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Sports

Crennel benches Palko; Orton or Stanzi to start Sunday

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Chiefs interim head coach Romeo Crennel has decided to bench quarterback Tyler Palko and will start either Kyle Orton or Ricky Stanzi for Sunday's game against undefeated Green Bay.

Crennel was given the head coaching position on Monday when Todd Haley was fired, and one of his first decisions was to make the switch at quarterback.

"I just felt like it would be better for them to know that there would be a different quarterback," Crennel said Wednesday. "They wouldn't have to be worried about who the quarterback was going to be and what the coach is going to do."

Orton is dealing with a finger injury and will start if healthy. If not, it will be Stanzi.

"We'll have to see during the week how [Orton's] finger is and how it comes along," Crennel added.

Orton was claimed off waivers from Denver on November 23 and has thrown one pass since joining the Chiefs. He dislocated his right index finger in a December 4 game against Chicago when his follow-through caught the top of the helmet of a blitzing Bears player.

Palko has started the past four games for the Chiefs after Matt Cassel was lost for the season with a broken right hand in a Week 10 game against Denver.

The Chiefs are 1-3 in Palko's starts, the lone win coming against the Bears when Palko's desperation heave at the end of the first half ended in the game's lone touchdown during a 10-3 triumph. Kansas City hasn't scored more than 10 points in its last six games.

Orton began the season as the starter with the Broncos, who were close to trading him to Miami in August. He was benched after the first five games with Denver in favor of Tim Tebow.

For the season, Orton has completed 58.3 percent of his passes for 979 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. He had started 28 games for the Broncos over the past two seasons after starting 33 games for the Bears from 2005-08.

Stanzi is a rookie from Iowa who has not seen any game action. He was selected by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2011 draft.