Thread: Lovie Smith Finally Wakes Up, Gives Orton a Chance.

Orton should have been given a chance a long time ago. He might not succeed but he cant be worse than Rex was and to me Griese who I always have liked, seems like its time to retire or definatley be a backup

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

Kyle Orton gets another chance as starting QB for Bears

December 10, 2007

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -- Another quarterback switch for the floundering Chicago Bears.

Kyle Orton, who started 15 games as a rookie in 2005, returned to the role ahead of veteran Brian Griese on Monday.



Orton, who hasn't played since the season finale two years ago, will start next Monday night's game against the Minnesota Vikings in the Metrodome.

With the Bears out of the playoff picture at 5-8, with Rex Grossman expected to miss the rest of the season with a sprained knee ligament from Thursday's loss to the Redskins, coach Lovie Smith decided to go with Orton.

"Brian has done a lot of good things. We'll just try to see exactly what Kyle can do," Smith said, adding that Orton gave the Bears the best chance to win against the Vikings.

Orton was 10-5 as a starter in 2005. Grossman, who was also injured most of that season, returned to start a playoff loss against Carolina.

Orton, a fourth-round pick out of Purdue in 2005, has primarily been the team's third-string QB the past two seasons. He has not attempted a pass this season.

"I think everybody knows I've been frustrated," Orton said. "I'm going to try to make the best of it."

Smith wouldn't say if Orton would start the final two games of the regular season against Green Bay and New Orleans.

Griese has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 1,803 yards with 10 TD passes and 12 interceptions this season.

It's not like he had much of a choice.

Kyle Orton is like Rex Grossman; in 2005, he "won" 10 of the 15 games he started for the Bears. His stats for that great season:

QB Rating: 59.7 (34th in the league)
Times Sacked: 30 (6th highest)
Yards per Game: 124.6 (34th)
Touchdowns: 9 (4th lowest)

Here's an example of his stats (from oddsnark.com) for a game he "won" in 2005, against GB:

6-17 passing, 68 yards
Sacked 3 times
1 interception, 0 TDs
-2 yards rushing, with 1 fumble

Granted, he was only a rookie thrown into the fire. But he did "win" 10 of 15 games; I wonder, does Lovie just know how to pick these "just win" QB's?

In a serious note, he should've gotten much better while practicing with the Bears. He has a good QB build, and a strong arm, plus he'll be directing one of the simpler offenses in the league, so it's not far fetched that he could do well.

Here's another article ......

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotr...ating-the.html

Evaluating the evaluation of Orton

Maybe someone can help me out here, because I'm confused.

First, Bears coach Lovie Smith said Kyle Orton will start against the Vikings on Monday night. OK. Fine. What little playoff hopes the Bears held were pretty much done last Thursday and it makes sense to see what they have at the most important position on the field with Rex Grossman likely done for the year and Brian Griese proving to be a backup, period.

But then, Smith said he's not in an evaluation period. No, he said he's just trying to win a football game, or some such coach-speak and Orton gives them the best chance to win.

A guy who hasn't played all season gives the Bears the best chance to win? And in maybe the loudest dome in the NFL? Excuse me?

Griese might be no better than a backup, but he has won games this season and done it under hostile circumstances.

But wait. There's more. When asked why it was Orton over Griese, Smith said, "It's time to see exactly what Kyle can do." That sounds like an evaluation period to me. It sounds like the Bears are doing the right thing and saying the wrong thing.

Maybe the head coach can't admit that it's over. But it's over. And the right thing to do when it's over is to use games as a way of figuring out what you have, not just at quarterback but at all positions.

I would hope that all of what passes for a Bears playbook is available for Orton. There's no reason to play it safe the way they did when Orton managed a running game and a had a great defense help him out several seasons ago. If you're going to see what Orton can do, then let him try to do all the things you expect to get out of your offense.

And they ought to use the rest of the season to see what players such as Mike Hass can do at wideout, what Josh Beekman can do on the offensive line and what Jamar Williams can do at linebacker. I'd play Devin Hester as much as I could at wideout too. If the Bears are going to commit to making him a bigger part of the offense, commit now.

And can we please see an end to Brian Urlacher's and Tommie Harris' seasons? This year doesn't matter anymore, but those players matter a lot next year and after that. The sooner they can start getting healthy, the better the chance the Bears can avoid putting us through this next season.

that vikings defense is going to rip orton a new one. . . .

Griese=fail
Grossman=fail
Orton=EPIC FAIL



Hey Bears. This will put you closer to Ryan or Brohm. Yay!