Delhomme To Drive Denver’s Young QB?

With no offseason moves being made, teams will be scrambling once the NFL lockout ends. (Yes, a certain amount of optimism was inserted into that sentence).

The position that sits in the spotlight for the Denver Broncos is none other than at quarterback. Head coach John Fox has maintained that there will be a fair competition between Tim Tebow and Kyle Orton for the starting job.

There’s no doubt that both men proved themselves to be viable quarterbacks in the NFL last season, but a lack of running attack, and an inconsistent defense didn’t help either quarterback put wins on the board.

While Orton is an excellent NFL QB, many Denver fans consider Tebow to be the future of the franchise. He’s a proven winner, and his pure athletic ability reminds many of John Elway. He can do things on the field that most QBs in this league can’t do.

So what are the Broncos to do with Orton? With Tebow? With essentially the pilot of this Broncos offense?

Here’s one option: Bring in Jake Delhomme to mentor Tebow.

Delhomme is entering his 13th season in the league, and with 102 games played, nearly 21,000 career passing yards, 125 touchdowns, and 101 interceptions, the man is a great guy to guide Tebow.

Delhomme was a third stringer for the Cleveland Browns last season, and the Browns will likely release him because who wants to pay $5.4 million for a third string QB? The Browns are invested in Colt McCoy as their starter so it would be a win-win (unless of course, Delhomme is super money hungry) if the Browns dumped Delhomme.

I know what you’re thinking. Delhomme hasn’t been productive for quite some time. He hasn’t played a complete season since 2008, and his most recent above average season was in 2006 when he had a 61% completion percentage, 2,805 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. What he does have going for him, however, is that he understands John Fox’s system. He may not be able to execute it as effeciently himself anymore, but he can help others understand Fox’s philosophy.

Fox and Delhomme took the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, just two years after the team went 1-15. Then in 2005, they led the team back to the NFC Championship game. The point being is that it doesn’t take long for these two guys to turn a team around.

As we know, Fox is a defensive-mided coach, and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy will be handling the play calling for the Broncos this year. That doesn’t mean, however, that Fox is taking a hands-off approach when it comes to the offense. Many of the things that have worked for Coach Fox in the past will be implemented in Denver, and having a player that understands his system can only benefit a young QB in Tebow and an offense looking for balance.

If the Broncos are truly committed to Tebow as their QB of the future, there is no better time to bring in a mentor like Delhomme.

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