http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_13384748
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<!--title-->Mailbag: Mild maybe, but Orton just wins
<!--subtitle-->QB's proof is in the W column, argues John from Indiana
<!--byline-->By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
<!--date-->Posted: 09/22/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
<!--secondary date-->
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Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009 NFL season.
Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag.
All I can see is that Kyle Orton wins games whether anybody believes it or not. Just look at his record. I am a Bears fan. Kyle has been on some Bears teams without much offensive talent. And if the Bears defense hadn't given away a couple of games last year and made the playoffs, you or somebody else would have Jay Cutler.
-- John Poncher, Valparaiso, Ind.
Did you realize Tom Brady, who operates the same offense in New England as Orton does in Denver, ranks 26th in the NFL with a mere 5.94 yards per pass attempt, while Orton is eighth at 7.79 yards? Cutler, by the way, is 17th at 6.93 per pass attempt.
As for Orton's record, which is now 23-12 overall, he was 9-6 last year and he should have been 10-5 after he threw a go-ahead TD pass with 11 seconds remaining to give the Bears a 20-19 lead against Atlanta. But one poor squib kick, one long pass completion by Matt Ryan, and one long field goal by Jason Elam as time expired wound up costing the Bears a playoff spot and eventually led them into the Cutler sweepstakes. Cutler is good but I don't think he and a draft pick that turned out to be Jonny Knox are good enough to offset a decent Orton, and draft picks that turned out to be Robert Ayers, Richard Quinn and a first-rounder in 2010.
broncos
<!--title-->Mailbag: Mild maybe, but Orton just wins
<!--subtitle-->QB's proof is in the W column, argues John from Indiana
<!--byline-->By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
<!--date-->Posted: 09/22/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT
<!--secondary date-->
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Denver Post sports writer Mike Klis posts his Broncos Mailbag on Tuesdays during the 2009 NFL season.
Pose a Broncos- or NFL-related question for the Broncos Mailbag.
All I can see is that Kyle Orton wins games whether anybody believes it or not. Just look at his record. I am a Bears fan. Kyle has been on some Bears teams without much offensive talent. And if the Bears defense hadn't given away a couple of games last year and made the playoffs, you or somebody else would have Jay Cutler.
-- John Poncher, Valparaiso, Ind.
Did you realize Tom Brady, who operates the same offense in New England as Orton does in Denver, ranks 26th in the NFL with a mere 5.94 yards per pass attempt, while Orton is eighth at 7.79 yards? Cutler, by the way, is 17th at 6.93 per pass attempt.
As for Orton's record, which is now 23-12 overall, he was 9-6 last year and he should have been 10-5 after he threw a go-ahead TD pass with 11 seconds remaining to give the Bears a 20-19 lead against Atlanta. But one poor squib kick, one long pass completion by Matt Ryan, and one long field goal by Jason Elam as time expired wound up costing the Bears a playoff spot and eventually led them into the Cutler sweepstakes. Cutler is good but I don't think he and a draft pick that turned out to be Jonny Knox are good enough to offset a decent Orton, and draft picks that turned out to be Robert Ayers, Richard Quinn and a first-rounder in 2010.
Still a small sample. Orton stinks. He's had easy opponents so far and the first win (and the 87 yards) was pure dumb luck. That one play out of two games skews stats big time. Trent Dilfer was a "winner" too, then he didn't have a job. Kyle Orton is not a long-term QB solution for anybody. Trust me. Or don't.
Hey, anyone want to guess what Rex Grossman's record as a starter was after 35 games? Yup, you guessed it. 23-12 :grandmais
Is Rex Grossman a winner too?
Hey, anyone want to guess what Rex Grossman's record as a starter was after 35 games? Yup, you guessed it. 23-12 :grandmais
Is Rex Grossman a winner too?
Article published Oct 19, 2009
Kyle Orton's career taking off in Mile-High City
Denver Broncos are 5-0 for the first time in a decade with Orton calling the plays.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In Chicago, his many critics suggested the “O” in quarterback Kyle Orton's name really stood for “Ordinary.”
So far in Denver, then, it must mean “Outstanding.”
Orton's Broncos are 5-0 for the first time since 1998, when they won their last Super Bowl with Hall of Famer John Elway under center.
Every week, Orton makes the much- maligned offseason trade of Pro Bowl passer Jay Cutler to Chicago for Orton and a king's ransom of draft picks look more and more like a wise move for rookie coach Josh McDaniels.
While Cutler has settled in with the Bears (3-1), nobody in Denver is decrying his departure anymore.
Orton won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for leading the Broncos to a 20-17 win over New England and McDaniels' mentor, Bill Belichick, on Sunday in what was arguably his best game as a pro.
He completed a career-high 35 of 48 passes for 330 yards and two touchdown throws to cap drives that covered 90 and 98 yards. He then drove the Broncos methodically downfield for the winning kick in overtime.
Orton, whose only interception this season was a desperation pass that Randy Moss came down with to end the first half Sunday, has a 26-12 record (.684) as a starter.
That places him third among active passers with at least 25 starts, behind New England's Tom Brady (.776) and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (.711).
Orton's 18-2 home record as a starter is the best in the league since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
When McDaniels was ordered by owner Pat Bowlen to grant Cutler's trade wish after an offseason of discontent, he knew just who he wanted running his offense.
“Kyle's always been a smart guy,” McDaniels said. “You could see that very clearly on the film. Any film. Put on any film of Kyle Orton and you'll see a smart football player that has always had a lot of responsibility in terms of at the line of scrimmage, identifying the defense, getting his team in the right situations.
“So, that's what we ask him to do here and he's done a nice job of it.”
Orton has thrown for seven touchdowns and is averaging 247 yards passing for the Broncos after averaging just 161 yards through the air for the Bears, where he started for two seasons and part of a third.
Yet, Orton said he hasn't changed much about his game since coming to Denver on April 3, other than working harder in the offseason to digest McDaniels' thick playbook.
One thing he did appreciate, though, was McDaniels having his back when he got off to a stumbling start with his new team.
Orton had a three-interception performance in the Broncos' preseason opener at San Francisco following an awful stadium scrimmage that turned a night of fun into one of boos. The next week, his odd left-handed lob on fourth-and-1 at Seattle was intercepted in the end zone.
All the while, McDaniels kept insisting Orton was doing just fine and would stay the starter.
“It was really the first time that I ever had that,” Orton said of his head coach's unflinching support.
Orton cares what McDaniels thinks, but he insisted his reputation nationally doesn't matter to him at all. Orton heard the catcalls and radio calls in Chicago, where he was derided as a “game manager,” a term he actually embraces, and much, much worse.
“Yeah, it's tough not to be aware of it. Especially in a town like Chicago, you're going to know,” Orton said. “But if they're talking good or talking bad, I don't think they've got a very good idea of what my job actually is. So it doesn't bother me one way or another.”
Orton had to learn an entirely new offense in Denver, where McDaniels' game plan changes radically week to week.
Orton said he has a long way to go to master this offense, but on the thinking vs. instinct spectrum, he's closer to being able to simply react to what defenses do, and for that he credits the hard work of those around him.
Kyle Orton's career taking off in Mile-High City
Denver Broncos are 5-0 for the first time in a decade with Orton calling the plays.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In Chicago, his many critics suggested the “O” in quarterback Kyle Orton's name really stood for “Ordinary.”
So far in Denver, then, it must mean “Outstanding.”
Orton's Broncos are 5-0 for the first time since 1998, when they won their last Super Bowl with Hall of Famer John Elway under center.
Every week, Orton makes the much- maligned offseason trade of Pro Bowl passer Jay Cutler to Chicago for Orton and a king's ransom of draft picks look more and more like a wise move for rookie coach Josh McDaniels.
While Cutler has settled in with the Bears (3-1), nobody in Denver is decrying his departure anymore.
Orton won AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for leading the Broncos to a 20-17 win over New England and McDaniels' mentor, Bill Belichick, on Sunday in what was arguably his best game as a pro.
He completed a career-high 35 of 48 passes for 330 yards and two touchdown throws to cap drives that covered 90 and 98 yards. He then drove the Broncos methodically downfield for the winning kick in overtime.
Orton, whose only interception this season was a desperation pass that Randy Moss came down with to end the first half Sunday, has a 26-12 record (.684) as a starter.
That places him third among active passers with at least 25 starts, behind New England's Tom Brady (.776) and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger (.711).
Orton's 18-2 home record as a starter is the best in the league since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
When McDaniels was ordered by owner Pat Bowlen to grant Cutler's trade wish after an offseason of discontent, he knew just who he wanted running his offense.
“Kyle's always been a smart guy,” McDaniels said. “You could see that very clearly on the film. Any film. Put on any film of Kyle Orton and you'll see a smart football player that has always had a lot of responsibility in terms of at the line of scrimmage, identifying the defense, getting his team in the right situations.
“So, that's what we ask him to do here and he's done a nice job of it.”
Orton has thrown for seven touchdowns and is averaging 247 yards passing for the Broncos after averaging just 161 yards through the air for the Bears, where he started for two seasons and part of a third.
Yet, Orton said he hasn't changed much about his game since coming to Denver on April 3, other than working harder in the offseason to digest McDaniels' thick playbook.
One thing he did appreciate, though, was McDaniels having his back when he got off to a stumbling start with his new team.
Orton had a three-interception performance in the Broncos' preseason opener at San Francisco following an awful stadium scrimmage that turned a night of fun into one of boos. The next week, his odd left-handed lob on fourth-and-1 at Seattle was intercepted in the end zone.
All the while, McDaniels kept insisting Orton was doing just fine and would stay the starter.
“It was really the first time that I ever had that,” Orton said of his head coach's unflinching support.
Orton cares what McDaniels thinks, but he insisted his reputation nationally doesn't matter to him at all. Orton heard the catcalls and radio calls in Chicago, where he was derided as a “game manager,” a term he actually embraces, and much, much worse.
“Yeah, it's tough not to be aware of it. Especially in a town like Chicago, you're going to know,” Orton said. “But if they're talking good or talking bad, I don't think they've got a very good idea of what my job actually is. So it doesn't bother me one way or another.”
Orton had to learn an entirely new offense in Denver, where McDaniels' game plan changes radically week to week.
Orton said he has a long way to go to master this offense, but on the thinking vs. instinct spectrum, he's closer to being able to simply react to what defenses do, and for that he credits the hard work of those around him.
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</TD><TD align=middle width=20>TD</TD><TD>Brandon Marshall, 7 Yd pass from Kyle Orton (Matt Prater kick is good), 10:31. Drive: 4 plays, 21 yards in 1:50.
24-6 broncos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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24-6 broncos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
