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Published on 08/15/2009 at Sat Aug 15 06:52.
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Simms Should Start Next Week

Posted Sat Aug 15th by

“He (Orton) made a few mistakes, but we’re not going to go into this thing after the first preseason game and start tailspinning and doing this and that and making knee-jerk reactions.” — Head Coach Josh McDaniel

Consider your disclaimer about knee-jerk reactions acknowledged, Coach. I get why you have to say it… You did pick the wrong guy to start, and that could be seen as an example of your poor judgment and player evaluation skills. However, I don’t care one lick about whether you got it wrong or not. I just want to see the best player starting.

As pointed out before I’m not a huge McDaniel’s fan, so bare with me (I promise I’m through with the sarcastic part of the post)…

I’ll also disclaim up front that I’ve been a big supporter of Chris Simms from the day he was drafted by Tampa. Having lived in Tampa for some years, I always keep updated on their players and I really liked what I saw of this kid when he was there. And when we signed him (back when we had Cutler) I was thrilled to have him as a quality back up with starting experience.

Could that be issue McDaniels is currently struggling with? If he starts Simms, he has to admit he ended up replacing Cutler for a backup, while with Orton he can claim he replaced a starting QB with a starting QB? Seems thin… I, personally, give Josh more credit than that. I think he wants to win more than he wants to save face. So, while I understand his reluctance to appear to be reactionary, I think it would be the wrong move not to reward Simms with a start next week.

Admittedly, a lot of this is my adjustment to McDaniels’ style of coaching. Shanahan had NO problem sitting his starter for a backup for play like this. In fact, we ended up with the running backs we did (including TD) because of his willingness to let the best preseason/practice players start (regardless of their depth chart position). We’ll have to see how McDaniels handles this situation to learn what his philosophy is regarding this.

The most important issue I think we’re dealing with here is style of QB play. McDaniels is clearly looking for a reliable, stable, smart QB that can just deliver the ball to the right target. Orton might have made a few miss-reads or telegraphed his throws last night, and that resulted in picks, but McDaniels might look at some of the risky throws Simms tossed (even though they worked out in his favor last night) and see Orton as the more long-term reliable QB. This is, in fact, the major issue I have with McDaniels in regard to QB philosophy. He would rather have a stable, no-risk guy rather than a gunslinger with some good ole fashion luck. I, on the other hand, would rather have John Elway than Brad Johnson. Both won Super Bowls, mind you, but I just favor the guys that will roll the dice and take the high-risk-high-reward shot on occasion. Elway was that type of QB, so was Plummer (who I liked) and, obviously, Cutler falls into this group. Orton is NOT that kind of QB. Simms is. And this might be his biggest hurdle to overcome in McDaniel’s system.

As I mentioned in my pre-game post, I was pulling for Simms to have a good game. He did. Now the only question is, can he produce enough this preseason to convince McDaniels to let him play his style of game? Only time will tell…

GO BRONCOS!

  • SouthBroncs

    Johnathon- I agree that McD needs to at least consider Simms for the starting job. But I also think that Orton, as the present starter, deserves one more chance- at least to show that the Broncos gave him ample opportunity to keep the starting job. If Orton struggles against Seattle and Simms continues to impress then regardless of the hoopla surrounding the Cutler vs. Orton game with Chicago- Simms deserves the chance to see what he can do with our first stringers. I agree that McD would rather win then prove he’s right about Orton. Seeing Simms play after Orton’s struggles was a welcomed relief. The D looks like it’s improving as well. Go Broncos!!!!

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    The difference is that Orton is a guy who, in theory, should be able to make quick, short passes and play that fast spread offense that McDaniels wants. Good timing and the deep ball doesn’t matter.

    And maybe it’s true that Orton can settle down and play like a pro, but last night he played like a rookie out of college. Simms came in and made a case for himself. I’d love to see Simms get some time with the first team.

    Orton needs to be looking over his shoulder.

  • Fan From Spain

    I also think Orton should get a second chance against Seattle, let the guy get some of that confidence back and feel like a leader. I’d also like to watch Simms against a starting team, but theres time for that.

  • Fan From Spain

    any word on Moreno’s knee??

  • http://bandit Dan Myers

    Kyle Orton made four very bad reads. This was suppose to be a strength.
    Just what Coach McD mentioned “lets not knee-jerk and panic into making changes”. Let the coaches look at the film and make corrections. Kyle still #1
    There was more good in the game then bad. Can Baker play YES. Is the D aggressive YES. Does DJ and Doom love the new YES.

  • roshon2411

    Yeah I agree, Orton is that much better of a QB than Simms to begin with, let alone what happened last night. I think naming a starter before pre-season started was a mistake. I would say give Orton another chance but, Simms really needs to have a shot w/the first tea against others first teams D. If you wait till the end of the preseason, everyone will be pulled.

  • roshon2411

    sorry *Orton isn’t that much better of a QB*

  • http://cdn0.sbnation.com/profile_images/111140/La_La_Mascot.jpg WhidbeyBronco

    “Good timing and the deep ball doesn’t matter.” ??
    Hello? have you seen Randy moss catch a deep ball lately? It’s that threat that opens the underneath up so much!

    The thought sickens me that we’d be changing QB’s already, Orton must get one more chance with the starters… Is it too late to bring Favre in? (kidding)

  • Shawn

    So now we have a quarterback controversy in Denver. The media will love that. After watching that game (delayed, I live in Hawaii) I found that the Defense did pretty well considering the turnovers that kept them on the field.

    Simms kept the defense off the field (well, most of the time). It just seems to me that Orton needs to gain that rhythm that systems quarterbacks have. If a system QB doesn’t have his timing we may be looking at Simms as the starter looking over his shoulder at Brandstater. It is a little early to be jettisoning Orton. The pre season is only too short if you know who your starters are.

  • Rob Bronco

    Okay everyone – wanna feel just a little bit better? The Chargers game tonight is going to be blacked out in San Diego because they didn’t sell out the game. In fact, they haven’t sold out any games except the game againt the Eagles.

    So even if our team sucks (and I’m not saying they do), we have far more loyal fans who are going to show up every Sunday and support the Orange Crush.

    Happy Saturday :)

  • Kawike

    I think that if Simms has solid practices all week and Orton continues to struggle, McDaniels should seriously consider starting Simms, even if its just for next week’s game.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    Actually, the game I’m most looking forward to tonight is the Bears/Bills game. I just love watching Cutler play, so even though he’s not in an orange and blue jersey, I’m still planning on tuning in. Heck, I would have probably watched a few Bucs games if Jake the Snake would have ended up there! :)

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    It’s worth mentioning again, that I thought we had some very GOOD things happen last night despite the Orton Ordeal.

    >> #22 is special. I just feel that electric excitement when he gets the call.

    >> Moreno was showing us some good things before getting injured. He’ll be a big part of our offense.

    >> We got 3 sacks from our starters & Doom still rocks from OLB!

    >> Our starting D-line did a decent job vs the run – hurrah!

    >> Our starting wideouts are solid (even without Marshall).

    >> Marshall was found not guilty. So, if we can get him healthy, we’ll have enough talent between Hillis, Moreno, Marshell, Royal, etc that we might just try playing 100% out of the Wild Cat and skip having a QB. lol

    Can’t wait for Seattle! :)

  • johninbigd

    Orton had one bad game. He had two timing mistakes and one underthrow. Otherwise, the first team offense looked pretty good for a preseason game under a new coach with a new system. Simms looked good running a VERY conservative version of the offense again second- and third-string players. Calling for Simms over Orton is remarkably premature. Chill the heck out, people.

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Jonathan Douglas

    Johninbigd, you’re right. I don’t think anyone is asking for Simms to get anything but a fair shot at starting next week in that preseason game. No one is asking for Orton to be removed from competition at QB… well, I’m asking for that at least.

    I think most fans, myself included, just want to see what Simms can do with the first unit…. and, heck, it’s fair since he did well with the seconds in their first live-fire test.

    I completely agree with you that, the eventual starter should only be decided after both these guys get more chances to prove themselves.

    Let’s see how practice goes this week.

  • broncoNM

    Orton needs to get another shot… it was wk 1 of preseason. Orton should definitely be looking over his shoulder and i would consider the game last night a good ‘wake up call’ for orton. But this is why preseason exists… If orton would have gone out last night and thrown 5 TD’s i dont think anyone would be calling him Elway2. We would be saying “its preseason ill wait till wk 1 to call him the real deal”… Preseason is meaningless and we cant take the highs too high and lows too low. McD named a starter before the preseason but he has made no doubt that it is still a competition. He has always left the door open for simms if Orton didnt play well… i dont think he will hesitate to make the switch.

  • DHB

    Obviously Orton can make throws that we want him to make. After a slow three of four downs, our first series showed that. Orton did make one bad read that cost us a touchdown, simply leading the pass rather than recognizing the zone. My concern is more his continued mistakes. If he can’t bring it back together after one mistake, that’s a problem. That said, McD is known for his QB coaching, and maybe that’s part of it. I do like Simms, but this OFF is going to be UGLY at times no mater who our QB is. Let’s relax and let McD make the choice. No matter which he chooses, when that QB does something dumb they are both going to be reamed for it.

    Any word on Brad(shaw)standar getting some quality time? I know his camp has not been stellar, but he seems like a neat guy. I have a feeling he ma get a bit of the Bradlee VanPelt treatment. Good enough to raise an eyebrow, but not good enough to really make a squad.

    Hillis, Clady, Royal may be one of the best drafts ever for us, and will hopefully shape us for another ten years. Too bad Shanahan had dug too deep a hole for himself to stay with them.

  • Bronco_Lover_Forever

    Lets face reality …. Both Ort & Sim r not NFL caliber qbs.. However, i would like coach Mcd to build us a team like Pitt when they drafted big Ben. One qb immediatley followed by 2 SB as a result of the team being very very well built in all phases of the game starting with kickoff coverage units. Big Ben was drafted # 15 or free agency Kurt Warner would get us to promise land. one more thing the OL we have was built to protect Cutler not run block.

  • http://broncotalk.net Ian Henson

    I thought that Simms would start the 2nd preseason game or Orton would do a quarter, Simms would do two quarters and Brandstater would do the 4th quarter. This was my thinking before the 49ers game.

  • http://BroncoTalk.net Mr.East

    I don’t think Elway should be compared to Cutler in their styles.

    If you want to compare Cutler to anyone it’s Brett Favre. They are similar in more ways imaginable and not just on the field.

  • roshon2411

    It was one pre-season game. He also has under performed in the scrimmage last week, most of training camp and most of his career in Chicago. Again, one 300 yard game in his 33 game career. I don’t quite undertand why Orton should even have a shot at being a starting QB in this league. Other than Denver would he have a shot at starting a QB for anyone else? This is a good offense and I was actually somewhat impressed with McDaniels play calling, yet Orton still couldn’t put points on the board against the 49ers. They’re not exactly the Steelers.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    To be fair, the offense Orton captained was much more complicated than the one Simms saw with the backups. They were throwing every formation at the 49ers and Orton started out strong.

    I think it would do McDaniels and Orton good to simplify the scheme next week and see how Orton handles some base packages, similar to what Simms saw.

  • http://broncotalk.net Ian Henson

    In my podcast I said that this was inevitable, given that the depth on the Broncos with their second team is comparable to their first team. That being the case, the team is playing against a second and third string 49ers team– of course Simms is going to look better.

    My general feeling is that McDaniels held back on his play calling, giving away scheme, but not plays and relied much more heavily on the pass with Orton at the helm.

  • http://www.dbaumgartner.com daveb

    Simms looked good…against the second an third stringers with a SIMPLE game plan. I like him…but this post is a joke! Jonathan wants to watch Cutler…go watch him and stop posting on a BRONCO site…makes me want to stop reading this blog altogether. This is just bad, weak analysis. This blog is so much better than this. Why do you allow this joker to keep writing? Bring back the top guns.

  • Jason

    daveb,
    I understand your angst and I am shooting for supportive, outsider-looking-in view of the new Broncos’ regime ;however, there are many ways to view these things and writers should reflect the various views.

    Otherwise, I do disagree with many views of the “poor” play of Orton. The 1st interception was a good play on the ball, the defender started left and changed his mind the instant Qrt threw the ball.

    The 3rd was just thrown slightly low with a great play from the safety but otherwise was a good read.

    The 2nd interception was a bad read from what I could see.

    Ultimately there were things he could have done to avoid the 1st and 3rd INTs – looking off the coverage (admittedly with little time) and hitting the underneath route for a short pickup, respectively.

    Orton just needs to stop telegraphing his passes and locking onto receivers (just as Cutler did) and that will come with time and understanding of the system.

    What Sims did was nice but ultimately unimpressive, his WRs were wide open and the ‘9ers depth looked weak in all defensive aspects.

  • Fan From Spain

    I like how McD just ran it 3 or even 4 times straight
    can’t w8 for the Seattle game

  • http://www.broncotalk.net Josh Temple

    On a similar note to what Ian said above, I thought we called too many pass plays in the red zone when Orton was running the offense. The defense knew that was coming and made the adjustment. They should’ve put Hillis in there to at least present the threat of pounding the ball up the middle.

  • http://www.obsessedwithsports.com Kircus Made My Sub

    Orton doesn’t have the arm strength for this offense.

  • OC Bronco

    Jonathan,
    You call the coach out for poor judgment and site starting Orton as an example. Give me a break. If Simms outplays him fine but he hasn’t taken a snap in 2 years and you think he should be the starter?!?
    You finish by comparing Elway to Plummer and Cutler. Late in his career Elway was far from a gunslinger and that’s when he got his rings. Plummer Cutler and Favre might fit this category but let’s stop making poor comparisons and let this thing play out after they’ve completed 4 weeks of preseason.

  • rcsodak

    Hillarious how people think last night’s game meant anything. What’s belichek’s preseason record?
    McD was playing situational playcalling.
    McD was checking out different player groupings.
    McD was grading player development.

    Good grief, kids. Step back, rub your sleepy eyes, and slap yourselves awake!

  • Tom9798

    Chris Simms should start from here on out . . . period.

    He showed more poise and command the whole time he played . . . ended up 11-17 for 142 yards and two touchdowns with a QB rating of a gozillion . . . (actually something around 130) . . . .

    His first touchdown to Putzier was identical to the one Tom Brady threw in the Pat’s game . . . (just not as pretty) . . .

    His two-point play should have been a mirror . . . always a fade to the outside . . . never over the middle . . . too much traffic . . .

    Simms ended with 142 yds. But should have had 178 yds. . . . . we won’t discuss the passes that were dropped that should have been caught but weren’t because of the zip on the ball . . . and please no crap about the spin from a lefty . . .

    The receiver’s were used to the marshmallows that Orton was floating out there for anyone to catch . . .

    Orton looked like he read Cutler’s book, “Just throw it and someone will catch it.”

    People seem to forget that Simms played with a ruptured spleen and still almost had the Buc’s in the playoffs . . . .

    This guy was a steal! . . . and the obvious choice from here on out . . . . T