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http://www.detroitlions.com/document_display.cfm?document_id=475256
Fulfilling a First
Orlovsky gets the First Extended Playing Time of his Career in Sunday's Loss to Chicago
By Chuck Klonke
Detroitlions.com
October 5, 2008
QB Dan Orlovsky entered the game in thr second half after QB Jon Kitna suffered back spasms at halftime. (Photo: G. Smith)
DETROIT, Mich. -- Dan Orlovsky doesn't know what the future holds for his career as the Lions' quarterback.
That's up to coach Rod Marinelli.
But there's no question what Orlovsky would like the future to hold.
"That's the coach's' decision," Orlovsky said Sunday after his first extended duty for the team that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
"He knows where I stand on it. I would love to be the guy for this team. If Coach feels that the best chance for the team to win now is with Jon (Kitna) then I respect that. I'll continue to do my job and be prepared. Whatever Coach's decision is, I'll go with it."
Orlovsky thinks he's ready to take over as the Lions' quarterback if Kitna's back, which forced him out of Sunday's game at halftime, continues to bother him.
That wasn't the case a year ago.
"I couldn't have said yes a year ago, just from having sat and not really played in 24 months," Orlovsky said. "Just the process of being here since March, or February, the preseason and today's game. So today I can say 100-percent, without a doubt, yes, I can.
"It's a confidence thing but it's also I need to do my job as good as I can with the 10 other guys on the field. I'll be ready, no question about it."
Orlovsky had to face an uphill climb when he came into the game in the third quarter with Chicago leading 24-0. It's not the ideal situation for a young quarterback playing his first meaningful NFL minutes.
"I'm just trying to play every play individually," Orlovsky said. "My goal wasn't to try and score 24 points in one play. That's impossible. My goal was to execute every play, and if I didn't, then move on to the next play.
"I'll look at the film and see what I did right and what I did wrong and try to correct the mistakes."
Orlovsky was reluctant to give his performance a grade. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 97 yards. He threw one interception that was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman.
"I can't really answer that," Orlovsky said. "That's for other people to decide. All I know is that we lost, and I didn't do enough for us to win."
He was glad to have a chance to see what he could do in the heat of battle. It was the first time he had been in that situation since he led the University of Connecticut to a victory in the 2004 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field. Orlovsky was the MVP of that game.
QB Dan Orlovsky entered the game in thr second half after QB Jon Kitna suffered back spasms at halftime. (Photo: G. Smith)
"You wish it was under different circumstances, but it was good," Orlovsky said of Sunday's game. "It's good to get hit, complete a few passes, even throw some incompletions. It reaffirms to you that, 'I can do this. I can play.' You can say it all you want, but until you do it in a meaningful game, you're not really sure."
Roy Williams was the favorite target of Orlovsky's passes.
"That's just how it worked out," Orlovsky said. "It's what (Chicago) was doing defensively and what our adjustment to it was."
Kitna told Orlovsky to be ready to go in at halftime because his back had tighted up, but Orlovsky didn't know for sure until the Lions got the football with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter.
"He said, 'I can't go. It's locked up on me.'" Orlovsky said. "I was excited, but at the same time, I knew what my role was -- to lead this team -- and I didn't do a good enough job of that today."
Orlovsky can't put a finger on the reason that the Lions have struggled offensively this season, especially because it seems like all the pieces are in place.
"I think things get magnified and it looks like a really bad offense at times, but a hit here or there, a play here or there, an adjustment here or there and we can be really good," he said.
"It's just a matter of getting the details of doing it for 65 to 72 snaps a game. Right now we're struggling at key points like third down in the red zone and things like that. I know it probably sounds crazy but we"re not far. Coach Marinelli always says the difference between winning and losing is a little pinch of the fingers and that's where we are right now."
Orlovsky is as stunned as anyone that the Lions are 0-4.
"None of us wanted to be in this position," he said. "We just have to look in the mirror, each of us, and figure out what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. As a team we have to correct what's wrong.
"We're frustrated, sure, but it's a marathon, not a sprint and crazier things have happened. The guys that need to be here to change it are here. I'm confident that we can. It's like a snowball. Right now the snowball's not going in our direction, but we think we can change it."
Fulfilling a First
Orlovsky gets the First Extended Playing Time of his Career in Sunday's Loss to Chicago
By Chuck Klonke
Detroitlions.com
October 5, 2008
QB Dan Orlovsky entered the game in thr second half after QB Jon Kitna suffered back spasms at halftime. (Photo: G. Smith)
DETROIT, Mich. -- Dan Orlovsky doesn't know what the future holds for his career as the Lions' quarterback.
That's up to coach Rod Marinelli.
But there's no question what Orlovsky would like the future to hold.
"That's the coach's' decision," Orlovsky said Sunday after his first extended duty for the team that drafted him in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft.
"He knows where I stand on it. I would love to be the guy for this team. If Coach feels that the best chance for the team to win now is with Jon (Kitna) then I respect that. I'll continue to do my job and be prepared. Whatever Coach's decision is, I'll go with it."
Orlovsky thinks he's ready to take over as the Lions' quarterback if Kitna's back, which forced him out of Sunday's game at halftime, continues to bother him.
That wasn't the case a year ago.
"I couldn't have said yes a year ago, just from having sat and not really played in 24 months," Orlovsky said. "Just the process of being here since March, or February, the preseason and today's game. So today I can say 100-percent, without a doubt, yes, I can.
"It's a confidence thing but it's also I need to do my job as good as I can with the 10 other guys on the field. I'll be ready, no question about it."
Orlovsky had to face an uphill climb when he came into the game in the third quarter with Chicago leading 24-0. It's not the ideal situation for a young quarterback playing his first meaningful NFL minutes.
"I'm just trying to play every play individually," Orlovsky said. "My goal wasn't to try and score 24 points in one play. That's impossible. My goal was to execute every play, and if I didn't, then move on to the next play.
"I'll look at the film and see what I did right and what I did wrong and try to correct the mistakes."
Orlovsky was reluctant to give his performance a grade. He completed 13-of-23 passes for 97 yards. He threw one interception that was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by Bears' cornerback Charles Tillman.
"I can't really answer that," Orlovsky said. "That's for other people to decide. All I know is that we lost, and I didn't do enough for us to win."
He was glad to have a chance to see what he could do in the heat of battle. It was the first time he had been in that situation since he led the University of Connecticut to a victory in the 2004 Motor City Bowl at Ford Field. Orlovsky was the MVP of that game.
QB Dan Orlovsky entered the game in thr second half after QB Jon Kitna suffered back spasms at halftime. (Photo: G. Smith)
"You wish it was under different circumstances, but it was good," Orlovsky said of Sunday's game. "It's good to get hit, complete a few passes, even throw some incompletions. It reaffirms to you that, 'I can do this. I can play.' You can say it all you want, but until you do it in a meaningful game, you're not really sure."
Roy Williams was the favorite target of Orlovsky's passes.
"That's just how it worked out," Orlovsky said. "It's what (Chicago) was doing defensively and what our adjustment to it was."
Kitna told Orlovsky to be ready to go in at halftime because his back had tighted up, but Orlovsky didn't know for sure until the Lions got the football with 11:08 remaining in the third quarter.
"He said, 'I can't go. It's locked up on me.'" Orlovsky said. "I was excited, but at the same time, I knew what my role was -- to lead this team -- and I didn't do a good enough job of that today."
Orlovsky can't put a finger on the reason that the Lions have struggled offensively this season, especially because it seems like all the pieces are in place.
"I think things get magnified and it looks like a really bad offense at times, but a hit here or there, a play here or there, an adjustment here or there and we can be really good," he said.
"It's just a matter of getting the details of doing it for 65 to 72 snaps a game. Right now we're struggling at key points like third down in the red zone and things like that. I know it probably sounds crazy but we"re not far. Coach Marinelli always says the difference between winning and losing is a little pinch of the fingers and that's where we are right now."
Orlovsky is as stunned as anyone that the Lions are 0-4.
"None of us wanted to be in this position," he said. "We just have to look in the mirror, each of us, and figure out what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. As a team we have to correct what's wrong.
"We're frustrated, sure, but it's a marathon, not a sprint and crazier things have happened. The guys that need to be here to change it are here. I'm confident that we can. It's like a snowball. Right now the snowball's not going in our direction, but we think we can change it."
