Bears fans who watched the Denver Broncos’ overtime victory over New England yesterday are probably wondering, “Why couldn’t Kyle Orton have played this way when he was with the Bears?”
While I’m as surprised as everyone else that the Broncos are unbeaten at 5-0, I’m not as surprised to see Orton perform as well as he has. In my blog last April after the Orton-Cutler trade, I wondered if Orton would have enjoyed better success in Chicago if he had better receivers to throw to, a younger, quicker offensive line to protect him, and a game plan that featured his strengths as a quarterback.
During his three years in Chicago, Orton was much maligned and underrated. Yet, for all his flaws, he posted a 21-12 career record with the Bears and had a .667 regular season winning percentage, the fourth highest among Bears quarterbacks since 1961. Being traded to Denver in the offseason provided the perfect opportunity to jumpstart his career. Now he has a chance to play every week with many of the players and offensive schemes that helped Cutler be so successful last season.
While it’s still early in the 2009 football campaign, it appears that this trade has worked out well so far for all parties. Cutler’s talents and leadership on the field is forcing the rest of the Bears team, especially the receivers, to raise their game to his level. Meanwhile, Orton, who went to a team with many offensive weapons already in place, has raised his game to match theirs.
If Orton’s performance so far this season proves anything, it’s this: Football is still a team sport. Winning depends on having a balanced attack: offense, defense, special teams and coaching. When all these elements are in place, you don’t need to be the most talented quarterback on the block to win in the National Football League. You just have to be a smart one.
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