Orton vs. Cutler, Round 2
In light of Kyle Orton’s 35-for-48 performance and 330 passing yards along with 2 touchdowns on Sunday against the Patriots, it seems only fitting to reiterate some of the points I made last week.
Most of you got that I was merely pointing out how well Orton has played this season, while a couple others took it as a slap in Jay Cutler’s face. Cutler’s better, but Orton is playing excellent football, too.
Again, I’d rather have Cutler. He’s put up numbers that are almost as impressive as Orton’s, and he’s done it with far less talent. That’s not to disrespect Devin Hester, Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox. They’ve played extremely well, but Cutler has made them better.
In Denver, Brandon Marshall is an absolute beast, and he has made Orton better than he ever was in Chicago. He’s still not as good as Cutler, but Orton’s team is 5-0.
Orton is now 26-12 as a starter, which is pretty Brady-like. Cutler remains 20-21 after the off week.
The other numbers are pretty close, and are all outstanding. Orton actually threw his first interception of the season last week. He was picked off by Randy Moss, who was in the game to provide an extra pair of hands and help defend a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half.
After five weeks, Orton is 10th in the NFL with a passer rating of 97.4 with 7 TD passes and just 1 pick. Cutler is 14th at 89.4, and he’s got 8 TD passes and 5 interceptions. Starting with the second half of the season opener against the Packers, Cutler has 8 TD passes and 2 interceptions.
Both quarterbacks have been sacked eight times, although Orton has played one more game. Cutler has completed 64.3 percent of his passes, while Orton is at 63.0.
In closing, Orton is having an outstanding season, even though his production is helped by Marshall, Eddie Royal, a solid offensive line and a defense that has been phenomenal so far.
But Cutler’s the better quarterback. Got it?
Orton is doing a bang up job in Denver, but it’s obviously the talent of the WRs, OL and RBs, and scheme. KO still can’t throw an accurate deep ball. In the Pats, game he over threw a receiver on a rare pass over 20 yards. In this scheme, Orton stats look good due to short passes and YAC the skill players are accumulating. The Oline deserves more credit, because Orton is always comfortable and clean in the pocket. And of course, with any QB, you give them enough time they’ll take you apart. But the most screwed status of all is the win/loss record that’s attached to QBs. In almost all the victories Orton has been apart of the team’s defense was the reason. Under Orton, the Bears had a Super Bowl caliber defense and special team that scored more than the Orton led offense. When games were on the line, fans knew help had to come from somewhere other than the Bears 3 and out offense. During those nail-biting games, Hester, Mike Brown, and the defense were the Bears only means for points. In Denver, their defense was the reason for losses not Cutler and the offense that racked up serious yardage to win games. Cutler and Orton (many other QBs) so call record for win/loss is misleading. Football is a team game and every phase needs to be solid to win. The only exception to the rule is Peyton Manning for the most part. He has always had a terrible defense, but Manning can slice and dice any defense and is (almost) the sole reason Indy is competitive and winning. When I hear QB win/loss record it sickens me, because it’s a hollow stat.
whats up with playing both sides but not having the gonads to take YOUR side. Enough cute tongue in cheek comments. be a man and state your opinion, or just put the stats up there and leave it at that. no offense, but the offhand comments don't do anyone anygood....they are just annoying. Go Bears. Go Bears QB....whomever it is. Take a side....sheesh.
whats up with playing both sides but not having the gonads to take YOUR side. Enough cute tongue in cheek comments. be a man and state your opinion, or just put the stats up there and leave it at that. no offense, but the offhand comments don't do anyone anygood....they are just annoying. Go Bears. Go Bears QB....whomever it is. Take a side....sheesh.
While I agree Orton's off to a good start, let's remember it's only been five games. After five games at beginning of the 2006 season, Grossman had 10 TDs and 3 INTs, and a 102.64 QB rating, so we know how misleading a small sample size can be. And despite the Bears going to the Super Bowl that year, most people thought it was in spite of Grossman, not because of him. Now, I'm not saying Grossman = Orton, just to be careful what's gleaned from only 5 games.
Preference at QB truly depends on how much risk one is willing to accept. In Cutler you get a high risk/high reward gunslinger with a big arm, Orton, Limited risk/Limited Reward.
Statistically, Culter has prettier numbers, and a much worse winning percentage. Financially, this is no contest, Cutler, a first round pick, gets $6.4 million/year...Orton, a 4th rounder, 2.8 million/year. Bang per buck wise, Orton crushes Cutler.
Gambling on the nebulous "upside potiential" is just that, a gamble. But this fan won't disrespect Orton for just finding ways to be a the helm of the winning side at that nearly 70% clip. And at the price...going to the Limited/Limited option would appear to be the logical move.
The football salary cap is so ridiculously high that 3-1 teams like the Bears can still be $20M under the cap.
If we were talking basketball or hockey (where teams actually worry about the cap and don't always end the season in the black), I might agree, but this is football where revenue sharing puts all teams on really even footing and teams aren't terribly concerned about $120M caps.
JK...I wasn't really commenting vis a vis Sal Cap...just mentioned the financial aspect out of native frugality (as doubtless would the Papa Bear!). Frankly, as a 40 year plus Bear fan, I view steady play and Defense as the surer path to success, especially in weather games late in the year. So I would take the "Game Manager" every time. That term isn't a bad word to this fan, over our team's entire history, our Passing game has been so spotty, that Luckman still is in the record book. Moreover, given that we have not had a starting QB be injury free all season in each of the past few seasons, there are added risks in planning an offense around the Gunslinger.
Would Denver still be 5-0 if "Brandon Marshall" did not rip the interception out of DB in last weeks game?
Would Denver still be 5-0 if the "Defense" did not knock the ball out of Brady's hand?
Denver's Defense "Last Year" gave up 450 points!
Yet the Cutler led Offense was 2nd in the Entire NFL!
How is Orton making the defense play better?
I watched EVERY Game Preseason and Regular season of the Denver Broncos for the Last three years. Their Defense WAS NOTHING like it is now.
Mike Lombardi from NFL Network said last years Denver's Defense was the worst he had ever seen on tape!!
How is it that you are giving Orton the Credit??
If you want to cheer for Orton go to Denver!
You are truly misguided.
My job is not to cheer for anyone. You can keep the pompoms.
My job is to be an impartial observer and to provide unbiased facts.
I don't recall giving Orton any credit for the improved Denver defense.
You also do a nice job making statistcis say whatever futhers your misguided opinion. Yes, the Broncos were No. 2 in total yards last season. That's because they spent most of the season playing catch up. But they were also a mediocre 16th in scoring and 19th in interception percentage.
Admitting that Orton is having an outsanding season doesn't take anything away from Cutler.
I think Orton is as good if not better. If you compare the win-loss records of both, Orton's is better playing with less talent in Chicago as well.
This wasn't a straight up trade though...the Bears mortgaged their future by trading (2) 1st rounders and a 3rd rounder in addition to Orton.
There is a BIG difference playing in Denver as opposed to Soldier Field and let's see how well Cutler plays in Nov and Dec when the weather is bad and the winds are swirling at 20 to 40 MPH clips.
Have you ever thought that it might be the specific offense? Maybe this is an indictment on Ron Turners system. He has never had a offense above 9 in the league and that was 1995...maybe McDanials system really is that good. Kyle Orton is having a great year. But if you stick Cutler in that system he has great numbers too.
It really isn't about Kyle in Denver it is about Mike Nolan and the Defense. Culter would have been to a couple of playoffs if that defense was there the last couple years. Remember Culter was like 20-2 when Denver held teams under 21 points.
Let's also remember Orton has had a horse shoe hidden somewhere this year...this team is 4-1 maybe 3-2 if it weren't for a couple of tipped balls falling the right way.
There are big arms, that people{including the media} fall in love with, and there are winners. Orton is a winner. He doesn't usually put up the big sexy numbers, but he gets the results the whole team is striving for,the W. I think Cutler will be there too, I hope so, anyway. But, I don't understand why you have devoted 2 blogs to clarify your position on this non issue. Who cares?