Kyle Orton
| currentteam | Chicago Bears |
|---|---|
| currentnumber | 18 |
| currentposition | Quarterback |
| birthdate | |
| birthplace | Altoona, Iowa | heightft=6 | heightin=4 |
| weight | 217 |
| debutyear | 2005 |
| debutteam | Chicago Bears |
| college | Purdue |
| draftyear | 2005 |
| draftround | 4 |
| draftpick | 106 |
| pastteams |
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| nfl | ORT716150 |
1982) is an American football player and a quarterback in the National Football League. He was selected by the Chicago Bears as the 106th pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. Later in 2005, he was charged for DUI late at night near a local night club. Police say they found a bag full of cocaine in the bag of the car, and Orton was taking to the nearest police station." I didn't know it was there," Orton responded the next day.
In 2004, Orton was the preseason third-team "All-American" quarterback, behind USC's Matt Leinart and Oklahoma's Jason White. Orton had an impressive start to the season, having led Purdue to a 5-0 start with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions. Orton was touted as the front runner for the Heisman Trophy, until he received multiple injuries in consecutive games against the Michigan Wolverines and Northwestern Wildcats that forced him out of his starting position for a month.
Overall, the Bears had a record of 10-5 in games that Orton started, including an eight-game winning streak after a 1-3 start. Despite the team's success, Orton finished with the lowest quarterback rating in the NFL (59.7) among all "qualified" quarterbacks (those with 224+ pass attempts) http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/statistics?stat=pass&sort=rat&league=nfl&season=2&year=2005. Despite the low rating, the Bears coaches repeatedly insisted that they were pleased with Orton's performance. The coaching staff of the Bears asked Orton to minimize mistakes and to let the rushing attack and the defense win ballgames rather than employing an aggressive passing attack. Measuring Orton by victories, his rookie season was a successful one even by historical standards. Orton's 15 starts and 10 victories are both rookie records for Bears quarterbacks, and the 10 victories are the second most in the NFL since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, behind only Ben Roethlisberger's 14 victories in 2004.
Following the 2005 season, the Bears signed veteran Brian Griese as the teams second string quarterback. Orton, now demoted, became the Bears third-string quarterback, and did not see any playtime throughout the entire 2006 Chicago Bears season. The following off-season, the Bears organization acquired Chris Leak, who had previously led the Florida Gators to a BCS Championship, shortly after the 2007 NFL Draft. Leak struggled in training camp, while Orton, who had rigorously trained in the off season, excelled.Mayer, Larry, Slimmed-down Orton turning heads in camp (August 1, 2007), chicagobears.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2007. According to the Chicago Tribune, he was en route to overtaking Griese's (then) second string position. Orton continued to show signs of improvement in the preseason. He completed sixteen of twenty-five passes for 151 yards and one touchdown en route to leading the Bears to a comeback victory over the Houston Texans.NFL.com, Texans fall to Bears in Schaub's debut, (August 11, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
After the Bears lost their chances of making a post-season berth, Lovie Smith choose to start Orton over Griese, who served as Grossmans back-up.ChicagoBears.com, Excited Bears quarterback settling in under center. Retrived on December 17, 2007. Orton made his first start in nearly two seasons on December 17, 2007 against the Minnesota Vikings, the last team he started against before relinquishing his starting role to Grossman. The Bears lost the game by a score of 20-13, with Orton finishing with 22 completions on 38 attempts, with 184 yards and 1 interception. Yahoo! Sports, Minnesota 20, Chicago 13, Retrieved on December 17, 2007.
High school career :
Kyle Orton attended Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, Iowa, where he lettered in football, basketball, and tennis.College career :
Orton attended Purdue University, where he played for the Purdue Boilermakers football team. At Purdue, Orton wore uniform No. 18 in honor of former Nebraska Cornhuskers' quarterback Brook Berringer. Orton tied former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees' record for the number of passing yards in a game (522 vs. Indiana Hoosiers) and is one of only three Purdue quarterbacks to start at least three consecutive bowl games (Brees and Mark Herrmann being the other two). Orton started in the 2001 Sun Bowl, the 2002 Sun Bowl, the 2003 Capital One Bowl, and the 2004 Sun Bowl. During his time at Purdue, Orton joined the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.In 2004, Orton was the preseason third-team "All-American" quarterback, behind USC's Matt Leinart and Oklahoma's Jason White. Orton had an impressive start to the season, having led Purdue to a 5-0 start with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions. Orton was touted as the front runner for the Heisman Trophy, until he received multiple injuries in consecutive games against the Michigan Wolverines and Northwestern Wildcats that forced him out of his starting position for a month.
Professional career :
In the 2005 NFL season, Orton was rushed into the Bears starting lineup as a rookie after a preseason injury to starter Rex Grossman, and the poor play of back up Chad Hutchinson. Orton started the first 14 games of the season, however was replaced by Grossman after halftime during the Bears' Week 15 victory against the Atlanta Falcons. After sitting the week 16 game victory over the Green Bay Packers, Orton started the Week 17 final regular season game against the Minnesota Vikings, whose outcome for the Bears would be meaningless; the Bears had clinched the NFC North championship and a first-round bye in the playoffs in the victory over the Packers. Grossman would go on to play in the Bears playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers.Overall, the Bears had a record of 10-5 in games that Orton started, including an eight-game winning streak after a 1-3 start. Despite the team's success, Orton finished with the lowest quarterback rating in the NFL (59.7) among all "qualified" quarterbacks (those with 224+ pass attempts) http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/statistics?stat=pass&sort=rat&league=nfl&season=2&year=2005. Despite the low rating, the Bears coaches repeatedly insisted that they were pleased with Orton's performance. The coaching staff of the Bears asked Orton to minimize mistakes and to let the rushing attack and the defense win ballgames rather than employing an aggressive passing attack. Measuring Orton by victories, his rookie season was a successful one even by historical standards. Orton's 15 starts and 10 victories are both rookie records for Bears quarterbacks, and the 10 victories are the second most in the NFL since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, behind only Ben Roethlisberger's 14 victories in 2004.
Following the 2005 season, the Bears signed veteran Brian Griese as the teams second string quarterback. Orton, now demoted, became the Bears third-string quarterback, and did not see any playtime throughout the entire 2006 Chicago Bears season. The following off-season, the Bears organization acquired Chris Leak, who had previously led the Florida Gators to a BCS Championship, shortly after the 2007 NFL Draft. Leak struggled in training camp, while Orton, who had rigorously trained in the off season, excelled.Mayer, Larry, Slimmed-down Orton turning heads in camp (August 1, 2007), chicagobears.com. Retrieved on August 5, 2007. According to the Chicago Tribune, he was en route to overtaking Griese's (then) second string position. Orton continued to show signs of improvement in the preseason. He completed sixteen of twenty-five passes for 151 yards and one touchdown en route to leading the Bears to a comeback victory over the Houston Texans.NFL.com, Texans fall to Bears in Schaub's debut, (August 11, 2007). Retrieved on August 13, 2007.
After the Bears lost their chances of making a post-season berth, Lovie Smith choose to start Orton over Griese, who served as Grossmans back-up.ChicagoBears.com, Excited Bears quarterback settling in under center. Retrived on December 17, 2007. Orton made his first start in nearly two seasons on December 17, 2007 against the Minnesota Vikings, the last team he started against before relinquishing his starting role to Grossman. The Bears lost the game by a score of 20-13, with Orton finishing with 22 completions on 38 attempts, with 184 yards and 1 interception. Yahoo! Sports, Minnesota 20, Chicago 13, Retrieved on December 17, 2007.