A Treatise on Kyle Orton

Kyle Orton put up Huckdort-like numbers this year, but without the massive amount of picks. Look at all them game killing, momentum shifting dorts by Hucky, unbelievable – or believable, if you’ve been following my expert analysis. Huckdort is who I’ve said he is all along: A poor man’s Favre. He ain’t no Hall of Famer, that’s for damn sure.

But stats schmats. The hell with stats. Every year is different. For example, Huckdort had great stats (besides the massive amount of game killing dorts) in 2008 with the Broncos. We still ended up 7-9. You hear all this nonsense about how the offense was just spectacular, how it wasn’t broken.  The key to the great stats that year is our defense: it absolutely sucked. You thought it was bad at the end of this year? Not hardly in comparison, the 2008 defense got absolutely shredded with consistency. We relied on Huckdort winging the ball around all overconfident, usually while we were trailing behind on the scoreboard trying to play catch up.  Not to mention we struggled running the ball then as we do now.

The stats appear to look pretty decent for Kyle Orton after this season. But the problems with Kyle Orton, (besides that fact that both him and Huckdort don’t look quite right) the problems are his limitations. First, he is not athletic – a two legged goat may in fact have more pocket evasion skills. Second, his deep throws in the thirty-plus yard range sucked. They sucked because: a) His deep throws float, he can throw far, but not hard. They hang up there like a damn punt. b) The Denver Broncos do not have a blazing, deep threat wide receiver. We have very little speed at this position.

Orton is indeed a game manager who excels at short and mid yardage throws. However, you can win with Kyle Orton, you just gotta do some things.

1. You have to run the football.

You have to have a running game to compliment Orton. You cannot have this guy throwing 55 times in a game. You cannot get stuffed on third and one time and time again. Our running game killed us this year, you see these playoff teams, the Jets, the Ravens? They ran the football, they made those third and 1′s that we didn’t make time and time again. When we ran the football with some consistency, earlier in the year when our offensive line wasn’t worn down, we won games.

2. You have to catch the football.

How many times did a Broncos receiver drop a perfectly thrown pass for a first down on third down this year? It was a disgrace. Tom Jackson was right: The Broncos had no margin for error. Catch the football. When I say we need playmakers I don’t mean pro bowlers necessarily, we need guys who can just make the damn play. Catch the football when it’s right there for crying out loud. Every first down is important when you’re a game manager. It’s tough to make up huge chunks of yards.

3. Protection.

This goes for any QB, losing Ryan Harris wasn’t good for us but I noticed in the ass end of the year, not only did the interior of our offensive line suck at run blocking, they were getting smoked by opposing team’s tackle’s even in pass protection. Want to stop the Broncos 2009 offense? Attack the middle, teams started to blitz us right up the middle tirelessly, and it worked.

Despite the limitations, anyone hoping Orton doesn’t come back this year has to be kidding. Yes he has limitations, but they can be overcome with good protection, receivers who catch and a running game. What he does, he does well and that is make accurate short/mid passes. Most important of all, he protects the football. Except in the Chiefs game. Hell everybody farted in that game even Dawkins. We don’t even have the receiver speed for the mystical “deep ball” that wasn’t even that great when Hucky was in there. Most of Hucky’s deep balls got picked. Remember him forcing it to Marshall time and time again? At least Orton’s passes actually got to Marshall most of the time and didn’t end up in the hands of some defender. If we had some guy who could get some really good separation down the sideline at times, then we could try some of them deeper throws.

Ignoramus’s sometimes wonder what if we still had Huckdort? I don’t think we would be that much better. He’s a me first prima donna. He’s got a million dollar arm, but a ten cent head and a five cent haircut. He is erratic and inconsistent in the extreme. Nineteen picks last year, twenty six this year. Game killing, momentum shifting picks at the worst possible time.

Blaming Orton for our running game woes? Irrational. Didn’t they have a running game up in Chicago in 2008? Shouldn’t it have gotten much better with Hucky Dorts in there? After all, he can throw the deep ball. The safety’s had little to do with our insipid running game. No, when you’re running back is getting tackled in the backfield by two of the opposing teams tackles something is wrong with your guys up front. Especially in short yardage situations, that interior line was nonsense.

There was one game this year I felt we could have won if we had Huckdort in there. One. It was the Eagles game, Orton’s deep throw to an open Brandon Marshall was pitiful. That was about it though. People say Chicago’s receivers stink.  That’s true, however where the hell was Royal this year? Scheffler? Our receiving corps didn’t play that great either. Gaffney and Marshall were it for the most part.  Can you imagine that Huckdort getting bored and forcing the ball where it just won’t go in McDaniel’s system that focuses on precision and protecting the football? I can.

At times, Orton threw the ball with confidence and zip. At times he looked downright aloof. What did Brady say, this offense took three years to get comfortable in?

A QB that can win in this league and protect the football is nothing to scoff at.

Kyle Orton is a team first player. Not some me first prima donna loser. Kyle Orton is not a punk. When this guy was out there and we were losing with thirty seconds to go, he was hurrying us up to the line of scrimmage. He is a Bronco, and he wants to win and does not quit.

Maybe we draft a QB in the mid rounds this year. Fine, if he were to supplant Orton, great. Because if he supplants Orton in this system it means we drafted one hell of a player.

I’ll bet you anything Kyle Orton won’t throw a fit if that happened. I bet you he won’t act like an absolute punk if we draft a QB early. I bet you he won’t cause a bunch of crap if he’s not the starter.

Furthermore, you people booing him, still wishing for this thing below (which was surely airbrushed), you people ought to be ashamed of yourselves.