I finally feel compelled to enter the verbal fray, so here are my two bits on Kyle Orton and the Broncos. Now that he is 18 and 2 as a starter at home, and now that he has the Broncos off to their best start in a decade while throwing but 1 interception (which was nearly intentional ), I am confident he will do the job in Denver. Not that I ever doubted him, but the media and fans both in Denver and in Chicago were so negative about his ability and so lavish in their praise of Jay Cutler, that even I began to have questions.

I am a lifelong Bear fan and can still remember listening to them on the radio as their great defense destroyed Y.A. Tittle and the NY Giants in the NFL Championship game of 1963. I was looking forward to this season and a healthy and experienced Kyle Orton in full control of the Bears offense. I was stunned when I got the news that the Bears had traded for Jay Cutler, giving up TWO NUMBER ONE DRAFT CHOICES and Kyle Orton. I was actually more shocked by the loss of these high picks. A football team’s future depends on the draft, and I think the Bears made a fatal mistake with this trade that won’t show up for a while. Simply put, you can’t trade your number one and expect to succeed. Trade two number ones for anybody short of one of Archie’s sons and you have lost your mind.

And speaking of Franchise Quarterbacks, who pinned that label on JayC? One Pro Bowl and he is anointed a football god, an all time great in the making. Soon after the trade I began to research this FQ and found his bona fides suspect. The collapse and failure by the Broncos last season made me wonder. The fact that he had never led a team to a winning record, college or pro, caused concern. The fact that no Big Ten teams signed him to a ride, even though he grew up in the heart of the conference in INDIANA, baffled me. And I was troubled by the gossipy feud that the media said led to his banishment from Denver. But when he arrived in Chicago, our media and sports pundits swooned before him. I wanted to ask David Haugh, Bear reporter of the Tribune, if he had sent flowers to JayC, or maybe even asked him out, so extravagant was his praise. The best since Sid Luckman they shrieked. So what, I thought. Luckman led the Bears even before my time, during WW II, pretty much NFL prehistory.

On the other side of the scale was Kyle Orton, under-rated and unappreciated. When the Bears drafted him, I couldn’t believe their good fortune. A player who once might have been a high first rounder they get in the fourth. Save for the aftermath of one disastrous play his Senior year against Wisconsin, Purdue might have been in the Rose Bowl and he might have won the Heisman.

Orton comes from that bastion of college quarterbacks, Purdue University in West Lafayette, INDIANA (see the connection) and includes a lineage of Len Dawson, Bob Griese, Mike Phipps, Mark Hermann, Jim Everett, and Drew Brees and rightfully stands in the highest ranks of that pantheon. He holds records for avoiding interceptions at every level of competition, yet JayC is the one praised for his accuracy. As an 18 year old he out dueled a 10 year older pro Jon Kitna in distance throwing, but it is JayC with the strong arm. I don’t think I saw one Orton pass that Cutler would have thrown better. He also showed several times that he could lead a long and crucial drive. I can’t wait to see the Broncos open up the vertical game and let Orton fling it.

Kyle Orton had tremendous success for the Bears, success that went largely unrecognized in the Big Windy. Operating under the chained restraint of the imagination challenged Ron Turner, he still managed to lead the Bears to a victorious season as a rookie. When the quarterback savant (nothing but a golden arm) Rex Grossman returned, Orton suffered through clipboard splinters and earphone ache. Last year, deprived of Bernard Berrian, the Bears only gifted wideout, he still managed to lead the Bears to a winning record and he often led them to rally to a fourth quarter lead only to have their vaunted defense go in the tank.

What a break this trade has been for Orton. With the Broncos he gets to play behind arguably the best O line in the pros. The extra pick from the Bears allowed them to help their defense and still draft Knowshon Moreno, a legitimate contender for Rookie of the Year. The Broncos have a solid receiver corps and Kyle likes his tight ends so I look for Scheffler and especially Graham to get more attention. And the defense? Suffice it to say that the Bears at their best and healthiest were no better.

I am hopeful that the Bears will have a successful season, but to my mind, there is a lot that smells there. Thank you Denver for Johnny Knox (5th rounder from trade) because there is no established wide receiver. The O line is suspect, Kreutz being over-rated and Pace being over-the-hill. The defense has suffered some serious injuries and may not hold up. And they have been lucky (missed FGs) in a couple of their victories. Jay Cutler showed his dark side with the bleak night in Green Bay and he better not show that side again.

I look forward to following the success of Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos and plan to watch as many of their games as I can. Kyle is one smart, tough and capable QB, and with the obviously shrewd coaching staff of the Broncos he will make the fans happy. Remember that whenever Kyle Orton takes the field it is Orton and Robert Ayers and a great player to be chosen later lining up behind Casey Weigmann. What a trade and boy did the Bears get snookered. With Orton, Ayers and Moreno the Broncos definitely had the best draft of 2009. That reminds me, is Ayers going to get to play more in light of the season Dumervil has been having?