Kyle Orton Already Getting to Work in Denver, Will Battle Chris Simms for QB Job

Less than a day after being traded to the Denver Broncos, Kyle Orton was already getting acquainted with his new teammates and working out in Denver, clean shave and all.

Broncos fans will see Orton don the No. 8 jersey, as his No. 18 jersey, which he has worn since college, is retired in Denver for Broncos legend Frank Tripuka.

The Denver Post reports that Orton flew into Denver on Friday morning, met with top receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, and spent several hours meeting with head coach Josh McDaniels as well as the other coaches.

Whine and gripe about the acquisition of Orton all you want, but he is getting a head start to helping this team win, and win now.

"I couldn't wait to get out here and get to know the guys first and foremost," Orton said in his first interview since the trade. "And then dive headfirst into learning a new system."

Make no mistake about it, Denver's new quarterback is not nearly as physically gifted as Jay Cutler, but he seems more focused on the goal all players should have:  winning football games. 

Orton knows who he is, and he doesn't plan on veering away from that one bit.  He realizes the amount of scrutiny he will receive from Denver's fans.

"I've taken the same approach my entire career, and that is, my job description is to win football games," he said. "And I've done a pretty good job of that and I plan to keep that up. I'm a hard worker. I'm not flashy by any means but my job is to play football and win and I plan to do that."

I was a huge Cutler fan when he wore Bronco blue, but now that he has left, I have had time to reflect, and not once do I ever remember him taking that approach. 

McDaniels says that Orton will battle it out with Chris Simms to be Denver's starter come opening day this season.

Simms is a southpaw who has spent time in Tampa Bay and Tennessee in his five year NFL career.  Injuries have derailed his career in the NFL, but early on, Simms was considered to be a starting quarterback at this level.

Addressing Mark Sanchez

Denver Broncos head coach said drafting a quarterback would be approached just the same as any other situation Denver could face on draft day.  If the player is going to help the team win, they will take him.

However, McDaniels is not going to give away Denver's draft plans, and keeping Sanchez in the mix opens up a ton of other windows for Denver.

In all likelihood, any trade involving Jay Cutler would not have involved a quarterback if Denver intended on using a high draft pick this year on a signal caller as well.  As it stands, Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and likely a late round draft pick will come into camp as the quarterback group. 

I really like Curtis Painter in the later rounds, as he fits the mold of a McDaniels type of quarterback perfectly.

So to all of you so called draft "experts" out there, the Denver Broncos trading up for Mark Sanchez makes little to no sense, as the Broncos have many more glaring needs on the defensive side of the ball at this point.  Not to mention a much stronger class of quarterbacks will be available in 2010. 

If in fact Denver was interested in moving up for Sanchez, they would have required Chicago to add in a second round draft pick as opposed to Kyle Orton that they could use as trade bait.  With 11 picks in the draft, Denver is currently set up very nicely to rebuild their defense.

So, clean shaven and all, Kyle Orton will probably and likely end up as Denver's starting quarterback.  Forget Jay Cutler for a second. 

Kyle Orton is joining an offense that features a dominant pass protecting line, and weapons like Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Jabar Gaffney, Chad Jackson, Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, Peyton Hillis, Correll Buckhalter, J.J. Arrington, Ryan Torain, and LaMont Jordan.

Oh yeah, did I mention that they have 11 picks in the draft too?

While the Broncos are clearly in some sort of rebuilding mode, it doesn't appear as though they will be set back as much as many football fans think they will.  Tell me I'm drinking too much "Kool Aid", or whatever, but I am happy with Kyle Orton as our quarterback.  His sole purpose is to win games, and I can't wait to see him prove his doubters wrong.