While everyone was looking at Tim Tebow’s rookie haircut, Kyle Orton was mastering Josh McDaniels’ offense.
At least, that’s the message out of Dove Valley after two weeks of training camp.
Whether the new Orton is noticeably different from the old Orton we will soon find out. But the blitz of praise for his early work in camp seems designed at least in part to take some of the pressure off Tebow as he makes his much anticipated pro debut tonight.
If you believe McDaniels, the Broncos already have a starting quarterback playing at a high level. Tebow can come along at his own pace. Popular opinion may prefer to flip the depth chart on its head, but as any coach will tell you, football ain’t a democracy.
Going into the preseason opener against the Bengals, the Broncos’ second-year coach actually faces a more urgent question than who his starting quarterback is. The question is this:
No matter who calls the signals, can his offense put up enough points to win games?
When the gamblers make seven the over/under for Broncos wins this season, they are not primarily questioning the defense. The Broncos ranked seventh in team defense by yardage last season and tied for 12th by points, then fortified the weakest link, the line, with three free agents. It’s true they lost NFL sack leader Elvis Dumervil to injury, but that barely moved the needle in Vegas.
No, the gamblers are primarily questioning an offense in search of playmakers to replace those McDaniels dispatched over the past 19 months as he closed the book on the Mike Shanahan era. And just in case anyone forgot, this is what Shanahan, now Washington’s coach, told Albert Breer of The Boston Globe about his departure from Denver:
“I thought we had a Super Bowl team, relative to the offense. Defensively, I knew we were a little ways away. But with injuries, and knowing we could take free agency and the draft and put it all in one area, I felt pretty good about it.”
In bars and on message boards, this issue has been litigated among Broncos fans until they are blue and orange in the face, but the dismantling of Shanahan’s young offense by his successor will remain controversial until McDaniels’ own unit accomplishes enough to make people forget about it.
For the young Broncos coach, the early issue is whether his offense looks like last year’s dink and dunk operation or the tougher, more aggressive attack machine he has advertised.
For fans, the early issue — aside from how quickly Tebow’s hair grows back, of course — is the three-way quarterback comparison. They have heard the drumbeat from McDaniels that Orton is well ahead of Tebow and Brady Quinn. They have heard the testimonials to Orton from his teammates. Some have even trucked down to Dove Valley to see for themselves.
Barring an injury to Orton, the preseason will provide the fullest tryout the backups are likely to get for a while. Even as Tebow’s legion of fans eagerly awaits his pro debut, more dispassionate NFL hands go down a checklist of questions: Can he make decisions at NFL speed and deliver the ball with accuracy? Will his renovated mechanics hold up with pass rushers in his face? How quickly will he pull it down and run? How successful will his running game be against pro defenders?
Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame quarterback widely expected to be drafted earlier than Tebow but actually drafted later, made his debut the other night for Carolina. He didn’t set the bar too high — 8-of-15 for 80 yards and an interception for a passer rating of 41 — but he didn’t look out of place either, which isn’t bad for a rookie quarterback’s first pro appearance.
Quinn was Clausen three years ago. He is in danger of being inactive on game days this season if McDaniels wants Tebow available to run special packages that cater to his strengths. If Quinn is to be something other than a clipboard holder, he needs to make his case in the preseason.
With their top running backs, two rookie receivers from the draft and the starting left tackle all out with injuries, pretty much anybody who can put the ball in the end zone tonight is going to look good. The Broncos’ offense was middle of the pack last year, and that was before they traded Brandon Marshall, their most productive receiver. Now they’ve got their former coach saying the offense they just dismantled could have taken them to the Super Bowl.
The question the Broncos begin to answer tonight is who steps up to form the next generation of playmakers. Auditions are open.
Dave Krieger: 303-954-5297, dkrieger@denverpost.com or
