Perhaps I am restating the obvious here, but I like to do it. Its a rhetorical device that helps me express my opinions, solidify them and present them for criticism.

One of the current meme's in the analysis of Tebow by the likes of Waddle, Dilfer, Stephen A. Smith, etc... (the talking head haters) is that the wins are not because of Tebow's play but should be attributed to the defense, Matt Prater, etc....

They consistently look for reason's to attribute the team's success to something other than Tebow because they know it can't have anything to do with him. To admit otherwise would be to admit they are wrong. Their ego's won't allow it.

Now of course the team is a part of the wins. Its is after all a team game, but to use that against Tebow is intellectually dishonest.

Tere are a few inconsistencies here....

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Nothing too profound here. Just writing this stream of consciousness style because it at least gives me a quick repository of links that I like. Maybe some of you will enjoy them too.

Here are the highlights from today.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d824baee4/Broncos-vs-Vikings-highlights

I was travelling and listening to the KOA stream. Tebow sounded like he had a good day passing. After I actually saw a few of the passes, I was even more impressed. Accurate, on time. Bazinga!

In the highlight package, Tom "Mayor McDouche" Waddle makes a coherent point. Many of Tebow's passing yards going forward will be from him getting the ball in the hands of playmakers.

Want to know something? That wins games.

You want an offense like the Packers? Go find yourself an Aaron Rodgers. Good luck with that (pay attention John Elway). TJ Yates won a game for the 9 - 3 Texans. Do you really need Aaron Rodgers to win? Doesn't hurt, but its not the only way.

In the meantime we can move forward with a playmaker who is a leader. Good luck finding another one of those. We have one.

So to those who think you need a prototypical passer to win, I submit one, of many, small chains of evidence to the contrary.

Exhibit A: A little snippet on Blaine "I'm chill" Gabbert. Pocket passer, 10th pick in the draft. Tall, rangy. QB material.....sort of.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d8249df34/Sound-FX-Blaine-Gabbert

Exhibit B: A rookie Tim Tebow. Athlete, competitor, leader.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-films-sound-efx/09000d5d81d4ddd8/Sound-FX-Take-a-Te-bow

Exhibit C: I just like to watch this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sGv2Zw-WQw

So which one do you want on your team?

John Elway: Don't F*** this up. I'm not confident at this point that you won't.

First off, I will post the disclaimer that I am not a Tebow hater.  I am a pragmatist with no agenda.  I'd be happy if Tebow was our QB for years to come. He is entertaining and fun to watch.

So while I certainly enjoy the occasional meander into the land of dreams and fantasy, as an avowed skeptic, I prefer to stick to the world of reality.

I don't know if I am the only one seeing this, but while its nice to think we have a happy little storyline going with Tebow, with a nice win streak, being one game out of 1st place, some polite comments by the Bronco brass, etc...

It seems fairly obvious where this is going.

Please correct me if I am wrong or stating the obvious.....

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Most likely I am, hence the desire to solicit input....

So EFX tries to trade Orton and doesn't get it done.  Isn't that a bad thing?  You don't try to trade your #1 QB on a whim. If your going to go all in on that move, you better be pretty sure you can pull it off.  The starting QB is the face of the team.  Trying to trade him is in a sense a vote of no-confidence.

So now we have a starting QB who now knows the organization wants to move on without him......but he's still here!!

Plus, as McGeorge so succintly put in his other post, WE SUCK.  So with a 4 - 6 win season staring us in the face, with a first round QB on the bench, and Andrew Luck on the horizon, how is it not a real problem that Orton was not traded.  It just mean Tebow gets #2 reps for another training camp which does no one any good.

And I am not so certain about the whole, we'll trade him a few weeks in to the preseason.  To whom shall we trade him? Big trades don't go down in the preseason, or during the season for that matter.  The time was now.

So if EFX was holding out for "better value" for Orton I'm not sure that was necessary.  The trade return for Orton is not the linchpin about which this entire rebuilding operation hinges. 2nd rounder or 7th rounder in return, doesn't matter.  We need certainty at the QB position and I believe at this point that failing to trade Orton was nothing but a step in the wrong direction on that front.

What say you?

First, this post really doesn't have a lot of content.  I have been away from MHR since the lockout began just because it seemed like the lockout sapped all emotional interest I had in football.  So this is my way to get my head back in the game (and out of my a**).

But just hear on ESPN that the quick gouge is Hasselbeck goes to SF and Seattle is a nice fit for Orton.

Sounds good to me.

Ok.....lockout over.....let's do stuff!!!!

I know it's draft season and all, but this is a topic that has been on my mind of late after seeing how the latest Super Bowl played out.

We of course have our own QB controversy and there are tons of ways to analyze the QB's on our roster.

But after watching the Super Bowl and doing some fine, academic level research on that website oracle, Wikipedia, I came to the realization that there is one fairly obvious metric by which to judge our QB's.

It might be obvious, but I think there is no denying it is accurate.

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Welcome to that period of the NFL offseason where Mock Drafts and player evaluation reigns.

I must say I am thankful for the NFL Network and all the draft talk because otherwise we would all be stuck watching college basketball on TV.  I think I would rather gouge my eyes out with hot pokers and follow it with a nice sea water rinse than watch that (am I the only one who thinks regular season college basketball is about the worse thing ever?).

Anyhow, I have an opinion that I would like to have sharpened by the bright minds here at MHR.  

There is a lot of talk about whether the Broncos should trade down from #2 or not.

My opinion is that its not even worth discussing.....

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There are a lot of opinions showing up on the board today.  A loss of this magnitude no doubt brings them out of the woodwork.  I think the reactionary "fire this guy" or "bench this guy" really aren't good comments.  They are reactionary and the NFL is a league where you need to make judgments based on trends and not single data points.

Here are some thoughts from a Bronco's fan living on the east coast in "Patriots Nation".

1.  I am an optimist about the future of the Bronco's but I think there are some things that are becoming apparent.  Josh McDaniel's has the right strategy, but it would appear that his tactics aren't leading to good results.  He wants to build a team based on solid character, toughness and modern offensive schemes.  I think these are all great things to have the team aspire to.  But we are obviously still not there and this loss I guess would lead us to believe that we are farther away than we would hope.

2.  My fear about McDaniel's is this (and I attribute this line of thinking to another poster who made the point).  I am afraid that he may not ultimately be successful here, but will learn all the lessons needed to make him a good coach somewhere else.  The question is ultimately how long does he have to show results.  We haven't seen them this year.....yet.

Does anyone know what's going on with Demaryius Thomas?  I know he has a "foot injury".  But he has been out a while.

I know he is supposed to play this week and all, but I haven't heard much in the way of detail.  

Is this a potential nagging injury or is the original injury just taking a while to heal?

I think it's kind of important.  I am pretty supportive of all of this year's draft picks and like Thomas's potential.  But if this injury thing keeps up, then that is a real problem

Like many, I was one of those who did not want us to pick Tebow in this draft (at least not very early).

But that was when our only first round pick was at number 11.  I think McDaniels played a pretty clever game and turned our set of 6 picks that included one first rounder into a set of 6 picks with two first rounders.  It was like creating a first round pick out of thin air!

So given that we picked a pretty solid player with the first, first-rounder, I have less angst about picking Tebow in the first round.  If he doesn't pan out, its not like we gave up much of anything.  

Here is what we started the draft with:

1  11(11)

2  11(43) 

2  13(45)

3  16(80)

4  16(114)

5  6(137)

6  14(183)

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I haven't seen much talk on here about Brady Quinn.  What's going on in Broncoland regarding him?

Seems like the recent QB acquisitions by Cleveland leave him as a low hanging fruit that we could snap up.  It also seems like a no-brainer to throw Cleveland a 5th or 6th rounder to get him.  He has all the physical tools and it appears fairly obvious that Cleveland has had QB development issues.  If we need a QB of the future, why not take a shot at a guy that has started in the league and has a lot of upside.

Are the Broncos waiting out Cleveland to see if they release him?  I just haven't heard much news.

Some interesting happenings today.   I see there are two camps in all of this.

1. Those who think McDaniels is being petty and perhaps picking on players who are not his. These folks wish Shanahan was still here or that McDaniels would be fired (go read the Denver Post forums).

2. Those who like the fact McDaniels is holding players accountable.

I put myself in the second camp. I think a lot of this comes from how McDaniels saw Belichek handle stuff in New England.  If your not on board with the program and willing to do work (like a BDawk for example), then you are not wanted.

And all I have to say about that is, the Pats won three super bowls, nearly a fourth and pulled off an 18-1 season in this decade.

Shanahan won a single playoff game and threw away dollar upon dollar on wasted draft picks and free agent busts (most who had attitude issues).

I’ll take my chances with the Patriot Way (hopefully soon to be the Bronco Way).