How Many Quarterbacks Does It Take To Win a Championship for Denver?

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for BroncosZone.com

Published: May 27, 2009

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Too many in my opinion.  

Since the 1998 Super Bowl and the inevitable retirement of King Elway, the Broncos have been a virtual revolving door at the quarterback position.  Here are a few players you might remember that have played for the Broncos during the last 10-11 years:

Bobby Brister, Brian Griese, Chris Miller, Gus Frerotte, Jarious Jackson, Steve Beuerlein, Jake Plummer, Danny Kannel, Bradlee Vanpelt, Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey, Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, Tom Brandstater…

Who will be next?  The Broncos once again find themselves without a true starter this year.  Kyle Orton is the front-runner, but Chris Simms is the dark horse.

I’m a little tired of not having a true starting quarterback who is past his 22nd birthday.  I’m a loyal fan, and as a loyal fan I like loyal players.  John Elway was our quarterback for 14 plus years.  That’s what I want—a quarterback for the long hall.  I want a guy who’s willing to be here for the rest of his career and a coach that is willing to ride out the storm with him.

I was a huge fan of Jake Plummer.  He is the second best all time quarterback for the Broncos franchise and the only player to lead the Broncos to the playoffs in the last 10 years.  I applauded Mike Shanahan’s decision to bring in Plummer, but his choice to draft Jay Cutler three years later would be the end of his illustrious career in Denver.

The average play of Plummer in 2006 was related 100 percent to the drafting of Cutler.  Plummer was a quarterback who played with raw emotion.  Shanny ruined that.

Knowing what I know now, I would have opted not to move up to draft Jay Cutler.  Not only did it mess up the chemistry of the team, but also Shanny missed a huge chance to upgrade the defense, which is now in a dismal state.

Players such as Haloti Ngata, Brodrick Bunkley, Chad Greenway, or Antonio Cromartie would have given Denver a much stronger defense, which was the highlight of the Broncos team from 2003-2005.

Drafting Ngata would have allowed the Broncos to move to a 3-4 scheme much earlier.  Defensive linemen Trevor Pryce and Ngata would have made a formidable opponent for any offense…

Oh wait, that’s the Ravens starting line.  The Broncos would have had a healthy Pryce to use, instead of the semi-healthy playmaker the Ravens received in Pryce.  With linebackers Al Wilson and DJ Williams in the middle, we may have seen a much different Broncos team then.

Hopefully, the Broncos can find a starter soon—somebody who the fans can count on for many years to come.

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