Thread: Orton gets a vote of confidence

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Orton gets a vote of confidence
Posted by Mike Florio on August 15, 2009 1:23 PM ET
So with Kyle Orton throwing three interceptions and Chris Simms racking up two touchdowns passes, Simms could be on track to topple Orton at the top of the depth chart, right?

Um, no.

Per Bob Glauber of Newsday, coach Josh McDaniels said after Friday night's 17-16 loss to the 49ers that there's no quarterback controversy in Denver.

"I feel very confident where we're at," McDaniels said. "There's no reason to start tailspinning into this and that when we've only had one preseason game."

And McDaniels has some fairly recent experience regarding the disconnect between preseason performance and regular-season play. Last year, McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for a team whose primary backup looked awful in August. The backup in question became a fairly good player once the starter blew out a knee in Week One.

How good? So good that McDaniels was willing to risk his relationship with a franchise quarterback in order to trade for the guy.

Orton gets a vote of confidence

I demand a re-count.

on the bright side our D and the team pretty much overcame a terrible start.
orton looked pretty shaky(to say the least)
but i agree with mcd you dont let the 1st game of an entirely new team,change your gameplan for the season.
all things considered i think the team looked better than expected for a "trial run"

Originally Posted by T.K.O. (team kyle orton)

on the bright side our D and the team pretty much overcame a terrible start.
orton looked pretty shaky(to say the least)
but i agree with mcd you dont let the 1st game of an entirely new team,change your gameplan for the season.
all things considered i think the team looked better than expected for a "trial run"

The Niners were 7-9 last year with St. Louis and Seattle in their division. This was a middle of the road opponent. What did you expect from them?

I expected the defense to be worse than it actually was and was pleasantly surprised. The offense was less than I felt it should be from last year and with the additions that they have added.

Unfortunately, our schedule includes many teams that IMO appear much better than the Niners. Without serious improvement, I don't have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.

just as Gary and mike fixed JAke and worked with Jay, Josh worked with Brady and Cassell, I'm not overly worked up about one game..

Originally Posted by Dean

The Niners were 7-9 last year with St. Louis and Seattle in their division. This was a middle of the road opponent. What did you expect from them?

I expected the defense to be worse than it actually was and was pleasantly surprised. The offense was less than I felt it should be from last year and with the additions that they have added.

Unfortunately, our schedule includes many teams that IMO appear much better than the Niners. Without serious improvement, I don't have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head.

The thing is.. the defense was so bad last year that even when the other team rushes for nearly 5 yrds a carry, and completes a high % of passes against us, we are still HAPPY with their performance! This against a team that doesn't have a strong QB, a strong WR, and didn't even play their best players on offense (Gore). But... it is the first pre-season game. They are on tired legs, right?

boo hoo waaa waa....yeah the product we saw in the 1st road preseason game is what we should expect through the whole season....
ever watch football before this year?
geez and the niners had a nice run at the end of the year they have a very good defense !
singletary is building his team on it ! and obviously we wont be throwing 3 picks a 1/2 every game. so yeah,the guys looked good for the first game.
sure orton screwed the pooch a bit but hey...PRE-SEASON...
i worry when the games count....you know like the last 3 last season

Originally Posted by Jrwiz

just as Gary and mike fixed JAke and worked with Jay, Josh worked with Brady and Cassell, I'm not overly worked up about one game..

Yea I don't understand it either. He turned Cassel from a laughing stock to a better QB than Cutler by the end of the season.

And I don't like the ignorance of the DEnver fanbase who actually think the 1st preseason game is meaninful.

Originally Posted by silkamilkamonico

Yea I don't understand it either. He turned Cassel from a laughing stock to a better QB than Cutler by the end of the season.

And I don't like the ignorance of the DEnver fanbase who actually think the 1st preseason game is meaninful.

Hey IF he can't coach him then IMHO it is not Josh but Orton.. I'm not to worried about it.. Only the die hard jay fans are up tight..

most were dreaming of sugar plums after the end of last year, tasting the thought of one more year with jay Etal.. not realizing that Pat had enough bovine excreta..

Originally Posted by Jrwiz

just as Gary and mike fixed JAke and worked with Jay, Josh worked with Brady and Cassell, I'm not overly worked up about one game..

the difference is Jake, Jay, Cassell, and Brady are all talented Quarterbacks

Orton just isnt a talented Quarterback.... Theres not one aspect that he is above average at.

Originally Posted by silkamilkamonico

Yea I don't understand it either. He turned Cassel from a laughing stock to a better QB than Cutler by the end of the season.

And I don't like the ignorance of the DEnver fanbase who actually think the 1st preseason game is meaninful.

I have to see a lot more of Cassel to believe he's better than anyone. Playing with a team that just went 18-0 the season prior, MIGHT have had something to do with his success. He was pressured and sacked the most in the NFL when playing behind NE's line, and was the worst in the red zone with Welker and Moss on the team.

lets see how he plays behind a KC OL with no Tony G to even the odds a bit

Originally Posted by EMB6903

the difference is Jake, Jay, Cassell, and Brady are all talented Quarterbacks

Orton just isnt a talented Quarterback.... Theres not one aspect that he is above average at.

your basing that off of the bears coaching, play calling and folks around him..

lets give him a chance and see if he can improve like Jake did coming in from AZ..

30 minutes it a bit shorter of a test than I would want..

It is not like he grew up in this system or had the talent he does now....

Jake was also used to make it happen by himself took him time to realize he had a LOT of tools around him..

Lets not over exaggerate the situation in Chicago. It wasn't CLOSE to anything like in AZ, and the Bears just went to the Super Bowl 2 years prior to last season. Not to mention, their running game was pretty damned good.

Lets not try to make the Bears sound to be the Detroit Lions here. Thats absurd.

Originally Posted by Ravage!!!

I have to see a lot more of Cassel to believe he's better than anyone. Playing with a team that just went 18-0 the season prior, MIGHT have had something to do with his success. He was pressured and sacked the most in the NFL when playing behind NE's line, and was the worst in the red zone with Welker and Moss on the team.

lets see how he plays behind a KC OL with no Tony G to even the odds a bit

I saw enough of him last year to assurely say that was a serious course of significangt improvement, and the way McDaniels altered that offense to fit Cassel's needs throughout the year was a serious work of coaching. Even Belichek has stated that.

Forget who they have and look at the work of body for Cassel from the first couple games to the last few. He was playing like one of the best QB's in the NFL. And nobody's saying he's at the point, but nobody can deny the course of improvement he had throughout the season.

And reports out of the KC camp is he's looking very impressive and has a firm grasp on what they're trying to do offensively.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/traini...ory?id=4401279

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Kyle Orton only needs to worry about correcting his mistakes, not looking over his shoulder.

New Broncos coach Josh McDaniels is standing behind his struggling quarterback, whom Denver acquired this spring in a trade with Chicago. That deal sent Pro Bowl passer Jay Cutler to the Bears after his relationship with McDaniels soured.

Orton threw three interceptions on three straight first-half series in Denver's 17-16 exhibition loss to the San Francisco 49ers, while his backup, Chris Simms, threw two touchdown passes.

McDaniels said it's too early to think about pulling the plug on Orton, who was booed for his poor play and two interceptions in a free scrimmage at Invesco Field last week, dampening what was supposed to be a night of fun.

"I feel very confident where we're at," McDaniels said after the game. "He made a few mistakes, but we're not going to go into this thing after the first preseason game and start tailspinning and doing this and that and making knee-jerk reactions."

The bigger issue facing the Broncos could be the health of top draft pick Knowshon Moreno, who went to the locker room in the second quarter with a leg injury. He was scheduled for an MRI exam on Saturday.

McDaniels didn't hesitate to play Moreno against the Niners even though he had practiced just five times after ending an eight-day holdout by signing a five-year, $23 million contract.

The Broncos return to the field Sunday, and wide receiver Brandon Marshall, fresh off his acquittal in a misdemeanor battery trial in Atlanta, could return for the first time since pulling up lame on a deep route Aug. 2.

As for his quarterback, McDaniels named Orton his starter in June. Coaches say he's come a long way in learning the intricate Patriots-style offense that requires the quarterback to make plenty of decisions at the line of scrimmage.

But he's struggled to put together any consistency, throwing several interceptions in one practice and then looking picture perfect the next.

"I'm not pressing at all," Orton said. "I'm trying to get comfortable with the offense and get ready for the first game."

And he fully expects to be the starter when the Broncos open their season at Cincinnati on Sept. 13.

"I'm not worried about it," Orton said when asked about the possibility of losing the starting job. "I've got a lot of confidence in me, and my team has a lot of confidence in me."

Orton's first interception came in the end zone when he tried to lead tight end Daniel Graham with a pass in zone coverage, ruining what had been an impressive and long drive on the Broncos' first possession.

His second interception -- by former Broncos cornerback Dre' Bly -- led to San Francisco's first touchdown, a 3-yard pass.

"I don't want to make those decisions and have three interceptions, but for the most part I felt very comfortable and felt we did a lot of good things on offense," Orton said.

McDaniels said there were plenty of mistakes to go around.

"We've got things we can fix and improve upon. I can definitely improve too. I told the players that. It starts with me," he said.

Not only does Orton have his coach's confidence, but Simms has his back, too.

"Kyle didn't struggle," Simms insisted. "I really don't think he did. He moved the ball well in all his series, and I think he'll tell you the those three throws are ones he makes every day in practice. He's a good player, and he'll bounce back and be ready for next game."

Niners coach Mike Singletary also praised Orton, who is 21-12 as a starter in the NFL.

"I think our guys did a pretty decent job of being where they needed to be and maybe the quarterback thought he saw something. Orton is a better quarterback than a lot of people think he is," Singletary said. "He's very solid, very consistent and I think our DBs did a pretty decent job."