Orton, Cutler debuts a study in contrasts
| September 14, 2009 | 9:52 AM
More journal entries from Steve Foster »
First, let’s remember this: Kyle Orton wasn’t good. He wasn’t bad either. He was just there for four quarters against the Cincinnati Bengals, not doing much to help his team, not doing much to hurt his team. In his first regular season game with the Denver Broncos, Orton was 17-for-28 for 243 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He moved the ball down the field when he had to, put the team in position for a pair of field goals and let the Broncos revitalized defense hold the Bengals in check.
The only notable mistake was the fourth-quarter sack Orton took that pushed the Broncos out of range of a field goal that would have made the game 9-0 and given it a much different — and boring — ending.
He can hardly be credited for winning the game with his touchdown pass, a deflection intended for one receiver that could have just as easily ended up in the hands of a defender as the hands of Brandon Stokley, who ran it back for a game-winning touchdown. But more to the point with Orton: in the end, he didn’t lose the game.
Now, as for Jay Cutler, Broncos fans who watched the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers on Sunday — and most Broncos were watching the game, nervously, even resentfully at first, then gleefully by the end — recognized the quarterback who was slinging the ball all around the field. It wasn’t the interceptions that were so familiar — in fact, Cutler as Bronco was never that wild, 17-for-36, just one touchdown and four interceptions. It was the timing of the interceptions and the eventual score of the game that Broncos fans should have recognized.
Cutler’s second interception came on his second drive in the second quarter. After a 68-yard pass to Johnny Knox that put the Bears at the Packers’ 8-yard line, the Bears stalled on first and second down. Cutler had another shot for a touchdown, but if he doesn’t get there, the Bears still get a field goal to tie the game. Instead, Cutler throws an interception, not in the end zone, not while challenging the Packers corners deep or even the linebackers over the middle. Rather, he throws a weak interception to a 325-pound defensive lineman who was falling to the ground on the play.
Later in the third quarter after Cutler appeared to settled down, the Bears marched down the field to reach the Packers 16-yard line, a drive that included another big play from the quarterback, this time a 23-yard pass to Desmond Clark. But the drive stalled again, when Cutler took a sack for a loss of nine yards. The Bears still managed to put up a field goal that time and take a 12-10 lead, but it illustrates a larger point about Cutler that Broncos fans were already too familiar with. The big plays for which he is known and which the Bears coveted most often happen outside the red zone. The closer his team gets to scoring, the more trouble Cutler has finishing the job. It’s notable that his only touchdown in the game was a 36-yard pass to Devin Hester.
Cutler’s Chicago debut was a treat for Broncos fans who wanted revenge after the quarterback pouted his way out Denver. But it’s likely to be the worst game Cutler plays this year. The rest of the season, he will be less obviously bad, throw fewer interceptions and even help his team win a few games with some long, amazing plays. But it will be those smaller moments, the field goals the team settles for when they really needed a touchdown or the field goals they’ll never attempt because they’re five yards too far out, those missed opportunities that will add up over the course of the season. Bears fans will find themselves wondering how their team is 8-8 or 9-7 after all those amazing plays from Cutler.
Meanwhile, Orton will get better than he was Sunday against the Bengals. He still might not win many games on his own, but he won’t do much to lose games either. In the end, that is likely what Josh McDaniels was looking for when he started down this adventure last spring.
Journals, Sports, Steve Foster
chicago bears, denver broncos, jay cutler, kyle orton
