Tag: Kyle Orton (Page 9 of 14)

      Is Tom Brady playing with a lack of confidence?

      October 11, 2009 /

      Brady

      The Patriots’ 20-17 overtime loss to the Broncos in Denver on Sunday is a perfect example of how the stat sheet doesn’t tell the whole story.

      Tom Brady threw for 215 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions on 19-of-33 passing today. That’s a solid stat line and if someone were only looking at those numbers, they’d attribute New England’s loss to something other than its quarterback.

      But all is not right with Brady. His offensive line gave him plenty of time today and yet he never got into a rhythm in the passing game, which isn’t the first time I’ve written that about Brady in 2009. He never seemed to get on the same page as his receivers and he overthrew an open Randy Moss (who finished with only one catch) at least twice.

      Brady has always been a fiery player, but he seems to express his frustrations more openly this season. It’s almost like he’s trying too hard to be the player he was before his knee injury and isn’t allowing the game to come to him. He knows he’s missing open receivers and he’s not shaking the bad plays off as quickly as he once did. His confidence seems to be down and it has made the Pats incredibly vulnerable.

      That said, New England’s loss in Denver today could hardly be pinned solely on Brady missing the mark in the passing game. Kyle Orton shredded the Patriots’ pass defense for 330 yards and two touchdowns on 35-of-48 passing. Say what you want about Orton, but he’s 26-12 as a starter despite having only two 300-plus passing games over his career. That’s a testament to how well he manages the game and limits mistakes.

      It was good to see Eddie Royal (10 receptions, 90 yards) finally snap out of his early season funk and turn in a complete game. If he can build off this, he’ll give Orton another weapon in the passing game and help take attention off of Brandon Marshall, who once again came up huge with a fourth quarter touchdown.

      If the Broncos could crash at any point and their 5-0 start would be nothing but a distant memory. But if their defense continues to play as well as it has, then they’ll cruise to an AFC West title, which seemed highly unlikely just five weeks ago.

      NFL

      Stokley’s circus catch gives Broncos last-second win over Bengals

      September 13, 2009 /

      For 59 minutes and 32 seconds, the Broncos and Bengals played the most boring game of Week 1. Then Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall forgot that batting the ball straight up in the air is a horrible idea.

      Check out this crazy touchdown by Brandon Stokley to give Denver an improbable 12-7 victory over the Bengals on Sunday:

      At first, I disagreed with the commentator who said that Hall could have intercepted Kyle Orton’s horrid pass. It looked like he jumped at his highest point and while falling backwards, he tried to knock the ball down and instead batted it straight up.

      But upon further review, Hall could have picked off the pass had he positioned his body better when the ball was in the air. Or at the very least, he should have been able to knock the ball down instead of doing his best impression of a volleyball setter by batting the football up.

      Either way, this was a heartbreaking loss for the Bengals. They didn’t play a clean game, but they should have had this win locked up after Cedric Benson scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining. Plus, on the play before Stokley’s circus catch, Cincinnati had intercepted Orton but the defender couldn’t stay in bounds while he was coming down with the football. The Bengals had several opportunities to start the 2009 season 1-0 but they fell victim to a fluke play.

      It was a cheap win, but Josh McDaniels will take it after all the crap he went through (some of it he created himself) this summer with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.

      NFL, Video

      Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Boldin, Pierre, Berrian and more

      September 11, 2009 /

      Anquan Boldin returned to a limited practice. Boldin said, “It’s only week one. I’d rather sit out game one as opposed to sitting out four or five other games. You just have to use your discretion.” That doesn’t sound good for his prospects of playing in Week 1. Steve Breaston would be first in line to start, but he’s dealing with a sore knee, so Jerheme Urban could potentially eat into Breaston’s snaps.

      Pierre Thomas has been officially ruled out for Week 1. Mike Bell, Mike Bell, Mike Bell. I wrote on Tuesday that Thomas owners (and even non-owners) should grab Bell. He’s a solid RB2/flex play against the hapless Detroit rush defense.

      Cassel is questionable for Week 1. Not a big surprise here. Owners should probably keep Cassel on the bench even if he does play. The Ravens are a bad matchup for any passing game.

      Bernard Berrian and Kevin Walter are both game-time decisions. It would be wise to sit both players even if they do play, assuming that you have a decent option to plug in. It’s tough to battle back from a hamstring injury and be effective right away.

      Kyle Orton will start against the Bengals. It’s not a terrible matchup, but Orton’s preseason performance is not encouraging. Only use him if you’re desperate (or you’re in a 2 QB league). It does help that Brandon Marshall is behaving.

      Raiders name Darren McFadden as their starting RB. He has had a very impressive preseason, so this is just a formality. Even if he didn’t start, he’s going to play a ton of snaps because he is easily the Raiders most explosive player. (And he better perform, because I started him over Santonio Holmes this week!)

      Fantasy Football

      Daily Six-Pack: NFL preseason rewind

      August 17, 2009 /

      Here are six quick-hit thoughts on some of Week 1’s preseason NFL action.

      1. Stafford was impressive.
      While it was only the first preseason game of his young career, Matthew Stafford was awfully impressive Saturday against the Falcons. In his debut, Stafford completed 7 of 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. And if Keary Colbert didn’t have hands made of concrete, Stafford’s numbers would have been more impressive. Granted, he was playing against Atlanta’s backups, Detroit kept their starting offensive line largely intact and he did throw an interception that was returned 41 yards for a touchdown. But the key was that Stafford looked comfortable in the pocket, showed confidence in his throws and for a rookie, displayed great footwork and overall mechanics. He still has much to prove, but if he continues to play this well throughout the preseason, it might be hard for the Lions to keep the rookie off the field in his first year.

      2. The Bears secondary looked shaky.
      If Saturday’s preseason loss to the Bills was any indication of how Chicago’s secondary will play in the regular season, then the Bears are in trouble. Lee Evans abused cornerback Nathan Vasher repeatedly, while Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick completed over 88 percent of their passes. Granted, it was only one preseason game and rookie sixth round pick Al Afalava was impressive against the run. But the Bears look awfully thin in the secondary and if the starters perform as poorly as they did last night for the remainder of the preseason, then trouble could be on the horizon.

      Continue reading »

      NFL

      Orton brutal in Broncos’ debut

      August 15, 2009 /

      When the Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Bears this offseason, they felt good about the transaction, and not only because they acquired two first round picks in exchange for the former first round quarterback. They also felt good because Chicago included quarterback Kyle Orton as part of the package.

      But Orton got off to a rather rough start in his Broncos’ debut on Friday night, throwing three interceptions in the first half of Denver’s preseason loss to the 49ers. His first pick came on the goal line after marching the Broncos down the field on his first drive.

      One could chalk up Orton’s poor start to nerves – after all, he is playing for a new team and a new coach in a new city. But when you take into account that he was also booed at a recent scrimmage for throwing multiple interceptions, Denver certainly has cause for concern.

      Nobody is going to fault the Broncos for trading Cutler after he caused a stink when the team considered trading for Matt Cassel this offseason. But looking back, it’s easy to criticize Denver for not having a better backup plan in case Orton didn’t pan out. After all, there’s a reason why the Bears were happy to give up two first round picks and their own starting quarterback to acquire Cutler.

      That said, it was only one half of one preseason game. Orton might come out next week and light up the scoreboard in Denver’s second preseason outing. Fans should show patience, while Orton tries to learn Josh McDaniels’ offense and get accustomed to his new receivers. It would also help if Brandon Marshall could get healthy and start practicing as well.

      NFL

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