Brady Quinn vs. Kyle Orton: We got the ugly one

When the Broncos began shopping Sweet Baby Jay Cutler earlier this year, one of his possible destinations was Cleveland, this weekend's opponent, where he'd have been swapped for Brady Quinn. My twin high-school-age daughters, Lora and Ellie, weren't very enthusiastic about that prospect from a football standpoint, since this particular...

By Michael Roberts

September 17, 2009

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When the Broncos began shopping Sweet Baby Jay Cutler earlier this year, one of his possible destinations was Cleveland, this weekend's opponent, where he'd have been swapped for Brady Quinn. My twin high-school-age daughters, Lora and Ellie, weren't very enthusiastic about that prospect from a football standpoint, since this particular member of the Brady bunch probably couldn't hit Marcia's nose if it was right in front of him. But they saw one big advantage to the deal: In their words, Quinn is bangin'!

What about Kyle Orton, the man who eventually came to Colorado in exchange for Cutler? The other day, he popped onto the screen in a news conference while we were watching an HD channel, and Lora flinched like she'd just seen a closeup of road kill. "Get that thing off my TV," she growled.

Too harsh a judgment? 'Fraid not -- and to make the situation that much more painful, Orton doesn't seem to be any better at quarterbacking an NFL team than Quinn is. At least if Brady'd come our way, he would have looked pretty throwing incompletions and getting sacked. For proof, page through a collection of Quinn and Orton photos below -- if you dare.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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