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I'm not so sure that the Broncos are going to have a very good team this year. They traded former starting franchise QB Jay Cutler to the Bears for picks, and QB Kyle Orton, which brings me to the topic of this thread, is he good enough to start?

Obviously for the Broncos right now he is, since there's no other QB really pressuring him on the roster. When he played with the Bears, I saw some really good thing, and some bad things to go along with them. What did I like about him?

First, he can get out of the pocket and run with the ball if need be. He won't win many foot races, but he's quick enough to escape the D-Line's pressure when they get past the O-Line. I also like the fact that he can make throws on the run, which is one of the reasons he started over Rex Grossman, that and just because Grossman was absolutely horrible. He's got a great attitude about himself as well, and leads his team with respect from his teammates, however, if they don't win, the team isn't going to be happy with him for long.

There were some bad things as well though. One of those things is that he gets over excited and tries to force passes into tight coverage which often ends in turnovers or a waste of a down. Quite often last season I saw him try to gun a pass deep downfield into coverage, when he could have made a wide-open dump off pass for a good five or six yards.

He'll get better as he continues to get NFL experience, and I expect him to be a decent starter this year for the Bears, but if I had to say whether he was really starter material, right now or not....I would have to say he should still be a backup QB, unless he can improve his decision making.

Thoughts? Comments are appreciated.

I'm relatively new to American football, so don't place too much value in my opinion. Anyway, as for Orton, I think he is a borderline starter. Ideally he would be a really good #2 QB on the roster, but if needed to start, he can be a somewhat OK starter. In most of his time with Chicago, it seemed to me that he was put out there with instructions to manage the game, keep feeding the RB and making "safe" passes, and then let the defense win the game. He didn't really get much of a chance to wind up and try throwing real deep, which we let Grossman do. If you put him into a position where he needs to win the game for you with his passes, I'm not really that sure how he would go. The coaching staff were reportedly quite excited about his skills and potential, so that should be a good sign for your team. However, they obviously thought Cutler was better, so that's not quite such a good sign.

I think your a little upside down on the QB that Kyle Orton is.

He is not very mobile... note he's been sacked A LOT and that his top receiver was his running back. He does feel pressure well, but he's usually in the pocket when that happens which is why his primary target becomes the running back and not, say, a receiver he bought time for down field or a TE in the flat. He also isn't very accurate downfield... that was a very frustrating thing to watch as a Bear fan last season and in 2005 when he was the primary starter. He'd make the right read and then over or under throw by a big margin.

On the plus side, he is a very smart qb. He doesn't throw into high risk situations. There will be a lot more series that end in a punt than end in an interception or touchdown if that makes sense. Also, he had much better size than Grossman. One thing Grossman couldn't do was execute a screen because he didn't have the trajectory to throw over defenders in a short pass situation (that's the other reason Forte was such a popular receiver for Orton besides the checkdown situation). Orton really saw the field well.

Grossman's big demon he couldn't slay was between the ears. He was just prone to making big mistakes that would lose you games. There were plenty of examples (just follow the game by game qb ratings) but the Super Bowl summed it up. Not just the picks, fumbles and pick 6... there was even a second and short where he literally sacked himself for a 12 yard loss... I'm not kidding. In that way, Orton was a big time upgrade.

Orton mobile and makin throws on the run? Lol

Jay Cutler is!

I wasn't a big fan of Orton when he was here but he's starter worthy although he's probably a bottom 10 starting QB in the NFL.

Orton has serviceable back-up QB qualities and can step in as a starter momentarily..... until the real starting QB comes back.

Can start, better backup

I would describe Orton as being in the top 3 of B Level quarterbacks in the league. As opposed to Cutler who could arguably be in the top 3 of A Level quarterbacks.

He'll put up bigger numbers than last year, to be sure. Better receivers and a defense that's going to require a decent amount of passing. Heck, I'd consider him as my 2nd QB fantasy-wise.

It won't be long until Sims is in there.. If that answers your question.

I look forward to watching him fail this year.

He's the best Trent Dilfer you're going to find. Know what I mean.

I liked him, good luck in Denver.

He's a pretty good west-coast QB. He's accurate and quick with his short and intermediate throws and actually does a pretty good job of feeling the rush, taking a step or two to avoid it and get the throw away.

Can't have him in a long-range passing attack because his deep ball is dreadful. And while most QBs can lead a comeback or two here and there, Orton isn't the guy you really want doing it regularly because of his inability to keep defenses honest with that deep ball. If Denver's defense hasn't improved too much, it could make him look really bad having to throw the ball a lot.

Cliff Levingston thinks that most Bears fans don't give Orton the credit he deserves now that we've got a much better QB. Kyle had a great middle to the season and does a lot of things well. Perhaps more importantly, the guy apparently couldn't be a better teammate which is important to have in your QB.

If you took a list of all 32 starting QBs, Kyle's got a shot to mentioned in the middle 10 or so. Cliff Levingston hopes he does well in Denver.

Yes he is starter quality. His numbers last year prove it - albeit average starter. IMO, If Kyle had not hurt his ankle mid season he would have finished out the second half respectively and the Bears would not have lost to the Titans and would have gone to the playoffs. If that happens, I don't think JA goes after Cutler and Orton is our starter this season.


Thank God for weak ankles.

emperorjones wrote:Yes he is starter quality. His numbers last year prove it - albeit average starter. IMO, If Kyle had not hurt his ankle mid season he would have finished out the second half respectively and the Bears would not have lost to the Titans and would have gone to the playoffs. If that happens, I don't think JA goes after Cutler and Orton is our starter this season.

Hmmmmm... that's very questionable. Cutler is one of the best QBs in the game and is still only 27 years old. Cliff Levingston doesn't think Jerry would've let a good season by Orton get in the way of acquiring Cutler. Maybe we would've been able to keep the 3rd round pick or downgraded next year's pick to a 2nd instead but you've got to believe Cutler would've been a Bear anyway.

I'd love to think that JA would follow that logic. I agree with it, but think JA's season ending frustration had a lot to do with us out bidding all comers. In any event. Glad it worked out the way it did. JA showed he has iron clad balls.