Orton vs. Cutler
Nothing against the job that Jay Cutler has done for the Bears, and he’s been outstanding since halftime of the season opener, but you have to give Kyle Orton kudos for the way he’s played in Denver so far.
Orton is the only full-time starting quarterback in the NFL who hasn’t been intercepted this season, and he’s ninth in the NFL with a passer rating of 97.7. Cutler is 13th at 89.3. Cutler has been excellent in the fourth quarter, with a passer rating of 111.5, which is sixth best in the league. But Orton has been even better, with a fourth-quarter passer rating of 144.7, and a whopping 362 yards on just 23 passes, 17 of which have been completed.
Orton has also been exceptional on third downs, with a passer rating of 101.5, seventh in the NFL. Cutler’s passer rating on third down is just 68.6, which is 22nd in the league.
Sure it helps to have Brandon Marshall as a primary target, but Orton is now 25-12 as a starter, while Cutler is 20-21.
There is no debate. Cutler is the better quarterback. I don't see the Bears winning the Steeler game or the Seahawk game if Orton is at QB. With Cutler the Bears have a come from behind capability that they didn't have with Orton. The defense doesn't have to hold other teams to ten points or less in order for the Bears to win now. I'm happy to see Orton doing well. He was put in a difficult position in his rookie year and did the best he could but I would rather have Cutler.
You can tell its a bye week for the Bears. This is the dumbest report I have ever read. If this is called reporting, then I want this job. Get real.
How can you call factual numbers a dumb report.
Are you so limited mentally that you can't understand basic numbers?
Do you understand 5-0, which is Orotn's record after he helped defeat the Patriots?
What was wrong with his performance against the team that most people expect to challenge for the Super Bowl?
The point wasn't that Orton is a better quartebrack than Cutler, just that he's played extremely well so far.
How can anyone argue against that?
I was hoping to read soemthing.....As has beeen said....Not even a debate....CUTLER ALL DAY AND TWICE ON SUNDAY.
Next toipc please
How many times has Cutler lead a team to the postseason? I understand all of his facts which are true, however no postseason experience in his career. This year might be his first chance, however it won't be for long..
Wow, if the Bears were as defensive-minded as the posters here, they might be Super Bowl favorites.
Legere posted facts. Why are people arguing with the facts? If I missed the part where Legere said that Orton is better than Cutler, please point it out to me. But all I read was some interesting information.
Sincerely,
A Cutler fan (but not insecure about it)
Caffeinater, The link at the top of one of the webpages was "Orton vs. Cutler? Maybe Orton". . .so there was the suggestion that it was debatable. Perhaps that wasn't Legere's doing, but it was still there.
Domer, if you read LeGere's words he calls Cutler "outstanding" and says you have to give Orton "kudos" for the job he has done. Just facts, and I'd heard all about Cutler's fourth-quarter ratings, but nothing about Orton's fourth-quarters until this. There's no suggestion that Orton is better, but perhaps the hint that Orton's doing better than a lot of us thought he would, and that Denver defense certainly is helping. Then again, so is the Bears' pass rush, or Cutler wouldn't have as many opportunities.
Cutler has had to lead the Bears to victories. Where is the Defense for the Bears? Do you think for one second that the Defense in Denver is not winning the games for "This Year" for Denver?
You know better than saying Orton is better.
Did Orton win the game in Denver where the ball bounced off a receiver and another one caught the ball and ran it in? How about when this year's Denver Defense stopped Dallas from scoring? What position was Orton playing on Defense?
Denver's Defense is giving up the fewest yards in the NFL, where is Orton on Defense?
Last year Denver gave up 450 Points! This is what Cutler did last year!
» He guided the second-ranked offense in the NFL.
» He was No. 1 in fewest percentage of sacks, with 11 in 627 pass plays. That equates to one sack every 57 pass attempts.
» He was No. 3 in the NFL in third-down efficiency, the "money" down. The average NFL team converted 39.5 percent of its third downs; Cutler converted 47.5 percent.
» He was No. 3 in the AFC in yards per pass play (7.3).
» He threw for more yards than Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger, to name a few.
» He had just two 100-yard rushing days from a running back all season: Peyton Hillis (129 against the Jets) and Michael Pittman (109 against the Jacksonville Jaguars).
» He had eight games of 300-plus passing yards (five of those at 350 or more), connecting for 15 touchdowns in those contests.
» Sure, he threw 18 interceptions, which is unacceptable, but his ratio of picks to attempts was 1:34, which tells a slightly different story. Last season, Brees had an interception every 37 pass attempts. Favre's ratio was 1:23, and Roethlisberger's was 1:31. Cutler's career ratio is 1:33.
» Only Jacksonville's David Garrard threw more passes in the fourth quarter of games than Cutler, who completed 100 of 167 passes for 1,212 yards and 11 touchdowns with just four interceptions.
First off Orton's stats are totally skewed by great plays by Brandon Marshal and Stokely. Second and here is the true test who would you rather have at QB if you need a td and only have 2 mins. Orton flailing medium throws that are easily batted away and perhaps you might get lucky and have stokely catch the tipped pass or would you rather have Jay Cutler? Cutler has the gun to hit you on stride deep and has the accuracy on the short throws he is the complete package and is doing more with the bears receivers than Orton could ever dream of.
I take Cutler every time without a doubt. I would have said the same a year ago when he wasn't a bear.
Great response, VandyCutler - your analysis is very compelling.
Why is there even a debate - there's no doubt Cutler is a better QB. You can spin stats to tell just about any story you want. If you go by QB rating, then you'd be telling me Orton is better than Rivers, Brady, Palmer, Cutler and Warner. Could you honestly tell me you'd rather have Orton than any of those five quarterbacks? Let's not try to make a story where there is none.