Do you trust Orton?

[PJTHEDOORS]

A 39 year old Jon Kitna did it two years ago with an even worse Oline then we have now, so I see no reason Orton can't now.

In 2010 when Kitna started 10 games, he threw 16 tds, 12 ints. Pretty sure he was sacked a few times too. We finished 6-10.

 

[big dog cowboy]

What's the deal with Orton and do you trust him as the backup to Romo going into the season?

Sure I trust him. He is one of the best (if not THE best) backup in the NFL.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

He's a decent backup, but if we need to succeed with him, we'd better find a way to protect him. He doesn't have Romo's elusiveness.

 

[Disturbed]

He's a decent backup, but if we need to succeed with him, we'd better find a way to protect him. He doesn't have Romo's elusiveness.

Trying to be successful with your QB running for his life is a losing battle plan...even with Romo. If we are counting on winning due to Romo's elusiveness then we should start planning for high draft picks.

 

[Super_Kazuya]

Orton is "okay", although I am a bit worried because he hasn't played regularly in so long. We never needed Johnson at all in his first year and then when the second season came and we needed him, his expiration date had passed and we didn't know. I guess it's the problem with backups. I always think back on the old 49ers teams, who had the great backups with Young and Bono, and figured they were good because they actually played. Young didn't take over as a starter until 1991, but in the 4 years before that he started a total of 13 games because of various Montana issues.

Orton has basically been on the shelf since Tebow took over in 2011.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Trying to be successful with your QB running for his life is a losing battle plan...even with Romo. If we are counting on winning due to Romo's elusiveness then we should start planning for high draft picks.

I agree. I think our #1 priority is the improvement of the O-line. It was atrocious last year, one of the worst ones in the league. Your QB should have good protection, but for the occasional breakdown an elusive QB can bail you out. I agree that depending on having him bail you out all the time is a recipe for disaster. Quite frankly I'm surprised Romo wasn't injured and on the sidelines for several games last season.

That said, Romo is certainly a better elusive QB than Orton. He can make things happen in broken plays that Orton can't.

 

[muck4doo]

Orton could start on some teams out there. I trust him.

 

[jnday]

He's a younger Kitna. If we gameplan around his strengths we can be ok.

Orton has never had the leadership qualities and guts that Kitna had. I had much rather seen a young QB as the backup that is developing with plans to replace Romo.

 

[jnday]

Orton is "okay", although I am a bit worried because he hasn't played regularly in so long. We never needed Johnson at all in his first year and then when the second season came and we needed him, his expiration date had passed and we didn't know. I guess it's the problem with backups. I always think back on the old 49ers teams, who had the great backups with Young and Bono, and figured they were good because they actually played. Young didn't take over as a starter until 1991, but in the 4 years before that he started a total of 13 games because of various Montana issues.

Orton has basically been on the shelf since Tebow took over in 2011.

I think the fact that Tebow won games with the same players that Orton flopped with gives a good ideal about how good a QB Orton really is. He has poor leadership skills and is fragile when it comes to the mental and emotional part of the game.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I think the fact that Tebow won games with the same players that Orton flopped with

They ran his butt outta town also. Big deal.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Truly if this team is putting the back-up quarterback in the game, one of two things happened.

Romo was hurt.

Romo is having one of the worst days in his career and keeps throwing the ball to the other team.

In case of the second option, it doesn't matter because the team is probably behind by 24 points.

In the case of the first option, it doesn't matter because other than a hand full of players in this league at quarterback, none of them being back-ups here, the drop off of talent is such that the Grand Canyon looks like a wading pool.

And with Orton he has thing where he's a step slower at everything Romo does. But yeah, he can hold it together. Do I trust him? In a word, no. But he's better than what most have at back up.

 

[AllProRico]

I feel like some of you are either overestimating Romo, underestimating Orten, or probably a bit of both.

Its not like we're going from Montana to Drew Henson here. Orten has been a good quarterback in this league. A guy who can drive the bus and get down the field by simply taking what the defense gives him. Honestly, there are times when i would prefer a guy like that to what Tony tries to do sometimes. With the talent we have on offense, if we have a good OL, Orten could come in and win games for us no doubt in my mind.

I agree with most of this right here. Backup QB is something we lucked out with when Orton was ok with being a backup. He is still relatively young(30 years old) and can still play couple that with the fact that he was(and can still be) a starter in this league. He has pretty good stats and was screwed over in Denver big time. If Romo goes down, i'm not as worried about Orton coming in and being the starter like I was when Kitna and Johnson were the backups. There is better overall talent here on the offense then there was when he was the starter in Denver especially with the emergences of players like Harris, Beasely, and Hanna along with the additions of Escobar and Williams. Orton is 6'4 so he is taller than Romo which is also a plus. To the "Orton has been terrible in OTA's", I haven't read or heard that at all. I even remember people saying that he and Hanna would wreck shop in scout teams during last season and he has been pretty good in OTAs so far as well so not sure where this is coming from.

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

Recall the 1992 (or was it 1993?) playoff gme when Aikman got knocked out of the game and Bernie Kosar came in.

Kosar was integral towards winning that game, as Aikman came back the follwing week and we won the Super Bowl that year. That Lombardi does not come to Dallas if not for Kosar stepping up big in that playoff game.

So, do I trust Orton, you ask?

Yes!

I trust Orton as much as I trusted Kosar back then to have a similar shoeing should Orton need to sub in for Romo in the playoffs. A veteran's good know-how and poise goes a long way in moments like that, and Orton has both qulaities.

 

[KJJ]

Some don't trust Romo much less Orton. Orton has what you want in a backup QB starting experience. In a pinch for a quarter or 2 I'm okay with him but if he has to play for an extended period (several games) the Cowboys would be in real trouble. He's an average QB who can be effective if he has solid pass protection and isn't forced to air it out all day. The issue with Orton is his lack of mobility/escapability which doesn't make him a very good fit on this Cowboy team assuming the OL continues to have pass protection issues.

When given protection Orton has been pretty effective as he showed vs the 13-0 Packers in 2011. He put up 299 yards in that game completing 74.2% of his passes and had a passer rating of 104.1. The key to his success in that game was his pass protection which gave him time and kept him from being sacked the entire game. During his last full season in Denver in 2010 he was sacked 34 times in 13 games. Orton has never been a very productive QB he's a bus driver who needs a running game and a solid OL in front of him to win games.

He doesn't have the mobility to avoid pressure, extend plays and get outside the pocket so to have any success with him he needs solid pass protection and at least a resemblance of a running game. In a passing league where QB's are routinely putting up 300-plus yards and finding the endzone consistently we better hope if we ever do see Orton it's not for very long and he's not facing Eli, Peyton, Brees, Rodgers or RG3.

 

[Fizziksman]

it's not him i don't trust, it's our O-Line

 

[KJJ]

Recall the 1992 (or was it 1993?) playoff gme when Aikman got knocked out of the game and Bernie Kosar came in.

Kosar was integral towards winning that game, as Aikman came back the follwing week and we won the Super Bowl that year. That Lombardi does not come to Dallas if not for Kosar stepping up big in that playoff game.

So, do I trust Orton, you ask?

Yes!

I trust Orton as much as I trusted Kosar back then to have a similar shoeing should Orton need to sub in for Romo in the playoffs. A veteran's good know-how and poise goes a long way in moments like that, and Orton has both qulaities.

Are you serious??? I've seen some ridiculous comparisons but comparing what Kosar was able to do behind a GREAT Cowboys team that was coming off a championship the previous season with what you think Ortin could accomplish on this current Cowboys team takes the cake. Dude, Kosar was surrounded by one of the most talented teams in NFL history plus he wasn't that far removed from being one of the top QB's in the NFL. Kyle Orton isn't half the QB Kosar was in 93 and this current Cowboys team isn't even remotely close to the team the Cowboys had at that time. Kosar started 7 playoff games during his career including 2 AFC title games while Orton has never played in a single playoff game.

Kosar was the perfect QB to step in for Aikman in a pinch during a title game because he a lot of playoff experience including championship game experience. The moment wasn't too big for Kosar because he had been there before on a far less talented team. He had one of the great teams ever around him in Dallas and had Emmitt Smith who was on his way to becoming the most prolific rusher in NFL history. Kyle Orton who's never played in a playoff game would be one of the last QB's you'd want to see sub in a pinch in a do or die situation.

 

[CowboyDan]

6-10 , 8-8, 8-8.....................and the question is "Do you trust Orton?" Trust him to do what? Go 8-8? Kyle Orton is not what you should be worried about going into this season.

 

[joseephuss]

I think the fact that Tebow won games with the same players that Orton flopped with gives a good ideal about how good a QB Orton really is. He has poor leadership skills and is fragile when it comes to the mental and emotional part of the game.

The facts are the Broncos lost games early in that season, won games in the middle of that season and then lost games at the end of that season. It wasn't all about Tebow or Orton. There were plenty of contributing factors to how that season turned out for the Broncos.

There aren't 32 starting caliber QBs in the NFL right now even though there are 32 teams. How much trust should anyone have in a back up QB? I expect Orton to be okay if he is forced to play, but the reality is that Dallas will be taking a step down at the QB position if Orton(or any back up QB) has to play.

Every team in the league is facing similar challenges. I can't think of many backup QBs that would be a dramatic improvement over Orton. I can think of plenty who would be much worse.

 

[randy932]

In 2010 when Kitna started 10 games, he threw 16 tds, 12 ints. Pretty sure he was sacked a few times too. We finished 6-10.

Yep, we finished 6-10, after Romo posted us to a 1-5 start.

Kitna did better than Romo. As would Orton, probably.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Yep, we finished 6-10, after Romo posted us to a 1-5 start.

Kitna did better than Romo. As would Orton, probably.

Yay. Exciting news.