WEDNESDAY WATERCOOLER
I would like to say that I do live in reality and tend to keep my feet on the ground, so when I offer this perspective, please take with a grain of salt (or maybe slightly bigger than a pebble). When I look at this trade, it doesn't appear at first glance that the Broncos made an even swap, but then I have to really look and ask "who is the real winner?"
(Photo by Bill Sikes/AP Photo)
It's hard to argue that the Bears made good in this deal with the acquisition of Cutler. His 4,500-yards passing and 25 touchdowns say enough about his talent, but one concern fans will have in the windy city; who will he throw to?
The Broncos on the other hand, just what did they pick up? While in Chicago, Orton was not much of a playmaker throwing only 30 touchdowns and passing for just 5,300-yards in the four years he played for the Bears, but he was a successful leader compiling a record of 21-12. So what makes Orton so special or the quarterback that McDaniels "wanted."
And how did the Broncos win in this deal? When you take a closer look at what they really got, it's a little clearer to see that they got more than meets the eye. Sure it's argumentative, but Orton was a quarterback in a run-first system that did not have any playmakers (Hester is still a work in progress) in the passing game. When you examine what he had to work with, where he had to work, and what he was asked to do, he never had a chance to produce big numbers.
So why should anyone expect things to be different in Denver? In the Mile-High country, Kyle will have the tools to make plays and run a system that will not be reliant on him to make all of the plays. With weapons like Marshall, Royal, Stokley and Hillis, Bronco's quarterback Kyle Orton should easily rise among the ranks of fantasy quarterbacks in 2009. Remember, Orton is a by-product from the University of Purdue (same place that produced quarterback Drew Brees), where he threw 31 touchdowns during his senior campaign.
(Photo by University of Purdue Sports Information)
As a senior at Purdue in 2004, the former Boilermaker opened up the season with three 300-yard passing games in his first four starts and threw no less than four touchdowns in each of those contests (17 total in the first four games). Injuries mid-season slowed down his Heisman-like season, but Orton finished strong with 522-passing yards (tying a record set by Drew Brees) and six touchdowns in the teams regular season finale..
Yes that was then and this is now, but if anyone ever doubted Orton's ability to play quarterback you only need to look closer at his resume. He can chuck the rock. In Chicago he was not asked to throw the ball, evident by his 465 passing attempts in 2008 (Cutler threw 616 passes). Under the Bronco's new head coach, quarterbacks averaged 549 passes over the past three seasons.
We are only in April, but considering the additional draft picks the Bronco's picked up in the deal for Orton, it may be too early to concede which team actually got the better in this deal. The Bears are going to bank on Cutler's big arm, but they had better find him some targets soon. The the Bronco faithful should have a little more faith in the new system that has been brought over from Foxboro and the talent that was already in place.
I won't make any bold predictions here, but if you're a Bronco fan you have to like the prospects of what could be in 2009, just don't look too closely at their schedule.
Keep checking back for more football....
By David G. Ortega
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