TheDirtyWord
Footballguy
I know there is alot of excitement in Bears country about the deal. On the surface, the Bears landed themselves the franchise QB they've been looking for generations to plug in behind center.
I only got to see Kyle Orton play once last year (against the Falcons). But that QB I saw was pretty good. In fact, prior to him badly spraining his ankle...he appeared to be having a breakthrough season of sorts.
I want to evaluate both QB's as fairly as possible.
Orton was a 4th round draft choice who was forced into action his rookie season because the Bears QB situation after Rex Grossman got injured dicated that he play. While he wasn't very good individually, the Bears went 10-5 with him under center. His stats were ugly, but again - he was a 4th round rookie. It's a little unfair to expect much more out of a kid put in his position. The next year, the job was handed to Grossman and he took them the SB. Orton didn't make a fuss...he simply continued to do what the team asked of him as a back-up and then last year he got his chance.
For his first 7.5 games before getting injured, Orton performed more than respectably.
61.9% Completion Rate
7.28 YPA
10 TD’s (4.10% TD rate)
4 INT’s (1.64% INT rate)
…when Orton came back faster than originally expected, he wasn’t the same player and performed at a noticeably lower level. So in fairness, there is doubt as to who Orton still is as an NFL QB. But Orton was certainly on an upward trend and had clearly developed since his pedestrian rookie season. It’s worth noting that his #1 WR was Devin Hester.
As for Cutler, there is no doubt that from a physical standpoint – Cutler is a stud. His arm has few peers and he’s got a prototype build. His big stat last year was his 4526 passing yards which solidified him as a young franchise QB.
But also take into account that Cutler had a:
62.3% Completion Rate
7.35 YPA
25 TD’s (4.06 TD rate)
18 INT’s (2.92 INT rate)
(…and his WR’s were Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokely not to mention his HC, Mike Shanahan is considered one of the greatest NFL offensive minds over the last 20 years.)
These stats look remarkably similar to what Orton put up. And Orton did this in his 2nd season as a starter. Cutler put his line together with about 2.5 years. Not a big difference, but Cutler was anointed and Orton had to wait and bide his time.
Not to mention that we got a glimpse of Jay Cutler’s make-up during this entire ordeal which didn’t paint him in the greatest of lights and certainly showed that he could use thicker skin. He’ll need it in Chicago as he won’t get to deal with fun lovin’ crazu nut jobs like Woody Paige but rather slimy sharks like Jay Mariotti. Cutler has to work out immediately if you ask me because a slow start is going to bring a lot of second guessing.
Chicago has been homes to legends like Jordan, Payton, Butkus, Sandberg, Banks and Ditka. They take their sports heroes seriously and Cutler will probably, given the magnitude of this trade, be put on a pedestal he probably hasn’t earned yet. Orton with his neck beard and 4th round pedigree simply never was able to endear himself to the masses in Chicago as a potential long term solution for their never ending QB woes. Perhaps the outlook at this position after Sexy Rexy was more of the doom and gloom variety than giving Orton an honest look. What happens if Cutler shows off his turnover prone side as much as his prolific side? Chicago doesn’t exactly turn its attention away from big ticket underperformers. They may not be at New York’s level, but they certainly more intense than Denver.
I’m not saying Cutler isn’t better than Orton. At this point he is, and his upside is higher. But he’s not an elite QB at this point for sure. Would you rather have Matt Ryan or Jay Cutler? And Matt Ryan has some significant development to go. And now when you factor in that the Bears won’t pick in the first round without trading back into the first round until 2011…that was a steep price to pay. To me, this seems like the move of a front office and coaching staff that's putting their chips all in because the modus aperandi is starting to get stale and the natives are getting restless. For the Broncos, they potentially have a guy who is a long term solution at a lower cost and could develop Cassel-like under McDaniels’ tutelage.
To me, everyone is talking about the Bears side of the equation here, but I really think the Broncos did incredibly well in this deal - better than the Bears. In fact, I’d be shocked if they drafted Sanchez even if he were there at #12.
I only got to see Kyle Orton play once last year (against the Falcons). But that QB I saw was pretty good. In fact, prior to him badly spraining his ankle...he appeared to be having a breakthrough season of sorts.
I want to evaluate both QB's as fairly as possible.
Orton was a 4th round draft choice who was forced into action his rookie season because the Bears QB situation after Rex Grossman got injured dicated that he play. While he wasn't very good individually, the Bears went 10-5 with him under center. His stats were ugly, but again - he was a 4th round rookie. It's a little unfair to expect much more out of a kid put in his position. The next year, the job was handed to Grossman and he took them the SB. Orton didn't make a fuss...he simply continued to do what the team asked of him as a back-up and then last year he got his chance.
For his first 7.5 games before getting injured, Orton performed more than respectably.
61.9% Completion Rate
7.28 YPA
10 TD’s (4.10% TD rate)
4 INT’s (1.64% INT rate)
…when Orton came back faster than originally expected, he wasn’t the same player and performed at a noticeably lower level. So in fairness, there is doubt as to who Orton still is as an NFL QB. But Orton was certainly on an upward trend and had clearly developed since his pedestrian rookie season. It’s worth noting that his #1 WR was Devin Hester.
As for Cutler, there is no doubt that from a physical standpoint – Cutler is a stud. His arm has few peers and he’s got a prototype build. His big stat last year was his 4526 passing yards which solidified him as a young franchise QB.
But also take into account that Cutler had a:
62.3% Completion Rate
7.35 YPA
25 TD’s (4.06 TD rate)
18 INT’s (2.92 INT rate)
(…and his WR’s were Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and Brandon Stokely not to mention his HC, Mike Shanahan is considered one of the greatest NFL offensive minds over the last 20 years.)
These stats look remarkably similar to what Orton put up. And Orton did this in his 2nd season as a starter. Cutler put his line together with about 2.5 years. Not a big difference, but Cutler was anointed and Orton had to wait and bide his time.
Not to mention that we got a glimpse of Jay Cutler’s make-up during this entire ordeal which didn’t paint him in the greatest of lights and certainly showed that he could use thicker skin. He’ll need it in Chicago as he won’t get to deal with fun lovin’ crazu nut jobs like Woody Paige but rather slimy sharks like Jay Mariotti. Cutler has to work out immediately if you ask me because a slow start is going to bring a lot of second guessing.
Chicago has been homes to legends like Jordan, Payton, Butkus, Sandberg, Banks and Ditka. They take their sports heroes seriously and Cutler will probably, given the magnitude of this trade, be put on a pedestal he probably hasn’t earned yet. Orton with his neck beard and 4th round pedigree simply never was able to endear himself to the masses in Chicago as a potential long term solution for their never ending QB woes. Perhaps the outlook at this position after Sexy Rexy was more of the doom and gloom variety than giving Orton an honest look. What happens if Cutler shows off his turnover prone side as much as his prolific side? Chicago doesn’t exactly turn its attention away from big ticket underperformers. They may not be at New York’s level, but they certainly more intense than Denver.
I’m not saying Cutler isn’t better than Orton. At this point he is, and his upside is higher. But he’s not an elite QB at this point for sure. Would you rather have Matt Ryan or Jay Cutler? And Matt Ryan has some significant development to go. And now when you factor in that the Bears won’t pick in the first round without trading back into the first round until 2011…that was a steep price to pay. To me, this seems like the move of a front office and coaching staff that's putting their chips all in because the modus aperandi is starting to get stale and the natives are getting restless. For the Broncos, they potentially have a guy who is a long term solution at a lower cost and could develop Cassel-like under McDaniels’ tutelage.
To me, everyone is talking about the Bears side of the equation here, but I really think the Broncos did incredibly well in this deal - better than the Bears. In fact, I’d be shocked if they drafted Sanchez even if he were there at #12.
not sure I agree with all of this, but good job none the less.
That's a very real possibility, IMO.
That's a very real possibility, IMO.
He (Hester) was open so often last lear, and Orton rarely hit him with the long ball.Hopefully Cutler will take care of all that.
who think Orton will come close to being as good as Cutler.
Let the spin begin. 3 months ago if you tried to tell a Bronco fan that swapping Cutler for Orton wasn't really much of a downgrade they'd have laughed their ### off.
Too many people are dismissing Cutlers' shortcomings. Rumors have been swirling for well over a year about him being a me-first, egotistical player. Then the incident with Cassel and McDaniels comes to light, and Cutler behaves like a child. He wasn't a winner at Vandy, and he hasn't won anything with the Broncos. The QB is supposed to be the team leader. Cutler has a long ways to go to prove he's any type of leader. Orton, while not possessing the same physical gifts as Cutler, has been a winner. He won at Purdue, and he's 20-11 as the Bears starter. He's a team player. He made big strides as a passer last year before getting hurt. I happen to think he has a real chance at becoming a quality NFL starter. There's plenty of reasons that QBs fail in the NFL. Physical talent is no more important than mental acumen or toughness. Ryan Leaf and Jeff George had the same type of cannons that Cutler has. They flamed out. Cutler could very well grow up and make himself into one of the NFL greats. His actions to date don't point that way though IMO.
