"To disagree deferentially with the Johns, Fox and Elway, right now, in my opinion, Kyle Orton gives the Broncos the best chance to lose.

Orton plays just well enough to get you beaten.

The quarterback's record in his past 18 starts is 4-14. If the Broncos had scored one more touchdown in six defeats, the record would have been 10-8 or 9-9 (they fell at Jacksonville by seven). The Broncos were blown out in eight other games.

From the seventh game of 2009 until the game at Tennessee on Sunday, with Orton as the starting quarterback, the Broncos trailed by three or more points at halftime 17 times.

They lost all 17.

During that span, they won only once after trailing by a field goal or more at halftime.

The Broncos rallied from a 17-0 deficit at intermission to beat the Texans 24-23. Tim Tebow was the quarterback.

No current starting quarterback in the NFL has more regular-season defeats than Orton from 2009-11. Does the name Matt Cassel clang any chimes? Cassel and Orton have 19 apiece. However, Cassel was the starting quarterback when the Chiefs won the AFC West last season. He lost his 20th game in the playoffs.

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