Life In The DPC!

The Chicago Bears announced that Kyle Orton will be their starting quarterback over their incumbent  Rex Grossman.  Orton went 2-1 last season while subbing for the injured Grossman during the last three games of the season.

“In the end it comes down to a gut feeling that you have,” head coach Lovie Smith said. “And I feel good about Kyle leading our team.”

Orton has amassed a record of 12-6 as a starter and Grossman is 19-11 while at the helm of the Bears.
                      Games  Rating  Att.  Comp.  PCT.  Yards  Y/G    Y/A    TD    INT
Rex Grossman       32      70.9   489   900      54.3    5907 184.6    6.6       31     33
Kyle Orton             18     62.2    233   448      52.0    2347 130.4    5.2       12     15

Despite leading the Bears to the Super Bowl I, like many pundits, have never fully embraced Grossman and to this Bears’ fan they seemed to succeed despite his maverick style. I waste a lot of time watching football and one of my casual   observations is to watch how the players interact with one another on the sidelines during the game. For the most part Grossman never talked to anyone but the occasional coach and this was usually for some form of admonishment.

While a guy like Orton was interacting with his teammates and for the most part he seemed at ease with his peers and they liked being around him. It is the opinion of this scribe that players are more inclined to perform and stick their necks out for a guy they like. Grossman always seemed to be isolated on the sidelines and this may have led to him being a distant leader on the field. A lieutenant needs the respect of his men and the Bears finally realized that Orton has it.