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Notes: Vikes prepare for Orton
http://www.nwherald.com/bears/story.php?storyid=350
Kyle Orton is poised to see his first regular-season action in nearly two years. (Justin Runquist photo)By NICK HUT - nhut@nwnewsgroup.com
LAKE FOREST - Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress compared Kyle Orton to arguably the top quarterback in the NFC.
Speaking Thursday about preparing to face Orton and the Bears at the Metrodome next Monday night, Childress was generous in his praise.
"I'd equate him to a guy like [Cowboys quarterback] Tony Romo, who sat in the back of the meeting room forever and was a sponge," Childress said.
"[Except Orton] was able to get in for a full year and operate that offense, and then sit back here for a couple of years. I imagine he knows where all the bones are buried, from who's the first read to who's the last read."
Orton is set to see his first regular-season action since Jan. 1, 2006, the end of his rookie campaign. Romo broke into Dallas' lineup a season ago after sitting and watching for 3 1/2 seasons.
Health check: Missing practice Thursday for the Bears were defensive tackles Tommie Harris (knee) and Darwin Walker (elbow) and quarterback Rex Grossman (knee).
Cornerback Nathan Vasher (groin), who has missed 10 consecutive games, participated on a limited basis. Whether or not he was trying to throw off the Vikings, however, Vasher sounded pessimistic about playing.
"It's still between slim and none," he said. "That's what I feel like. I'm just out here still just trying to move around. I really don't anticipate getting a chance to play this week, but if something miraculous happens, I'll be excited about it."
Opportunistic: The Vikings rank last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 273.5 yards a game.
"It does present opportunities in the passing game," wide receiver Bernard Berrian said. "We just have to make sure we take advantage of it to set up the run."
Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner cautioned that Minnesota's poor pass defense stems as much as anything from its ability to stop the run so well. The Vikings lead the league in that category.
"People see how good they are against the run and they don't try it," Turner said. "They don't attempt to run the ball on them, and probably rightfully so.
"We're going to go in and run our offense and we know we have to make some plays on them in the passing game, obviously, and hopefully we'll have some opportunities to do that and when we do we'll take advantage. But we're going to have get something out of the running game, as well."
Monday night party: The Bears played in primetime in their last contest, a Thursday night affair at Washington, but defensive end Alex Brown said Monday night games are different.
"Everybody gets geared up for Monday night," Brown said. "Thursday night's kind of a new thing. Sunday night, you have football all through the day and then you get to Sunday night. But Monday night, there's only one game that day."
http://www.nwherald.com/bears/story.php?storyid=350
Kyle Orton is poised to see his first regular-season action in nearly two years. (Justin Runquist photo)By NICK HUT - nhut@nwnewsgroup.com
LAKE FOREST - Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress compared Kyle Orton to arguably the top quarterback in the NFC.
Speaking Thursday about preparing to face Orton and the Bears at the Metrodome next Monday night, Childress was generous in his praise.
"I'd equate him to a guy like [Cowboys quarterback] Tony Romo, who sat in the back of the meeting room forever and was a sponge," Childress said.
"[Except Orton] was able to get in for a full year and operate that offense, and then sit back here for a couple of years. I imagine he knows where all the bones are buried, from who's the first read to who's the last read."
Orton is set to see his first regular-season action since Jan. 1, 2006, the end of his rookie campaign. Romo broke into Dallas' lineup a season ago after sitting and watching for 3 1/2 seasons.
Health check: Missing practice Thursday for the Bears were defensive tackles Tommie Harris (knee) and Darwin Walker (elbow) and quarterback Rex Grossman (knee).
Cornerback Nathan Vasher (groin), who has missed 10 consecutive games, participated on a limited basis. Whether or not he was trying to throw off the Vikings, however, Vasher sounded pessimistic about playing.
"It's still between slim and none," he said. "That's what I feel like. I'm just out here still just trying to move around. I really don't anticipate getting a chance to play this week, but if something miraculous happens, I'll be excited about it."
Opportunistic: The Vikings rank last in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 273.5 yards a game.
"It does present opportunities in the passing game," wide receiver Bernard Berrian said. "We just have to make sure we take advantage of it to set up the run."
Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner cautioned that Minnesota's poor pass defense stems as much as anything from its ability to stop the run so well. The Vikings lead the league in that category.
"People see how good they are against the run and they don't try it," Turner said. "They don't attempt to run the ball on them, and probably rightfully so.
"We're going to go in and run our offense and we know we have to make some plays on them in the passing game, obviously, and hopefully we'll have some opportunities to do that and when we do we'll take advantage. But we're going to have get something out of the running game, as well."
Monday night party: The Bears played in primetime in their last contest, a Thursday night affair at Washington, but defensive end Alex Brown said Monday night games are different.
"Everybody gets geared up for Monday night," Brown said. "Thursday night's kind of a new thing. Sunday night, you have football all through the day and then you get to Sunday night. But Monday night, there's only one game that day."
