Preparing for the Raider-Bronco Showdown;Examining Kyle Orton

When Bears' General Manager Jerry Angelo traded Kyle Orton for disgruntled QB Jay Cutler, it raised more questions than it answered. Did the Bears give up too much? Was Jay Cutler worth the risk, and with Kyle Orton coming into his own in Chicago, was he the QB that the Bears needed going into the future?

Rex Grossman had all but over stayed his welcome, and Kyle was seen as sort of a clean up man, or a very good second option before Grossman was officially relieved of his duties and Kyle became the number one option.

By all accounts he raised a lot of eyebrows in the Bears organization, as well as the Broncos, primarily because of his arm strength, his decision making ability, and his ability to scramble and make plays out of the pocket.

See:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/04/05/trade/index.html

Only a few games into the season and he is being praised already by teammates for his leadership and by his former team, the Chicago Bears, as Lovie Smith explained to CBSsports.com

"He has the things you look for in a quarterback. First, you want him to be a leader, and the team had faith that he could get the job done. There's no question of that...His first year as (a starter), the team voted him as team captain, and that's saying a lot."

Orton threw for 2,972 yards and 18 touchdowns in 15 starts his last season with Chicago per chicagobears.com.

Per ESPN, Orton's current QB rating is  90.9 with 506 yards and 2 touchdowns thrown with the Broncos.

It goes without saying that the Raiders in their match-up Sunday with the Denver Broncos cannot forget Orton and his ability to change the dynamic of the game.

Coach Cable noted some keys to the game which include better execution, sharper focus, and more attention to detail.

One of the keys to watch for, not noted, will be the defenses ability to rush Orton effectively and pressure him into mistakes. One team that seems to do this well would be the Green Bay Packers, we all know what their pressure defense did to the Bears.

See: http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=11136958

If the defense can remain consistent and come out with fire and ready to play, the Raiders should be able to record their first win at home this season.