Tim Tebow vs. Kyle Orton: 5 Reasons Orton Beats Tebow for Starting Gig

Well it's been a couple of weeks into training camp, and Kyle Orton remains the front man in the Denver Broncos offense.

And, despite all the Tim Tebow hype, he's been lacking, while Orton has been solid.

In an article by Gregg Rosenthal of profootballtalk.com, Orton appears to be running away with the QB competition:

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"The hope for Tebow loyalists in Denver and beyond is that Tebow is a “gamer” that will play better in game conditions. With the preseason yet to start, Saturday’s Broncos scrimmage was our best chance yet for the quarterbacks to perform in game action.  Tebow didn’t help his case."

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Even Brady Quinn outplayed the former Heisman Trophy winner, but Quinn took the majority of his snaps with the No. 3 offense against the No. 3 defense.

Although this may still be a quarterback race, the following reasons play well into Orton's hand.

Experience

Orton has been in the league since 2005 and has been placed in many different situations.

His rookie year, he was thrust into the starter's role after Rex Grossman was injured. Although he wasn't overly productive, he went 10-5 as a rookie starter.

He then was bumped down to third string in 2006, sitting behind a healthy Grossman and Brian Griese.

Then in 2008, Orton was in a quarterback competition with Grossman and won. Orton was rather productive throughout the 2008 season but was traded to Denver in the following offseason.

2009 proved to be his best season yet, as he threw for over 3,800 yards and 21 touchdowns.

A reason why Tebow could be struggling is because he's never had to compete for a starting role like he has in Denver. When at Florida, he was behind senior Chris Leak as a freshman and still earned a significant amount of playing time. Thereafter, he was the Gators man—until the NFL came along.

And the NFL is a whole new ballgame.

Decision Making

Since Orton's rookie season, he's been gradually improving each year.

And, even though 2010 was his worst record as a starter (going 3-10), he still put up over 3,600 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and only nine picks.

Not to mention it was the lowest interception total of his career and the best quarterback rating of his career.

As for Tebow, yes, he still has a lot to learn. Earning only three starts from 2010 isn't enough evidence to break down his NFL game.

However, in college he had the tendency to take off running sooner than anticipated and also held on to the rock a bit too long at times.

This also plays into the types of college systems both ran while in school, as we see on the next slide.

College System

Tim Tebow had much greater success in college than Kyle Orton, but one thing that goes in Orton's favor was his system.

Now, although Orton's may not have been a signature pro-style offense, it was more NFL-esque than what Tebow played in at Florida.

For one, Tebow remained a dual-threat throughout his college days, and multidimensional quarterbacks win a lot of college games.

He would have a read-option where he could hand it off, pull it, then go into the option phase.

Then, while in the option phase, Tebow had the choice of pitching it, keeping it or throwing it on the jump-pass to a target down field.

That won't win you a Super Bowl in the NFL.

As for Orton, he played as a pocket-passer at Purdue and actually tied Drew Brees for the most passing yards in a single game (522).

Toughness

We all know how tough and hard-nosed Tim Tebow is.

He showed it all through college and will definitely remain that way in the NFL.

Kyle Orton, however, isn't well-known for his toughness, despite having a lot of it.

From a mental perspective, he battled at first, second and third string while in Chicago and never complained about being benched.

The same occurred last season, when he was benched the final three games of the season.

As for his physical toughness, he was sacked 34 times last season (most of his career), and he never once blamed his teammates.

Leading us to the final reason: leadership.

Leadership

Everyone is well aware of how great a leader Tim Tebow is.

He arguably the greatest leader in the history of college football and even had a quote plaqued to the wall on the Gators campus.

Well, Kyle Orton is just as great a leader, despite not being so vocal. You never hear him complain or downgrade anyone on the team. He always produces solid results and welcomes any challenge put on the table.

And it's not that Tebow doesn't.

It just goes more overlooked when people think of Orton—because he's not Tebow.

Tebow was the face of college football for what seemed like forever, while Orton was still establishing himself as a productive NFL quarterback.

So now it's Orton's turn in the spotlight, and the Broncos need him if they want a shot at turning some heads come time for the Autumn Wind.