The Orton-Cutler Saga: Why Kyle Orton Should Get Some Respect! Part I

The nonsense is over with Jay Cutler, new quarterback for the Chicago Bears. A young man with all-world talent but the maturity of a 12-year-old!

First, do I want Cutler to fail? No, but I do want him to change and become someone I respect as a player. If not, then yes, I will root for his opponents and hope he loses! No different from my take on Terrell Owens.

• I don’t like it when people in the wrong cry, whine, lie and bellyache until they get their way. It sets a horrible example; it shows you can be a stereotypical, overpaid athlete who is an idiot and liar who still gets his way when he shouldn’t! I don’t like bad guys winning, and in this case, Cutler was the bad guy!
• I love and agree with the statements by Stefan Fatsis on Cutler, his style and personality and team owner Pat Bowlen’s belief. Read it, it’s a great take: Stefan Fatsis on the Broncos and Jay Cutler

I firmly believe on a larger scale that’s why we’re in this current economic mess. People on every side of the aisle, corporations, the government and taxpayers all feel entitlement! In this case it’s Cutler!

Speaking of our economic mess, why isn’t anyone screaming and yelling over the $200 million-plus in bonuses going to the companies that played a major role in putting us in this mess, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

I’m digressing, but my point is that this is just representative of what’s wrong with our nation. The good news is that playing fantasy sports is a great way to escape for a little bit!

Back on point: Let’s break the trade down:

• Chicago Bears receive: QB Jay Cutler, Broncos’ 2009 fifth-round pick.
• Denver Broncos receive: QB Kyle Orton, Bears’ first- and third-round draft picks in 2009, Bears’ first-round pick in 2010.

Cutler moves to Chicago to improve a “vanilla” offense built around the run and to establish a legitimate deep passing game. Orton is moving on to compete with Chris Simms to start in a system that has churned out one multiple-Super Bowl champion quarterback in Tom Brady as well as a one-year, $14 million-plus quarterback in Matt Cassel.

• Chris Simms: Simms has to be on Cloud Nine because he is competing for a starting job after expecting to be the backup. He could succeed in this system, but we’ve seen Chris Simms play, and America, Chris is no Phil Simms! Say that as Lloyd Bentson did in 1998, when he embarrassed Dan Quayle in the now infamous televised vice presidential debate. I don’t think Simms would have even been draft-worthy without his father’s surname. Here’s his opportunity to put critics like myself to rest. That’s a blog for another time.

What does Orton bring to the table?

• He’s a proven passer from his college days: According to Wikipedia and other sources, Orton tied Drew Brees‘ Purdue record for passing yards in a game with 522.
• He is one of three Purdue quarterbacks to start three consecutive bowl games, but I’m not sure if that’s good or bad as the other two were Brees (good) and Mark Hermann (not good).
• Orton was a preseason All-American in 2004, and in fact, he was 5-0 with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions before injuries derailed him as the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy.
• Football’s Future draft profile: A safety-first quarterback who won’t force a pass but has a deep ball that is “painful” to watch! However, the writer, Andy Silvester, makes a curious statement when he talked about where Orton would fit best: “Somewhere in a conservative system with plenty of underneath passes (think the Patriots) where he has a couple of years to learn his trade at a higher level.”

Coming out of college he was a player who could play the position but more importantly an intelligent quarterback! What happened? Come on, it’s the Chicago Bears, a team that has not fielded a quality quarterback in my lifetime!

They’ve always believed in a strong defense and rushing attack with a quarterback who manages the offense.

• Drafted in 2005, Orton was 10-5 as a starter for the Bears in his rookie season. A starter in an offense that has been “vanilla” his entire tenure as a professional. What is ironic: The team would open it up for Rex Grossman, an inconsistent NFL bust.

I don’t think the Bears ever had or ever cared to gain the confidence in Orton they wanted with Grossman because they may have thought Orton was no better than an NFL backup. In the end, with Lovie Smith as the head coach, it became a team built on defense and the rushing attack.

How is someone like Orton supposed to grow when the team limits his role? He can’t! That’s why I believe it is perception rather than reality when judging Orton as a quarterback!

In fact, the team demoted Orton after his rookie season and not to No. 2 quarterback but rather No. 3 after signing quarterback Brian Griese. Is that how you treat someone with the potential to be an NFL starting quarterback? I guess I’m not sold on the Bears’ ability to evaluate quarterbacks.

I could be wrong, but I’ve been watching football since the mid-1970s, and that includes starting and building a fantasy sports company that gave me inside access and a look into the minds of NFL players, general managers, agents and insiders!

That is, I think I do have some insight when making this comment, but even then you don’t need inside access to come to the following conclusion:

• The Chicago Bears have never been able develop a consistent top-tier quarterback since I’ve been alive! I came into this world in 1966, and the more important note: Sigh, I’m getting old.

The Bears don’t know how, don’t care to learn how or don’t feel they need to develop the quarterback position.

• That’s why I’m defending Orton! His development and growth has come through his own desire and ambition to succeed.

I’ve always felt Lovie Smith’s offensive coordinators have brought in simplified schemes. It’s Smith’s style: strong defense to go with a conservative offense that limits mistakes.

• Myth Buster: Articles talk about how bad the Denver Broncos defense is and how they kept Cutler from winning games. I have news for you: In 2008, the Bears’ usually top-tier defense ended the season ranked 21st in total defense!
• Myth Buster: We talk about Cutler’s record of 13-1 when the Broncos allowed opponents 21 points or fewer and how their bad defense cost them. Let’s be honest, Cutler was a big reason for the Broncos’ collapse last year! The final three games, all losses - two touchdowns, four interceptions! Don’t blame just the defense!
• Bears offensive line: The Bears may have offensive line issues as well. Sure they signed left tackle Orlando Pace, but come on, the man is entering his 13th season and has been injury prone the last three years. Last year he did play 14 games, but in 2006 and 2007 he saw action in a total of nine games!

If I wanted to cement my point, I would toss in 2007, the final six games where Denver went 2-4. Cutler had nine touchdowns and five interceptions, but I would pull out the Kansas City Chiefs game, one against a team that went 4-12, including a nine-game losing streak from Week Nine to the end of the season.

If you take that game out you have five touchdowns and five interceptions. Not numbers you want from someone who supposedly is going to take you to the Promised Land! However, I don’t count that season because he was young and inexperienced and you can’t fault players’ growing pains!

I will be a politician and say I’m a huge Cutler fan as a fantasy quarterback and he has the talent to turn it around and become an all-time great. The real question is if his immaturity will hamper that growth!

Tomorrow: More on Orton’s intangibles, Cutler’s failures, leadership and players around the quarterback position. Who’s benefiting most?

Some links to other KFFL blogs on the situation - good reading!

• Where Does Denver turn now? - A good take by Managing Editor Cory J. Bonini regarding the draft and Orton
• Oops! Jay Cutler says: “I didn’t want it to get this far” - A humorous but frank look at Cutler’s backtracking by General Manager Ryan R. Bonini
• Jay Cutler could go to an unlikely suitor - Take a look at the poll at the bottom of the blog and see how many got Chicago right as the team to trade for him!