Orton Is No Average Chicago Quarterback

For years the Chicago Bears have been looking for that one player to put them over the edge.  The man who can week in and week out march the team onto the field with the confidence and belief that the game is theirs to lose.  This oh so elusive player may very well have been found in a former third-string quarterback.

In 2007 hopes were high after a recent loss in the Super Bowl.  Yet those hopes were violently broken with an unexpected 7-9 season.  Bears fans were pointing fingers and calling for heads, specifically at the position of quarterback.

A Bears signal-caller has been missing for years.  Of course, this has been more than well documented.  With their bitter rivals up north being able to stick with one man for 17 seasons, the thought of going through so many quarterbacks is mind boggling.  The names of Peter Tom Willis, Will Furrer, and Henry Burris leave fans scratching their heads.  But this is not about Willis, Furrer, or Burris.

This is about Kyle Orton.  This is about, another unheralded backup from the pits of the Chicago depth chart.  This is about the player who is starting to answer all of those fans' prayers.

Coming out of college he had racked up thousands of yards playing for Joe Tiller at Purdue.  He had an unorthodox throwing motion and he had played too much out of the shotgun and in a spread formation, so his success was severely downplayed, but it was enough for the Bears to make him a late round pick.

However his career did not start from the sidelines.  Orton was forced into action as a rookie, when the former first round-pick, Rex Grossman, was taken out with a severe leg injury.  Orton sat back and controlled games as best he could for a team that went 11-5 with him as the starter.  It was ugly football, but nobody was willing to complain too much, because the team was winning.  Unfortunately, Orton's inept ability to make the offense do anything of substance forced him to bench, as he got to watch the highly touted Grossman take his team to face the Panthers in a bitter playoff defeat.

 That was in 2005.  In 2006 and 2007 Orton was mostly planted on the bench as a third string backup to Rex Grossman and journeyman Brian Griese.  At the end of 2007, Grossman had been vilified as the as the Black Death, and Griese did not represent the future so the Bears turned to the only option left, Kyle Orton.  The look that Head Coach Lovie Smith was able to take in the final three games was enough for him to consider the quarterback position an open competition. 

Kyle Orton had not consistently seen the field since he was a rookie in 2005 and was eager to dig his cleats into the freshly cut Sunday afternoon grass.  Orton came out with a solid camp and preseason which gave him the starting job.  Although some felt that it would have been suicide for Lovie Smith name Rex Grossman the starter, the spot was won fair and square.

Orton played a solid to begin the season, with a rating of 78.5 over the first four games.  Nothing glamorous and nothing to guarantee that the Bears had found the man they wanted under center.  Orton’s confidence in himself and his team never wavered.

When the Bears reached week 5 against Detroit they found themselves facing an opponent that had nothing going for them.  No offense, no defense, overall a franchise is shambles.  Orton used this game as an opportunity to propel himself into the leading role that Lovie and his staff had been waiting for.  From that game on, Orton has carried a rating of 107.9 over his last three games, winning two out of three and placing the Bears atop the NFC North standings.

The question is no longer as to whether or not the Bears have their quarterback.  The question now is just how good can he get?

With an unproven and inexperienced receiving corps, Orton is making big plays all over the field.  It was thought that Orton had found his go to receiver in Brandon Lloyd after the game against Tampa Bay in which Lloyd had six catches for 124 yards, but he later went down with an injury.

The point here is that Orton has no main receiver to throw to, he has no Terrell Owens, no Marvin Harrison, and yet he still comes out and puts up big numbers.  Even the lack of a running game to set up the pass has not fazed the young quarterback. 

Orton has matured in his time on the bench and he has been able to learn the intricacies of playing in the NFL.  He clearly got the image of what not to do in watching teammate Rex Grossman, and now it is his turn to lead.  If Orton can stay healthy you can expect the Bear offense to be putting up large numbers each and every week.