Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos' QB Brady Quinn: No Threat To Orton's Throne

Cleveland's former golden boy and Ohio native took the field Sunday night, for the first time since he was a boy, he had to think of himself in a different uniform than the orange and brown he grew up dreaming of.

Cleveland's 2007 draft pick now finds himself across the country in Denver, playing for a team that put together "The Drive" against none other than his boyhood team, ousting the Browns in the 1987 AFC Championship game.

Squaring off against the Cincinnati Bengals, Kyle Orton started the showdown going 8 for 13 with 84 yards and two touchdowns. At 8:03 in the second quarter, Brady Quinn made his entrance into the game for his first snap as a Bronco.

To say that Brady got off to a rocky start would be an understatement. His first drive was met by three straight incomplete passes, the end result being a 60 yard punt from Britton Colquitt.

After another three and out from the Bengals, Quinn got his second chance. Three straight runs from Lance Ball had the Broncos at a 2nd and 3 on the 33 yard line. He didn't make the best of it however, immediately fumbling the ball before recovering it, leading to a 3rd and 7 situation.

Quinn made an incompletion aimed at Brandon Stokley, and once again, led to a Colquitt punt.

Don't quit on me now Quinn fans, it only gets worse from here. The next drive ended quickly with the first pass being picked off and returned 24 yards for a touchdown.

With the ball coming back to Denver, Quinn made his first completion finally on a 6 yard pass to Stokley, taking Brady to the two minute warning. With a third down conversion looming, Quinn made an incomplete pass, but a pass interference penalty kept him alive. Two quick completions and a Brady Quinn scramble resulted in another first down, before three straight incompletions took the Broncos to a 28 yard field goal, and the end of the half for the Broncos' offense.

Quinn's final drive came at 11:26 in the 3rd quarter after a Bengals field goal. This time, Quinn looked much better commanding the offense, starting off with a 30 yard completion to Matthew Willis. A run by Bruce Hall ended in a three yard loss, before a great pass by Quinn was dropped by Patrick Carter deep down the field. A breakdown on the offensive line ended with Quinn being sacked and ending his night.

Final assessment of Quinn shows he still has a long ways to go, but it seems to be a confidence issue more than anything. Physically, the arm seems to be there. Mentally however, he still makes the same mistakes when it comes to leading receivers and putting the ball in a window away from coverage.