Posted by Andy Benoit

Philadelphia’s decision to promote offensive line coach Luis Castillo to defensive coordinator has stunned plenty of folks.

Maurice Jones-Drew admitted his mistake in spouting off about Jay Cutler.

Sam Bradford got a haircut. Mixed reviews.

Raheem Morris finished second to Bill Belichick in Coach of the Year voting.

Jared Gaither’s people met with the Ravens, but they’re not close on agreeing to a long-term deal at this point.

Take that, NFL! An AP poll reveals that a majority of fans would rather NOT have an 18-game regular season.

One guy who knows quarterbacks pretty well says the Panthers shouldn’t dump Jimmy Clausen just yet.

Jay Cutler wasn’t the only Bear who took a pain injection before the NFC title game. Brian Urlacher got one, as well.

John Elway says it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Broncos will trade Kyle Orton.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The Arizona Republic has come up with an interesting way to determine who will be the Cardinals starting quarterback next season.

After the disaster of last season – Derek Anderson, Max Hall and John Skelton all spent some time at starting QB – the Cardinals undoubtedly will be looking for a way to upgrade that position this offseason.

The newspaper has come up with (for-entertainment-purposes-only) odds to try to figure out who will take over next season, and there are some intriguing names on that list.

Including Ravens backup QB Marc Bulger (2-to-1), Denver's Kyle Orton (8-1), Philadelphia's Kevin Kolb (15-1), Washington's Donovan McNabb (150-1) and former Titans QB Vince Young (1,000-1). Interestingly, the paper believes one of three rookies who have declared for the draft – Cam Newton, Ryan Mallett and Blaine Gabbert – has a better chance of starting at 70-1 than Hall does at 100-1.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The latest prop bets from bodog.com (playoff and offseason edition):

Who will be the starting QB for Carolina Game 1 of the 2011 regular season?

Free Agent QB 11/10

Jimmy Clausen 2/1

Matt Moore 5/2

A 2011 Draft Pick QB 6/1

Here’s what new coach Ron Rivera said today when asked if Clausen was his starter going into next season: “You assume right now until you find that other guy to come in and compete... He is a young man with some talent and some abilities and we have to be sure the guy who comes in as the coordinator as well as the quarterbacks coach understand that.” I think Clausen will get every chance to start next season, and I think he’ll be OK enough in the preseason to earn the starting nod for Week 1. And maybe not much longer after that.

Who will be on the Bengals roster for game 1 of the 2011 regular season?

Chad Ochocinco only 3/2

Terrell Owens only 5/1

Both Ochocinco & Owens 3/1

Neither Ochocinco & Owens 3/2

I don’t think Owens will be there at all. Since Marvin Lewis will return as coach, I can see Ochocinco coming back for another season as well (despite the fact he’s still “mopey”). But I don’t think he will. So, I’d go with neither.

Who will be the starting QB for Denver Game 1 of the 2011 regular season?

Tim Tebow 1/1

Kyle Orton 3/2

Other 3/1

It has to be Tebow, doesn’t it? Isn’t it written in the stars or something?

Will Michael Vick be an Eagle Game 1 of the 2011 regular season?

Yes -700

No +400

Yes. As the team’s franchise tag.

Will Kevin Kolb be an Eagle Game 1 of the 2011 regular season?

Yes +150

No  -200

Yes. As a well-compensated backup.

Who will Nnamdi Asomugha sign with?

Dallas Cowboys 6/1

Baltimore Ravens 7/1

Green Bay Packers 15/2

Jacksonville Jaguars 15/2

Detroit Lions 9/1

Houston Texans 10/1

Philadelphia Eagles 10/1

Denver Broncos 12/1

Oakland Raiders 15/1

Any Other Team 2/3

No idea. You’re on your own for this one.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Kyle Orton had a pretty good year, all things considered. Sure he got replaced (against his will) by Tim Tebow late in the season, but early on he was pacing Dan Marino's single-season passing record and he ended up as a top-10 quarterback in terms of passing yards on the season.

But there's a little bit of a revolution going on in Denver, and it seems like Tebow's the guy of the future, if not for football reasons, then certainly because it's good for business.

Mike Klis of The Denver Post agrees and believes the team will try to trade Orton, and they'll look for a second-round draft pick in return.

The question then becomes: is Kyle Orton better than Jake Locker? Or maybe: is Kyle Orton better than Jimmy Clausen?

Okay, that's unfair to Locker, but remember that Clausen was nabbed by the Panthers in the second round of last year's draft -- if they'd been able to trade that pick for Kyle Orton, 2010 would have panned out quite differently.

All of that is to say, with an abundance of teams seeking a quarterback to perhaps put them over the top, Orton could present a pretty valuable commodity.

Which is beyond fascinating, considering that just a few weeks ago, the most likely path for Denver to take was propping up Tebow's trade value and dealing him off.

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Posted by Will Brinson

The Broncos are just 1-2 since Eric Studesville took over as head coach, but it's a pretty "good" 1-2, especially since the one win was a miracle comeback with Tim Tebow at the helm.

And it appears that Studesville's record has earned him a chance to interview for the full-time head coaching gig with Denver.

Mike Klis of The Denver Post cites confirmation from "several team officials" regarding Studesville's interview opportunity and also points out that under the interim coach, the team's identity has taken a turn for the better.

That's certainly a good point, although it's not hard to quietly go about business and create a better identity than Josh McDaniels brought to the organization.

Studesville has also handled some fairly delicate decisions during his three games (Tebow starting over Kyle Orton, rookie Perrish Cox getting arrested for sexual assault) and appears to be satisfied with the job he's done.

"Certainly in our business the won-loss record is the bottom line," Studesville said. "I feel like I've put every bit of myself into this opportunity. I don't regret a moment. I don't regret a decision."

However, his performance in 2010 may be moot, especially if the Broncos, as expected, sign John Elway to a front-office position.

A new regime bent on changing the culture and bringing back old-school Denver football (whatever that exactly means, who knows, but it involves Super Bowl wins and the 90's I believe) would probably be polite enough to talk with Studesville, but it would probably require no other big-name candidates emerging in the "deliberate" search they plan to conduct for the interim to land the gig full-time.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Lost in all the Tim Tebow hype over the past week or so are the feelings of one Kyle Orton, who performed admirably as the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, before being benched for the Chosen One in Week 15.

Orton, not surprisingly, isn't happy about how things went down.

"I'd love to play it out," Orton said per Jeff Legwold of The Denver Post. "It wasn't my decision. There was nothing I could do.

The way it was presented to me was [Tebow will] be the starter the rest of the season and that's just how it goes."

There's an obvious reason for Tebow starting -- the Broncos want to see what they have in the rookie before heading into 2010.

It didn't particularly seem like the smartest decision, but it's hard to argue with Tebow's production against the Raiders. And given the possibility that he could put pretty good numbers against a poor Texans pass defense on Sunday, it's highly likely that the former first-rounder could end up seeing a spike in value both for Denver and any other organization that might be interested in acquiring his talents.

Winning games is the ultimate end goal for any team, obviously, but the Broncos are eliminated anyway, and it's not as if Orton's record as a starter (although it wasn't necessarily his fault) this year was worth completely sitting on Tebow for the rest of the season.

Plus, we can't ever forget that the NFL is a business, and if you're selling Tim Tebow jerseys, well, business is good right now. With Broncos fans clamoring to see the guy they shelled out big merchandise cash for, it's even more explicable that Denver wants to put him on the field.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Tim Tebow is going to get his first NFL start this Sunday.

That's according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, who says the Broncos plan to make Tebow their starting quarterback for Sunday's matchup in Oakland.

It's a stunning move made not-quite-as-stunning because of the events that led up to this game. Kyle Orton's dealing with a "rib injury" (or something), and Eric Studesville refused to mention that Tebow would start on Wednesday (and then refused to say it again on Friday, even though Orton was limited).

In other words, provided the Broncos eventually make this official and give Tebow the nod (sometime later Saturday seems like the right moment), we're looking a new era in Denver. Or something -- Tebow could go down in flames like Denver's season and become completely untradable. Of course, it's just as likely that he torches the Raiders and then subsequently the Texans, becomes a franchise quarterback and brings championship football back to Denver.

Okay, that's not quite as likely. But Tebow starting adds a bit of spice to a game that appeared a touch bland before Sunday's action began.

Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz preview Broncos-Raiders


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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

For the third-straight day, Broncos QB Kyle Orton was limited at practice and watched Tim Tebow run most of the first-team offense. At this point, it seems more likely than not that Tebow would start Sunday’s tilt vs. the Raiders.

Denver coach Eric Studesville isn’t confirming it, though.

"At this point in time we haven't made any decisions," Studesville told reporters today, as recorded by the Denver Post.

Even if Orton gets the minimum amount of work Saturday, he knows the offense well enough where coaches wouldn’t be concerned with starting him with almost no practice. That, of course, is not the issue. The issue is whether his ribs feel well enough to play.

Naturally, the Broncos will wait until the very last minute before they have to decide if Orton can take the field. But at this point, Orton fans can’t be too optimistic. And Tebow fans likely are pretty darn excited.

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