Tim Tebow: Kyle Orton Still Worthy of Starting Job in Denver

The Denver Broncos are bad. Okay, that's not exactly new news. After all, this is a team fresh off of the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft. Even in the parity driven NFL, a No. 2 draft pick one year doesn't indicate much of a chance the next year.

But before the Tim Tebow chants grow too loud, Denver fans have to ask themselves, is Kyle Orton the problem here?

Through four weeks, here are Orton's average numbers:

Completions/Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
21.25/35.5	236.25	2	1.5

I'll admit that the interception total is a little high. Actually, it's higher than I expected. It's especially high when you consider that Orton is a veteran quarterback that should be better than that at this point. Still, would Tim Tebow be doing any better?

Through only four weeks of NFL play, the Broncos are two games back of the Chargers for the AFC West lead. They still play San Diego two more times this season, including this Sunday in San Diego.

As ESPN's Bill Williamson suggests in this AFC West Blog, the time for a change may well be after this week, assuming Denver loses to the Chargers on Sunday. That would take the Broncos into the bye week with a 1-4 record. They would also be trailing the Chargers by three games and the Raiders by at least one, with losses to both teams.

Quite frankly, I would be more on board with that, although I would still say that Denver should wait a few weeks before "Tebow Time."

The logic is sound. The Broncos have a bye after the Chargers game. So, if you're going to voluntarily make a quarterback change, the bye week is a good time to do it.

But that would just be scapegoating Orton, who's actually been a good quarterback for the team. No, he doesn't remind anyone of Tom Brady, but he consistently puts up numbers that should be good enough to win.

Apart from the quality of their opponents, the Broncos don't win for three reasons:

1) They turn the ball over too much.

2) They don't run it well.

3) They don't stop anyone on defense when they need to.

Only one of those is really Orton's fault. If the Broncos are going to go in a different direction at quarterback in 2012, they need to give Orton a chance to play out 2011.

For one, he needs to be given the chance to show his value off—that's only fair. Two, the Broncos need to let him show is value.

Again, I get the logic of bringing him in during the bye, but it doesn't make sense from any other angles. Even with a loss to San Diego, it's still too early to throw in the towel.

Assuming all parties stay healthy, this is a debate that should be resumed after Week 12. After the bye, the Broncos face Miami, Detroit, Oakland, Kansas City, New York (Jets) and the Chargers. After that Chargers game, not this one, is when that change should be made.

The cries for Tebow assume that he's actually the next man in. In this case, it doesn't really make a difference. The same logic would apply to Brady Quinn.

I understand the logic behind benching Orton sooner. If Quinn or Tebow really isn't the quarterback of the future, it's best to know that sooner. But the above scenario would still leave plenty of time to get a sense about whichever one would come in.

I know it's unpleasant to watch a football team struggle so much. The Broncos are a very big deal in Denver, and the last thing the fans want is another 4-12 team that leaves them nothing to build on.

But in Orton, you have the quarterback that gives you the best chance to win. At this point, nothing else should matter.