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Sorry, Kyle Orton. Even if the Broncos go undefeated this season, you probably still won’t get any respect from NFL media wise guys. Latest example: Fox Sports’ Tim Ryan, who was asked in a “5 Questions” piece if the Bears made the right move giving up so much to get Jay Cutler. His answer: “Yes, absolutely. Cutler is worth it. When was the last time we saw that kind of talent available for a trade at his age (26) with his production and his contract?” In Ryan’s view, the Bears “knew what they had in Kyle Orton and that he could run a tight-end offense, but they wanted to go deeper than that.” Orton may fit what Josh McDaniels likes to do — “You saw that last season with Matt Cassel in New England” — but he “doesn’t have the mobility or the skills, and he can’t drive the ball down the field like Jay Cutler can. Orton is much more a flat-liner than Cutler. His upside is so much greater than Kyle Orton’s.”
Hard to argue with a lot of that from a statistical standpoint. But there are some other numbers worth considering — like career record as an NFL starter (Cutler: 20-22, Orton: 27-12) and wins and losses this season (Cutler: 3-2, Orton: 6-0). Guess Ryan’s using the new math — the kind that doesn’t always add up.
