Orton's Interceptions

…suggesting it was mostly in his head.

The first one, to me, wasn’t a bad pass – it’s just that Graham shut down his route because of the coverage, and Orton still led him with the throw, not seeing the same thing. Orton was very good at NOT throwing picks in the red zone for the Bears, so this one surprised me.

The second one was a bad read and a bad throw – if you’re going to throw to a guy that well covered, you need to at least put it on his side, but in this offense you should be hitting someone else that isn’t as closely covered anyway.

The third was an awful throw off his back foot – about as fundamental a no-no as you can get. That just smacked of “crap, my first start here, and all I’ve done is throw two picks, and the play is breaking down a bit, and I need to make something happen…”

But I’m really not worried yet. Orton is going from an extremely vanilla offense the past several years to one that may be as complicated as any other in the NFL. It’s probably unrealistic to expect him to have complete command of it until well into the regular season. I did like the way he was directing traffic prior to the snap and I also liked his demeanor after the picks – talking with his teammates and trying to figure out how to fix things. And that first drive was quite impressive before the pick. The point is, there are things to build on.

Orton was not known for throwing a lot of picks in Chicago. His knock was that he couldn’t win the game on his own and played not to lose. So three picks in a half is such an anomaly that even his naysayers have to admit it wasn’t what they were expecting. Let’s give it more time, and see if he makes progress.

Orton had a bad night. We can all agree on that. He also had the more complex system than Sims. When Orton was out there McDaniels was changing formations and personnel almost every play. When Sims was on the field the offense seemed much less complex, with fewer personnel and formation changes. That said, I think Sims played pretty well.

A good post Maritime!
Kyle will be the first to tell you the three picks were unacceptable. In 2008 Orton had 206 consecutive pass attempts, over a five game span, without a interception. It’s a Chicago Bears’ record. I don’t care how you slice it or dice it, when you go 206 without a pick, that is a great achievement. Last year, he had one interception in the red zone. While he was with the Bears, imo, he had two very bad games out of the 31 he started. One in 2005, where he had 5 picks. Then last year, in the 2nd Vikings game he threw three.
I have been surprised with his number of interceptions in both practice and again last night. A think a couple things are coming into play here with him:
1. Orton isn’t confident/comfortable yet – due to the combination of a new system, coaching staff, receivers, working on fundamentals, etc.
2. The pressure Orton is under is now greater than at any time in his career – due to the criticism in the media on a national level, a fan base that is split in half over the trade, final contract year, the pressure on McD, Elway shadow, the QB competition, etc…
The confidence issue will improve during the course of the preseason. The intense pressure that Orton is under is a different matter, and I do believe it is a factor with his performance so far.There is only one way that will get better for him, and that’s by playing good on the field.
Let’s not forget, this is only training camp practices and the first preseason game. The 2008 Detroit Lions were undefeated in the preseason at 4-0. In 1985, the Chicago Bears were 1-3. I’m confident that Kyle Orton will step up his level of play as the preseason progresses. He has to!