Keeler: New Denver QB Kyle Orton stays centered on winning

[Bronco Rob]

He apologizes for not calling you back sooner; the last five weeks, Kyle Orton's either had his nose stuck inside a 3-ring binder or buried beneath a pile of cardboard boxes.

Orton and his wife recently found a new home in the Denver area. Between unpacking and mini-camps, he's managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. That's about it.

"A new city, a new situation, a new team," the former Southeast Polk High School star says. "(You) come in and have to meet all the guys and study the media guide as much as you study the playbook."




Jay Cutler?

"I haven't really paid any attention to it."

Denver fans?

"I don't pay attention to that stuff."

Really?

"It's certainly a quarterback town," says Orton, who last month was traded to the Broncos along with draft picks for Cutler, the first-round boy wonder and public malcontent. "My goal is to come in here and win football games. I don't compare myself to any one guy."

Trouble is, of course, that the Broncos' faithful are always going to compare you to one guy — John Elway. He is to Denver what Babe Ruth is to New York, what Michael Jordan is to Chicago. The gold standard. The franchise. The almighty. The giant shadow.



"He was a great player out here and still is a huge part of this community," Orton says of Elway, who led the club to back-to-back titles more than a decade ago. "He was a Hall of Fame quarterback and won a couple Super Bowls. My focus isn't to be one guy. It's just to win football games. Just get them in the playoffs."

And how's this for irony? While Orton was in Chicago, the Bears were allegedly pursuing Chris Simms. Now they're together, in the mountains, battling for Denver's starting job. As the Mile High City bemoans the loss of Cutler's golden arm, new coach Josh McDaniels finds himself having to defend Orton's moxie. And the fit. The Bears didn't need their quarterbacks to win the game; they just wanted them to not lose them. The Broncos have been almost the antithesis.



Denver's passing game with Cutler was a vertical one, with a plethora of deep threats in wideouts Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney. In Chicago, the Bears' best receiver was tight end Greg Olsen, and Orton - a gunslinger during his college days at Purdue - was reined in accordingly. ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer predicted that the transition back to a shotgun, wide-open attack should be an easy one for Orton, who amassed the third-most yards of any passer in Boilermaker history.


"Obviously our wide receivers and tight ends, our skill-position people, are an outstanding group," says Orton, who threw for 18 touchdowns and piloted the Bears to a 9-7 record last fall, just missing the postseason. "Just get them the ball and let them do what they do. I'm going to go out and play as hard as I can and play smart football and try to win football games.

"If it makes people happy, great. And if doesn't, that's not my concern. I'm trying to win football games for my team."

He's trying to win over hearts. One week at a time.



http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...5&theme=KEELER

[gyldenlove]

He certainly talks the right talk.

[Punisher]

Originally Posted by gyldenlove

He certainly talks the right talk.

Yea the man says all the right things,I hope he plays well

[footstepsfrom#27]

Denver's not in the mountains and Cutler never played with Jabar Gaffney. Do they not have TV in Iowa?

[Ambiguous]

Originally Posted by gyldenlove

He certainly talks the right talk.

Opposed to what? Like he was going to come in as a malcontent and talk about how he is going to be lazy and lose games.

All this is fine, but the article is just filler. Someone get neckbeard a few Jack and Cokes and lets find out how he really feels.

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by ambiguous

Opposed to what? Like he was going to come in as a malcontent and talk about how he is going to be lazy and lose games.

All this is fine, but the article is just filler. Someone get neckbeard a few Jack and Cokes and lets find out how he really feels.

[Hallside]

Instead of Gaffney, I think this writer means Brandon Stokely. Don't newspapers do fact checking?

[~Crash~]

there will not be any Shotgun...................

[Ambiguous]

Originally Posted by Hallside

Instead of Gaffney, I think this writer means Brandon Stokely. Don't newspapers do fact checking?

I know, this is not the hard hitting insider information we've all come to expect from the Des Moines Register.

[HEAV]

Denver's passing game with Cutler was a vertical one

Well I guess if you think throwing a pass 10-15 yards and having wideouts make long plays for you is vertical.

Granted Jay had a few long tosses/attempts over the years, but many times he was off on accuracy. Many of his longer completions where due to Marshall not going down and running for yards after the catch.

Marshall had 1265 yards last year and 439 where after the catch yards. Royal had 980 yards and 359 where after the catch!

Majority of the NFL is now offenses based on getting the ball into the hands of playmakers and having them gain yardage. Only the Raiders try the deep passing attacking...and fail...

Hell Casell had 55 percent of his passing yardage from yards after the catch last year.

Orton will be a game manager in a sense, but it's more about getting the ball to Royal,Marshall, Knowshon & others to make plays after the catch.

[SureShot]

I think I may have to create a moxie counter just so I know how much our current qbs have.

[BroncoBuff]

He'll be our best backup QB since Gary Kubiak

[SonOfLe-loLang]

Originally Posted by footstepsfrom#27

Denver's not in the mountains and Cutler never played with Jabar Gaffney. Do they not have TV in Iowa?

Ummm, Denver isn't in the mountains? Sure, it might not be at the top of a peak, but its a friggin mile above sea level.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Originally Posted by SonOfLe-loLang

Ummm, Denver isn't in the mountains? Sure, it might not be at the top of a peak, but its a friggin mile above sea level.

And even though it's a mile above sea level, it's still not in the mountains.

[SonOfLe-loLang]

Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller

And even though it's a mile above sea level, it's still not in the mountains.

Interesting.

[MagicHef]

[bombquixote]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

Glad we resolved that. Can we move along?

I for one am going to miss that Jay to Jabar chemistry.

[Crushaholic]

Originally Posted by footstepsfrom#27

Denver's not in the mountains and Cutler never played with Jabar Gaffney. Do they not have TV in Iowa?

No, Denver isn't in the mountains. In fact, it was an issue the day after the game with the Saints. My wife wanted to see mountains. I think she was a little upset Denver wasn't "in the mountains". Therefore, we traveled west to show her the mountains...

[Miss I.]

So it's settled Denver is not in the mountains directly, but nearby. Still, got to prefer the Denver Broncos to the Aspen or Vail or Breckenridge Broncos. Just seems better.