Quarterback Kyle Orton #8 of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass against the Cincinnati Bengals at Invesco Field at Mile High on September 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Denver Broncos have waived QB Kyle Orton, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

The decision is financially driven, per the report. The Broncos have no plans to use Orton the rest of the 2011 season with Tim Tebow now starting, and they owe Orton $2.5 million over the remainder of his contract. With injuries to Matt Cassel of the Chiefs, Matt Schaub of the Texans, and Jay Cutler of the Bears, the Broncos are hoping a team will place a waiver claim for Orton, letting them off the hook for the remainder of his contract.

Kansas City and Chicago both loom on the Broncos remaining schedule; if either claims Orton, the Broncos won’t be saying goodbye to their former starter for long.

Mark Sanchez #6 of the New York Jets recovers a fumbled snap in the second quarter against Von Miller #58 of the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Imag

Once again, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow and rookie linebacker Von Miller have been nominated for respective weekly awards on NFL.com.

Tebow, who has gone 4-1 as a starter this season, has been nominated for the GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week.  Tebow led a late game 95-yard drive which Tebow capped off with a twenty-yard scamper that was the go-ahead score in the Broncos 17-13 win over the New York Jets Thursday night.

This is the fourth time Tebow has been nominated for the award this season.  He’s won the award twice, following his Week Seven win over the Dolphins and Week Eleven win over the Chiefs.

Miller, who leads all rookies and AFC players in sacks this season, has been nominated for the Pepsi Rookie of the Week award.  Miller recorded 10 tackles, including nine solo stops, three tackles for a loss and two sacks in the Broncos’ 17-13 victory over Jets. He also added a forced fumble, four quarterback hits and one pass defended.

Miller has been nominated for the award several times this season but has yet to win the award (seven of the ten awards have been given to offensive players).  Miller does however have a good shot of being named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Vote for Tebow at NFL.com/GMC and for Miller at NFL.com/Rookies.

Ryan Parker Songs does it again… after a previous take on Mike Shanahan went viral years back, he’s yodeling Broncos again, this time to the tune of Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.” Lyrics at the link.

Tebowing [Ryan Parker Songs]

Quarterback Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos scrambles away from Ropati Pitoitua #79 of the New York Jets at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Tebow went on to score the game winning touchdown as the Broncos defeated the Jets 17-13. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

After the embarrassing loss to the Lions, I wrote a pretty strong article exclaiming my feelings that Tim Tebow simply wasn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback, and especially proclaiming that I felt it unlikely he would be ready this season or the next. I fully expected Tebow haters to come and hate on me (they did) and take my words deeper than they meant (they did) but no one can deny that my point was that I didn’t think Tebow could consistently win.

Now, 4-1 is a pretty small sample size. Remember the 2009 Broncos that went 6-0. That record made the Kyle Orton haters (me included) doubt their opinions. If we take that record by itself, that team was pretty darned good. Of course, that record doesn’t stand by itself. It takes all sixteen games in a season. We can always drop a couple of outliers. The games where a team had a particularly good or particularly bad day tend to be deviations on how the team will truly perform. And as defenses get more film, things change.

So I’m not standing here before you today, so to speak, to proclaim that I’ve come around and joined the Tebow bandwagon. Not yet, anyway. I am still concerned that we are winning by luck and surprise and that neither of these two elements are keys to long term success.

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The BroncoTalk Staff gathers following each Broncos win to each hand out game balls. Here are the deserved Denverites following the Broncos’ 17-13 win against the Jets Thursday night.

Von Miller

Once again, I have to give my game ball to Von Miller. Now, there are some who say that Miller is going under the radar. This is totally not true. Tonight, he had 9.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks, a pass deflected and a fumble forced. That is the best stat-line he’s had all year, and he’s been having a pretty good season as it is. He is a beast. He is absolutely deserving of the spot he was drafted at and the massive paycheck he is going to be due because of it. I said it last week and I’ll say it again: Miller is the frontrunner for Defensive Rookie of the Year, and after tonight’s performance I think he should be starting to run away with that award. Tebow may have willed the Broncos to win tonight, but Miller’s performance (alongside a Dumervil who has, in the last three games, started returning to his 2009 form) is a big part of what made that happen. – E. Halsey Miles*

*The piece above was written by Earl, but Josh suggested we all go in on this game ball to VM. I couldn’t agree more. One game ball wasn’t enough to emphasize the impact Miller has had this season, let alone in last night’s game. We’ve been doing game balls on BT for years, but I’m pretty sure this is a BT Game Ball first: kudos and thanks, rook, from all of us, a Game Ball each. – The BT Staff

Tim Tebow

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Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos prays during the final minute of the game against the New York Jets at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on November 17, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Garrett W. Ellwood/Getty Images)

A vote of confidence can often be the virtual death sentence for a struggling coach or quarterback in the NFL. If the person in charge has to use words to emphasize what isn’t clear on the field, someone is in trouble.

This is not one of those cases.

The Denver Broncos have found their quarterback of the future, and his name is Tim Tebow. Just ask Pat Bowlen.

From a phenomenal piece by Ian O’Connor on ESPNNewYork.com:

As Elway all but sprinted through the winning locker room, his chest bursting through his suit jacket, he said, “Just give him a chance to win the game.” Asked what it was like to watch Tebow perform an endgame act he himself had mastered, Elway said, “It was great. Awesome.”

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen was heading for a different exit door when he stopped long enough to declare that Tebow would be his man for many moons to come.

“He’s a quarterback, and believe me he’s going to learn,” Bowlen said. “I believe he’ll be a great one. Better keep him around.”

Just like that, the direction in which this franchise is moving is clear. The Broncos will rise or fall with Tebow. They will put up with 55 minutes of terrible stat lines and erratic passes now to capitalize on the magic he produces in a game’s final minutes. They believe those 55 terrible minutes won’t always be part of the equation; they believe that Tim Tebow will get better. They will let him learn, they will mold an offense to his strengths, and they believe he will flourish.

Last night was a pivotal moment for this franchise. If Tebow’s 95-yard comeback truly changed the course of Broncos history, it is indeed worthy of Broncos lore. We just witnessed The Drive 2. The Experiment is over. The Investment has begun.

The Broncos of today are different from the Broncos of yesterday.

Still flying a Mile High after this one, folks. Watch the entire drive here, or check the drive-capping 20-yard touchdown run below.

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow jumps over New York Jets Bart Scott (57) as he carries the ball for eight and half yards in the second quarter of their NFL football game in Denver, Colorado, November 17, 2011. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

The Denver Broncos defense did everything it could to put the football game within reach.

Then Tim Tebow did the rest.

95 yards away from a victory, 55 minutes into a football game in which the offense was completely ineffective, the Broncos quarterback transformed. Three quarters of offensive putridity was forgotten. The statistical shortcomings, irrelevant. All that mattered was the scoreboard: a four-point deficit, and a football field to travel.

The Tim Tebow that started four offensive series in Jets’ territory and had three points to show for it was gone. The Tim Tebow that underthrew and overthrew receivers was history. The Broncos emptied the backfield; they gave Tebow an extra blocker and let him execute an offense the way he knew how. And on a 20-yard run with less than two minutes to play, Tebow dodged a handful of tacklers and ran into the end zone.

“We have a resiliency,” Tebow said. “We have a tough team that’s going to keep fighting for 60 minutes.”

The defense sealed the deal (Orange Sunday remembered — no pass interference this time), and the Broncos went on to win, 17-13.

“I trust him,” Von Miller said, who had two sacks on the night. “I hope he shut up a bunch of critics today.”

The Broncos defense should trust themselves, as well. They hassled and harassed Mark Sanchez to the point of ineffectiveness that rivaled Tebow’s early struggles. Andre Goodman‘s pick-six of Sanchez emphasized the Broncos’ defensive night.

And they played smart, penalty-free football to end the game.

The Broncos have won three straight to move back into .500, and NFL relevance. They’ll face the San Diego Chargers, aiming to complete a season sweep of the AFC West when on the road.

 

Inactives for the 2011 Week 11 Thursday night football game between the Denver Broncos and the New York Jets.

New York Jets: QB Kevin OConnell, WR Jeremy Kerley, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, S Brodney Pool, CB Ellis Lankster, TE Shawn Nelson, DT Martin Tevaseu

Denver Broncos: WR Quan Cosby, DB Rafael Bush, FB Quinn Johnson, G Manny Ramirez, OT Tony Hills, TE Julius Thomas, DE Derrick Harvey.

As expected, Willis McGahee will start. Reports said he “looked limber” in warmups.