The Case for Kyle Orton

[BroncsSB#3]

Protect the ball and manage the offense or turn the ball over on average 3 times a game.


Hmmm...wait, let me think about it...

Are those the only 2 options? That sucks

[CoryWinget81]

We have truly regressed to the Griese/Plummer years if protecting the football is all we ask of our QBs. Then again, my 10-6 prediction for the 2009 season already assumed that part.

Protect the ball and manage the offense or turn the ball over on average 3 times a game.


Hmmm...wait, let me think about it...

[AC1]

And Orton protecting the football.

We have truly regressed to the Griese/Plummer years if protecting the football is all we ask of our QBs. Then again, my 10-6 prediction for the 2009 season already assumed that part.

[CoryWinget81]

I don't have a problem with having a QB like that (obviously I'd rather have a better QB), but I think it's important to give credit where credit is due. THe win yesterday belonged to the defense, special teams and Stokley.

And Orton protecting the football.

[AC1]

It seems like Orton is just there. He's not there to win games. He's just there to try and not lose a game. The OP seams not only happy with that, but he loves it.

That is the type of QB that will have a lot of games where he gets 160 or so yards 0tds 0ints or on a good day 1 td 0 int. That isn't the type of QB that can score at will and will lead you on game winning drives. That's not the type of QB that you can put the ball in his hands with 1 minute on the clock and have him drive it down the field with a clutch passing performance.

Yesterday's miracle was nice, but unless Orton is going to get miracles every time we need a game winning drive from him, then we aren't going to get bailed out like we did yesterday (which was awesome, by the way).

I don't have a problem with having a QB like that (obviously I'd rather have a better QB), but I think it's important to give credit where credit is due. THe win yesterday belonged to the defense, special teams and Stokley.

[IrateBearsFan]

Could it be the defense, special teams, and/or running game? Wow...that's a weird concept. Maybe they actually won the games and Orton was just there to not screw things up. That's like rocket science though. We should just stick to the whole "Orton was on a winning team, therefor he IS the reason why the team won" theory. That's much easier to wrap your head around.

That's the worst part about the "Orton just wins so he must be good" theory. People can never tell you how he won. They just give him credit as if he is a magical being that can will the team to win with his mind and the team will just magically win even if his stats are mediocre.

yet you choose the absolute reverse and claim it's a sound theory, that all of his losses are solely on him and not defense or special teams. that about right?

[IrateBearsFan]

It seems like Orton is just there. He's not there to win games. He's just there to try and not lose a game. The OP seams not only happy with that, but he loves it.

That is the type of QB that will have a lot of games where he gets 160 or so yards 0tds 0ints or on a good day 1 td 0 int. That isn't the type of QB that can score at will and will lead you on game winning drives. That's not the type of QB that you can put the ball in his hands with 1 minute on the clock and have him drive it down the field with a clutch passing performance.

Yesterday's miracle was nice, but unless Orton is going to get miracles every time we need a game winning drive from him, then we aren't going to get bailed out like we did yesterday (which was awesome, by the way).

that is not the kind of QB Orton is because he HAS made the last minute drives down the field to win, clutch passing and all.

[Marc420]

To me, here's what most Bronco fans don't get. That its possible to win football games and championships without a gunslinger QB that throws for 400 yds a game. Yes, I realize that this is a legacy that John Elway left this region, but still, people need to realize that there are other ways of winning a football game.

Its possible to win on defense. When you stuff the other teams offense all day long, you can win the game right there. If you watch some coaches and their playcalling, sometimes you'll see a coach with a small lead count on his defense to win the game.

Its possible to win football games running the football. You can tell Denver is a passing football town because of all of the talk about Orton's injured finger and Marshall missing camp. But to me, the biggest disappointment of the training camp was that K.Moreno missed a lot of key snaps. Give Knowshown a few weeks to get healthy and get the rythym of running with this offense, and you are really going to see something.

Its possible to win football games throwing short passes to RBs and TEs. A passing attack doesn't always have to be 25 yard throws to WRs. A passing attack can be a dink and dump game. Especially when combined with a good running game. Its usually the LBs and the SS you are trying to make hesitate before they come attack the run, and those little dink and dump passes are often the coverage responsibility of the LBs and SS. Throw screens out into the flat enough, and that outside LB starts worrying more about that. Then you get that little crack in the defense that Knowshown can hit for a 8 yd gain on first down.

Last year, it was when the Cardinals defense and running attack started playing much better in the playoffs that they made their run to the Super Bowl.

Of course, the problem is that the Broncos are still trying to patch together a defense from scraps left behind from the Shanahan era, and they are still trying to learn how to work together and really run the football hard.

But, give it a year or so, and then Broncos fans can start to learn that there are other ways to win than having your QB pass for 450 yds and winning 48-45.

[RodSmithRules]

If you read all of these posts about everything thats wrong with Orton, and closed your eyes and tried to get an idea of what these people want at QB...

...It's probably 8 foot tall and runs a 2.2 40. It can throw 4 96 yard TD's to himself all at the same time and use one or all of his 12 hands to catch his own pass. Line? Pfsh, what line. This QB is so talented he doesn't even need a line.

John Elway??



He's practially a tall tale around here anymore. "Once there was a feller named Elway...he could explode a defense with his eyes!"

I don't expect Orton to put up insane offensive stats, but he will do everything in his power to win the game. There are a lot of elements that factor into winning. Yesterday, it wasn't about scoring. It was about protecting the football. Zero turnovers is always welcome, especially in a game with some hard hits.

[BroncsSB#3]

And this theory is suppose to coincide with the fact that Kyle Orton does have a winning record so far in his career? Sorry I am a bit confused as to how guys or gals like yourself expect us to believe such posts when he has a winning record?

Could it be the defense, special teams, and/or running game? Wow...that's a weird concept. Maybe they actually won the games and Orton was just there to not screw things up. That's like rocket science though. We should just stick to the whole "Orton was on a winning team, therefor he IS the reason why the team won" theory. That's much easier to wrap your head around.

That's the worst part about the "Orton just wins so he must be good" theory. People can never tell you how he won. They just give him credit as if he is a magical being that can will the team to win with his mind and the team will just magically win even if his stats are mediocre.

[CoryWinget81]

If you read all of these posts about everything thats wrong with Orton, and closed your eyes and tried to get an idea of what these people want at QB...

...It's probably 8 foot tall and runs a 2.2 40. It can throw 4 96 yard TD's to himself all at the same time and use one or all of his 12 hands to catch his own pass. Line? Pfsh, what line. This QB is so talented he doesn't even need a line.

Honestly, Orton was rusty. So was Palmer.

The other team wants to win the game too guys.

[BroncosRockdaRockies]

It seems like Orton is just there. He's not there to win games. He's just there to try and not lose a game. The OP seams not only happy with that, but he loves it.

That is the type of QB that will have a lot of games where he gets 160 or so yards 0tds 0ints or on a good day 1 td 0 int. That isn't the type of QB that can score at will and will lead you on game winning drives. That's not the type of QB that you can put the ball in his hands with 1 minute on the clock and have him drive it down the field with a clutch passing performance.

Yesterday's miracle was nice, but unless Orton is going to get miracles every time we need a game winning drive from him, then we aren't going to get bailed out like we did yesterday (which was awesome, by the way).

And this theory is suppose to coincide with the fact that Kyle Orton does have a winning record so far in his career? Sorry I am a bit confused as to how guys or gals like yourself expect us to believe such posts when he has a winning record?

[Broncoboy6]

Here Is My Case, Please Read Me

Hello all, I have come to gloat, so be forewarned.
I'm member number 303 in the Kyle Orton Army, and I'm very proud of my general today.
I want to get this off my chest, and perhaps enlighten some of you nay-sayers and hold-outs so that you're not quite as shamed when all is said and done as you otherwise might be.
Let's address the issue that some are making of Orton underthrowing his receivers.
Hint: He does that on purpose, and no, I'm not kidding. Put your egos and zealotry away for a moment, shut your mouths, and open your ears and mind. Maybe you'll learn something as I explain why he does this on purpose.
The fact of the matter is that despite working with the team for many months now, he's had to learn a complex offense. He's had to work with many receivers, some of which simply aren't even with the team any more. Marshall hasn't been around to work with at all; through no fault of Kyle Orton's.
When a receiver has his coverage beat and the quarterback is not familiar enough with the receiver to gauge that receiver's speed, which is better? Overthrowing the ball so that the receiver cannot catch it, or underthrowing the ball so that the receiver can catch it and then get tackled on a completed pass that got some yards and perhaps some YAC?
This is coupled with the fact that Orton has a thingymickbob on his hand, and rather than risk overthrowing the receiver (which would be an incomplete) he errs on the side of caution so that the receiver can at least have a shot at catching the ball.
People - ignorant people - confuse this or attempt to capitalize on it and proclaim that Orton is inaccurate or can't throw deep.
They could not be more wrong.
He's under-throwing on purpose, and for very good reasons.
Yesterday, Kyle Orton went into a very hostile and inspired environment against a good defense and a potent offense. He did so with a starting wide receiver that has spent more time in a court room than a weight room this off-season, a thingamickjig on his hand, one of if not THE most complex offense in football, a backup on the line (Kuper is injured), a team with 30 players that have never been here before, a brand new coaching staff (almost 100% of them), receivers (more than one - note the plural) that dropped balls, a brand new defensive scheme, a brand new organization from top to bottom...
And all he did was win.
He posted a 100.7 QB rating and for 59 minutes made no mistakes, keeping the Broncos up by 6 points to a very good offense. He never gave them a chance to steal anything from us. At the end of the game the opposition got a touchdown (through no fault of Orton's!) and we appeared screwed.
In the end though, we were close enough that one play made the difference.
It's time for some folks to admit they were wrong, which might explain why it's so quiet here today.
Orton is a good quarterback, and he's smarter than most quarterbacks - and apparently smarter than most fans as well.
He's humble and a leader, and he hasn't once even bothered to try to defend himself from the ignorant remarks that he can't throw deep. Instead, all he's done was go out there, work his ass off, stay positive, lead and win.
This isn't something a quarterback should do.
It's everything a quarterback should do.
It's time some of us gave credit where it was earned, and thank Kyle for enduring what he's had to endure since he got here.
Next weekend we play on our home field. We saw how loud this stadium can be when we're angry.
Let's show the world how loud we can be not when we're angry...
But when we believe.
See you at the game - and I hope to hear you too!
GO BRONCOS!

Aloha, I would like to state some points of mine. First of all, I do not hate or dislike Kyle Orton at all. But, I do believe that you are wrong in underthrowing balls. If it at all what you have said would be logic at all by underthrowing your receivers when they have beaten the coverage is true, Then wouldn't that give the defender a better chance of intercepting the ball?. Second, Please do not use the "HE had a thingamabob on his hand" excuse. I do not blame him for that, But, if he was having trouble throwing with that thing on his hand, Then he should have informed the coach of the problem. But, If that were the case then i am pretty sure that Coach Mcdaniels would have pulled & benched him right away. I really hope and pray that he succeeds for us, But, We cannot afford to let pride get in the way of winning football games. The fact of the matter is that our "D" did a heck of a job yesterday and hardly had any rest because of our offense could not atleast eat the clock up and let our "D" have a little rest. It sounds all too familiar(last year). But, I do not put all blame to Orton himself because i think it was the play calling and execution offense that is really to blame. The thing i did recognize and hope that Kyle does work on is the time that he did spend in the pocket and to stop staring down the targets. And to add to it, We did not score any touchdowns and to blame the Defense is totally wrong in your case. Mahalo & GOD bless. :go:

[BroncsSB#3]

Orton is a good QB and deserves a chance to show what he's got. With that said hwoever, saying that he is smarter and works harder than most QBs is ridiculous. It's also ridiculous to use this last game to say "all he does is win". This game was not won because of Kyle Orton. If that's the best he can do, we will need another QB soon.

If you want to thank Orton for "enduring" what every QB and player has to deal with, go right ahead and while you're at it, thank Jarvis Moss for enduring far worse than Orton was.

It seems like Orton is just there. He's not there to win games. He's just there to try and not lose a game. The OP seams not only happy with that, but he loves it.

That is the type of QB that will have a lot of games where he gets 160 or so yards 0tds 0ints or on a good day 1 td 0 int. That isn't the type of QB that can score at will and will lead you on game winning drives. That's not the type of QB that you can put the ball in his hands with 1 minute on the clock and have him drive it down the field with a clutch passing performance.

Yesterday's miracle was nice, but unless Orton is going to get miracles every time we need a game winning drive from him, then we aren't going to get bailed out like we did yesterday (which was awesome, by the way).

[it'sjustagame]

what part of 6 points in 59 minutes is good. while the defense is playing their a$$ off this guy cant do squat Game shouldnt have come down to needing a lucky play. A win is a win. How we gonna do against the big boys ? Its the bungles people. 6 points in 59 minutes.............. our defense better be world class all year long