Posted by Eye on Football Staff

INDIANAPOLIS -- The issue of starting quarterback in Denver was one of great intrigue, until John Fox decided to put it to bed in his first NFL combine news conference (ever!) on Thursday.

Asked about Tim Tebow and the possibility of trading Kyle Orton away, Fox quickly pointed out that Orton's currently the starter.

"As far as I’m concerned, he’s under contract and he's the starting QB for the Denver Broncos," Fox said. "Kyle Orton is our starter."

Fox also said that Tebow has "intangibles," which is a polite way of saying "he's a great leader and not a great quarterback."

All of this can change by the time that the season starts (IF it starts, of course) and it's possible that Tebow could make leaps and bounds during the offseason that get him a shot at starting.

But Fox isn't coming into Denver just to try and develop players -- he wants to win games too. And Orton, more so than Tebow, probably gives him the best chance to win right now.

Another interesting note from Fox's media conference involved the running game.

"You need two good players at running back," Fox said, pointing out that a "commitment to run" involves more than one talented running back.

It's unlikely the Broncos will burn the No. 2 overall pick on someone to pound the rock, but it's also not unreasonable that Knowshon Moreno will get some help in the backfield come 2011.

Fox also complimented his boss, John Elway, who's been prominently featured on Twitter, scooping every reporter in the Denver area.

"This isn't a P.R. move," Fox said of Elway. "He's burning the midnight oil. He's working hard. He's very willing to learn."

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

New Broncos coach John Fox, at least when he was in Carolina, seemed to favor using veteran players instead of rookies.

That just seems to be his coaching philosophy (and you could see why, perhaps, with the play last season of Jimmy Clausen and the fact Fox called upon a guy who had been out of the league the week before (Brian St. Pierre) instead of starting rookie Tony Pike).

But, in Denver, with a second-year player in QB Tim Tebow – especially if the wonderkid has the support of the Broncos front office and John Elway – Fox might want to use him instead of solid veteran Kyle Orton.

Orton, you’ll recall, got off to a hot start last season (he was among the passing leaders at one point with a ridiculous number of passing yards), but he fell off a little bit and then missed the last three games because of injury and Tebow-itis.

When asked by the Denver Post about playing in Denver next season, Orton said, "Don't know, to be honest with you. Everybody can make choices. I'm happy. I've been playing as good as I ever have."

If Elway and Fox really feel like Tebow is the way they want to go, it should be noted that Orton would make pretty good trade bait.

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Posted by Will Brinson



In one of the most astonishing developments in the history of the NFL and overhyped music awards shows, it turns out that Tim Tebow is actually the frontman for indie/folk/rock band Mumford & Sons*!

The Twitter world exploded with this news when it broke live on CBS, and the image was captured by the always alert Jose3030 on Twitpic.

And what a fantastic moment for the youngster Tebow, as he got to perform with not only North Carolina's own Avett Brothers but the legendary Bob Dylan as well.

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*This is obviously not true, but it was a slow Sunday in NFL land, alright???

Posted by Will Brinson



Got a link for the Hot Routes? Hit us up on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL).

• So, the Panthers, according to Steve Reed of Carolina Growl, are apparently going to run the Chargers offense next year. This isn't surprising given how much success San Diego had on the offensive end, and the fact that Ron Rivera and Rob Chudzinski are now in town. Three problems stand out though. The Panthers don't have 1) Philip Rivers, 2) Antonio Gates, or 3) Norv Turner. 

• Want the real story behind Aaron Rodgers' WWE championship belt? The National Football Post has you covered.

• Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports is whipping through a Top-40 list of NFL Draft prospects. Ryan Mallett (who checks in at No. 37) is at one point called a "statue with a cannon attached," if that makes you feel good about your team maybe drafting him. It shouldn't.

• The Dolphins have reworked Will Allen's contract so he can stay with the team in 2011, according to his agent Drew Rosenhaus.

• Ray Horton, newly of the Arizona Cardinals, wants to run an "aggressive, downfield defense" in his new home.

• Cam Newton's Tim Tebow-like media party is underway, starting today at 1:00 PM EST in San Diego. Weeeeeee!

• Yowza. It's going to cost about $12.5 million for the Ravens to franchise Haloti Ngata. As Jamison Hensley points out, Baltimore can thank Dan Snyder for giving Albert Haynesworth that fatty contract, since last year, defensive tackles got $7 million.

• Speaking of franchise tags, it looks like Vincent Jackson of the Chargers could be in line for one too. But he's fine with that and will play. Since, you know, it means more than $10 million next year.

• Good read by Tom Friend of ESPN on what's become of William "The Fridge" Perry.

• Luis Deloureiro of the Fifth Down takes a look at whether or not Ben Roethlisberger is already a lock-job Hall of Famer.

Posted by Will Brinson

We made our way to the Playboy Super Bowl party at the Bud Light Hotel last night, and we ran into a few celebrities.

Not gonna lie -- there were a lot of celebs at the Playboy party. But the best interview we pulled, in my humble opinion, was Brandon Lloyd of the Denver Broncos.

Lloyd's obviously stoked about his current situation -- he went from being a receiver who'd never topped 750 yards in a single season (his high was 733 in 2005 with the Niners) to one of the most prolific wideouts in the NFL in 2010 as he piled up 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns for Denver.

We chatted with him about John Fox coming into Denver, Josh McDaniels leaving (and what he can do for St. Louis), Tim Tebow's leadership in the huddle and why he's succeeded so late in his career.

Posted by Will Brinson

DALLAS -- Tim Tebow's been fairly low-key throughout the end of the 2010 season. He dazzled Denver fans with strong performances against Houston and San Diego (513 passing yards, 121 rushing yards and five total touchdowns), but he hasn't been seen or heard from in the media too frequently since.

Perhaps that's because the Broncos organization has been busy either tweeting or hiring John Fox as their new head coach.

On Thursday night, Tebow did speak with a slew of Dallas-area high school athletes at Nike Victory Dallas. (He, Ndamukong Suh, Marshall Faulk and Joe Haden were answering questions from the athletes in attendance and discussing the Monday release to the public of Nike's Zoom Alpha Talon cleats.)

I caught up with him following the event to quickly inquire about the coaching change in Denver and how much he felt it would affect him.

Tebow, always the optimist, seemed especially enthralled about the possibility of working with Fox in Denver.

"I like [Fox's hiring]," Tebow told CBSSports.com "We had a really good relationship leading all the way through the combine and leading up to the Draft.

We had dinner a few times together and and I really enjoyed being able to get to know him. It's really cool how things can sometimes work out, you know? Who knew after I got drafted by Denver that he would be my head coach?"

[More Super Bowl coverage]

Fox certainly didn't know either, even if his fate in Carolina was sealed before Week 1 began. His challenge now becomes maintaining a system that will allow the Broncos' first-rounder to continue to develop as an NFL quarterback. Tebow believes the transition will be fairly seamless, and that Fox's retention of several Denver coaches from the Josh McDaniels era will lend an aura of familiarity to the 2011 rendition.

"It's exciting for me, because we're going to have a very similar offense," Tebow told CBSSports.com "Some things will change, but a lot of it will be the same because we're going to have the same offensive coordinator. There's a different quarterbacks coach but he was the wide receivers coach so I know him already.

"That's going to make it easier as far as the transition, because I don't have to learn a whole new offense," Tebow said. "Pretty much the core of it's going to be the same so that's going to be really nice."

Again, that's the Tebow the optimist talking. But maybe it makes sense to expect a smooth transition. After all, while people have pointed to the possibility of Kyle Orton starting next season, Tebow talents might actually make more sense in the type of system that Fox feels more comfortable running.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Earlier, we told you about the introductory news conference of new Browns coach Pat Shurmur and how he was mostly dry and matter of fact.

By contrast, new Broncos coach John Fox, in his introductory presser this afternoon, spit out a few one-liners, smiled easily and seemed awfully comfortable in his new element. In effect, he looked confident. Like he’s the guy who can turn around the organization. Like he’s the one – and maybe the only one – who could make it happen.

He certainly convinced John Elway of that.

“I’m excited,” Elway said before introducing Fox. “I really feel like we got our guy. He’s a dynamic leader. A guy that has energy and a guy that gets the most out of his players.”

To prove that, Elway said he received text messages from Fox's former players who told him how much they loved playing for Fox. Meanwhile, Fox said he was excited to start over after a forgetful 2010 in Carolina. And he looked the part.

“I wanted to jump back in and erase (2010),” Fox said. “It’d be no different if I was here and we finished with that same record. I’d be just as enthusiastic.”

There’s also the Tim Tebow question. How would Fox use him? Would they get along?

Turns out, Fox got to know him during last year’s lead-up to the Draft, and when the two went out to dinner, Tebow offered to pick up the check. Tebow, Fox said, is the only pre-draft player ever to offer that.

“I had a great privilege to meet with Tim Tebow and have dinner with him,” Fox said. “I had a great connection with him. I had a great talk with him (Thursday). The guy is a player. I’ve had a chance to review some tape of him from late in the season. I think he’s got work to do. He knows it. But one thing is that he’ll do whatever it takes. He’s got as good as intangibles as any athlete I’ve been around.”

Fox was also asked about his offensive philosophy.

“Being a defensive coach for most of my career, you understand what’s difficult to defend,” Fox said. “You see a lot of teams who have success offensively, you have to be able to do both (run and pass). You can’t be one dimensional. I don’t want to sit here and paint a picture where we’re not going to be creative and exciting. But you have to have to balance, because that’s been successful in the NFL.”

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

• The Seattle Times breaks down Marshawn Lynch’s now-famous 67-yard TD run vs. the Saints. All eleven Seahawks who were on the field for that play were interviewed for this story. Good stuff if you like to know the inside scoop of what was happening during a specific play.

• When Reggie Jackson thinks you’re talking too much and that you should just shut up, it might be time to listen. We speak, of course, of Antonio Cromartie.

• I wonder how much John Fox’s enjoyment of Tim Tebow helped land him the Denver head coaching job. But yeah, fixing the Broncos defense is fairly important also.

• Speaking of Fox, at least one of his former players in Carolina said the Broncos will love their new head coach.

• Fox Sports’ Adam Caplan breaks down where Cam Newton will go in the 2011 NFL Draft.

• Why matching Jets CB Darrelle Revis against Patriots WR Wes Welker might not be the best idea for Rex Ryan.

• Terrell Suggs resumed his regular Tom Brady bashing on Sirius Mad Dog Radio Thursday. Of Brady’s three Super Bowl rings Suggs said, “He’s got the tuck rule incident and you got the videotaping of other teams’ practices. It’s like “Oh, OK what’s going on here?’"

• NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora reports that former Bills coach Dick Jauron will get a look at becoming Pat Shurmur’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland.

• The drug charges against former Chargers safety Kevin Ellison have been dropped, and now he’s hoping he can return to the NFL and “show teams who I am again.” Apparently, he’s NOT the kind of guy who walks around with 100 Vicodin pills in his pocket without a prescription.

• Former Giants LB Antonio Pierce thought hard about returning to the game he loved. But in the end, he decided to stay retired.

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