Coach Fox: Broncos' QB derby comes down to game execution

Broncos coach John Fox maintains that a "wide-open competition" lies ahead for the team's starting quarterback position, but told The Denver Post that "deep down, I have an idea" who will come out on top between Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn.

Fox, in his first season with the Broncos after nine years as coach of the Carolina Panthers, told the newspaper Thursday that "we do have a depth chart," but it's not set in stone.

There is no doubt that veteran Kyle Orton could be considered a "gamer" and second-year man Tim Tebow, at least based on his collegiate résumé, more than fits the description, Steve Wyche writes. More ...

Fox, who hasn't even seen his quarterbacks practice, wants to see how all three respond to game situations.

"I prefer a gamer to a good practice player. ... I want someone who will execute under pressure in a game," he told the newspaper. "So much depends on what happens (with the length of the lockout). I honestly can't sit here and tell you when a starter will be chosen."

The team's official website states that the 2011 depth chart "will be released before the first preseason game," but The Post reported Orton-Tebow-Quinn as the current order, which falls in line with Fox's statements at February's NFL Scouting Combine in which he called Orton his starter.

Broncos team executive John Elway echoed that later in the month, telling NFL Network that Orton, not 2010 first-round draft pick Tim Tebow, was the man to beat.

"Kyle is still the starting quarterback," Elway said at the time. "Tim is a very good football player," Elway said. "He's not a very good quarterback yet. We can make him a great quarterback. He's a young guy."

Orton passed for 3,653 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions and completed 58.8 percent of his throws in 12 starts last season.

Tebow, an icon at the University of Florida, generated excitement starting the Broncos' final four games. He passed for 654 yards and five touchdowns on the year, while rushing for another 227 yards and six scores.

Then there's Quinn, who was acquired last offseason in a trade with the Cleveland Browns for running back and Madden NFL 12 cover boy Peyton Hillis, a deal that has yet to pan out for Denver. Quinn joined his teammates for workouts last month, and said at the time that he sees himself as an NFL starter.

"I want to be No. 1," Quinn said. "I feel they (Orton and Tebow) both had a chance last year and I didn't get an opportunity. I'd love to get an opportunity to help us win games and get this team to the playoffs and see what happens from there."

Fox told The Post the Broncos have no plans to bring in a fourth arm.

"We've got three quarterbacks who have started games in this league," he said. "I know that quarterback is the top priority in Denver -- and there's a reason why they are so important because the great ones are so hard to find -- but I like the problem of having three to pick from."

The Broncos are coming off a disastrous season that included the midseason firing of coach Josh McDaniels and culminated with a 4-12 record. That led to the installation of Broncos legend Elway as the team's chief football executive and the hiring of Fox as coach.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Best yet to come? Dolphins not sold when it comes to Wake

Having just completed his second season in the NFL, Cameron Wake would typically be viewed as a player who has his best football ahead of him.

Wake is a special case, however. The standout pass rusher spent two years out of football after being cut by the New York Giants as a rookie in 2005, then starred in the Canadian Football League for two seasons before the Dolphins signed him in 2009. He will 29 when the new NFL season is scheduled to begin in September.

Wake has lobbied to replace the modest four-year, $2.3 million (plus incentives) deal he signed before he piled up 19.5 sacks in his first two seasons in Miami, but the Dolphins are wary the linebacker could plateau in the near future, according to a report in Thursday's edition of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

“He could (regress) if he doesn’t do what good players in our league do, which would be to take the next step to grow,” Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said earlier this offseason. ”There’s obviously things that Cam can improve on. Cam would be the first to tell you that."

Sparano said the underestimation of Wake's talent is what fuels him. The linebacker was one of the game's best defenders last season, finishing with 14 sacks and three forced fumbles.

“Cam is a guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder from the journey that it took for him to get to where he is right now. He does not forget it," the coach said. "If you look in his locker it paints a picture of where this guy has come from, to where he’s gotten.

"He plays with that type of passion. Me and him have had conversations about not forgetting what it took to get there. It’s made him right now a good player, and I think this guy has better than good in him.”

The Sun Sentinel reported that Wake recently bought a $1.45 million home in Plantation, Fla., close to the Dolphins' facility in Davie. It's clear that Wake wants to remain with Miami, but it remains to be seen if the team will tear up a contract that amounts to one of the NFL's best bargains.

Wake was voted by his peers at No. 63 on NFL Network's "The Top 100: Players of 2011" list.

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Rice has 'short memory' when it comes to costly playoff fumble

Ray Rice, like most NFL players, is doing his best to prepare for a new season as the lockout bleeds deeper into its third month.

When the Baltimore Ravens running back does finally get back onto the field, he made it clear in an interview with WFAN 660 in New York that he won't be thinking about the costly fumble that contributed to his team's playoff ouster in 2010.

"I have a short memory. As a running back, you have to have a short memory," he said. "You look at where you came from and you look at where you're going and you can't tarnish your whole career over one mistake."

With the Ravens leading the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 early in the third quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoffs, Rice caught a short pass from Joe Flacco and was stripped of the ball while fighting for extra yards. The Steelers recovered the ball deep in Ravens territory, setting in motion a comeback that culminated in a 31-24 Pittsburgh win.

It was Rice's first fumble in 331 touches. He has obvious regrets about the play, but said the key is learning from it and getting better.

"It’s the same thing for a quarterback. A quarterback throws an interception, he has to get over it the next drive," he said. "It wasn’t one of those situations where you see me getting laid out. It was a situation where the guy ... it was a perfect tackle, and I was in a cut. Sometimes when you cut the ball comes away from your body."

Rice said the play has led to better focus on the basics of the game in offseason workouts.

"You get back to work on your fundamentals, this offseason I've been doing a lot of strengthening in my forearms so that way when I'm cutting the ball's tighter, securing," He said. "I got over it pretty fast."

Rice's comments were first reported on Friday by The Baltimore Sun.

Entering his fourth season, Rice has been a key contributor for the Ravens since the team drafted him in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Last season, the Rutgers product piled up 1,776 total yards with five touchdowns on the ground and another through the air.

Playing arguably football's most punishing position while standing a stout 5-foot-8 means Rice is more at risk physically than most if the league decides to move to an 18-game schedule. He seemed resigned to however things play out.

“For a guy like me, you really just want to play football but 18 games is a lot," Rice said. "It’s hard on a body. It’s one of those things where, if that’s what they want, and they’re going to get it, then I’m not going to fight it.”

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Retired players don't wince words when it comes to benefits

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Bill comes due: Maybin realizes it's time to shake 'bust' label

Aaron Maybin has started only one game in two NFL seasons, and he hasn't recorded a sack -- not exactly what the Buffalo Bills wanted from their 2009 first-round draft pick.

But Maybin knows what he must do to lose the "bust" tag: Put in the work, and win over coach Chan Gailey, who deactivated the linebacker for five games last season.

"Coach obviously feels he has not seen what it is that he needs to see out of me thus far in order to have the confidence to rely on me to be the dominant piece of the puzzle that this organization needs in order to help us move in the right direction," Maybin told NFL Blog Blitz on Friday. "I'm fighting to show him that that's exactly what it is that I have to bring to the table. It's a trust issue, and whenever you're dealing with a head coach, it's my responsibility to earn his trust, plain and simple.

Gailey recently told ESPN.com that Maybin, 23, needs to "understand about pass rush" and improve against the run and on special teams. So Maybin has his work cut out for him amid some harsh criticism.

"My whole career, my mindset has been the same: Work as hard as you can, harder than anyone else is willing to work, and let the rest take care of itself," Maybin said. "Control what I can control and put the rest in God's hands, that's all I know.

"I've been playing the game of football since I can remember and have faced criticism at every level. Whether it be my size, strength, experience, whatever; the one thing that never gets questioned is work ethic. And at the end of the day, that's always what pays off."

Draftee's loss could be Bills' gain Michael Jasper is 73 pounds lighter than he was last fall, and that's a good thing for the Bills, who have plans for the seventh-round pick. After all, 375 pounds is plenty big for an NFL defensive tackle. More...

For Maybin, that work ethic includes training five days per week while the lockout prevents him for talking to Bills coaches and staff. Maybin said he's trying to improve his core strength through powerlifting and cardio, and he's also mixing in yoga, boxing and pool exercises.

Because of that work and staff continuity, Maybin expects success in his third NFL campaign.

"This will be the first season that I can start with primarily the same core staff that I finished with the year before," Maybin said. "Being comfortable with a system is very important for an athlete at any level, but none bigger than the professional arena. And with a year under the scheme we have in place already, making the adjustments that this year's staff wants to make going into this year will be much easier to grasp and implement."

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