Rams tight ends coach lauds Kyle Orton
Ex-Purdue assistant 'taught me football'
By Vaughn McClure
9:48 PM CST, November 21, 2008
Rams tight ends coach Jim Chaney recalls his days as Purdue's offensive coordinator, when he recruited this lanky kid from Iowa who couldn't make up his mind about the Boilermakers.
That kid was Kyle Orton.
"He was waffling after committing, thinking about going to Colorado," Chaney said. "I just about had to drive out to Iowa and wring his neck. But he did the right thing and came to Purdue."
Orton couldn't have asked for a better fit.
"Jim? He's the guy who really taught me football and how to run an offense," said the Bears quarterback, who'll lead his team against Chaney's Sunday in St. Louis. "I owe him a lot. He had a way of making the game simple. Hopefully he'll have a ton of success [in the NFL] because he's a great coach. He should really get a chance to be a coordinator in this league."
Orton was a three-year starter for Chaney and head coach Joe Tiller and finished his career with 9,337 passing yards and 63 touchdowns. He remembered one of his first meetings as the starter and the technique Chaney used to get his point across.
"He had an offensive front drawn on the board," Orton said. "Then he put 10 X's on one side of the field and one X on the other and said, 'All right, where are you going to throw the ball?' He always made it easy like that. We always had fun."
Maybe too much fun at times. During one nationally televised game, Chaney agreed to wear a microphone, opening himself up to teasing from his players.
"[He was] saying stuff to me trying to make me laugh, humorous stuff that I'd rather not repeat," Chaney said. "But that was Kyle. We had a ball together.
"Kyle's just a tough son of a gun, a tough mentality. There's not a great quality that he doesn't possess. That's why he has such a bright future in this league."
Booker out: Receiver Marty Booker is out for Sunday's game with a bruised left knee. The veteran didn't practice all week as he continued to battle an injury that has nagged him since before the Bears' week off.
"I'm not going to be out two weeks," Booker said, sounding optimistic about returning Nov. 30 against Minnesota.
Coach Lovie Smith said the team would compensate with Brandon Lloyd, who's almost back to full strength, with rookie Earl Bennett in the mix.
Extra points: Linebacker Darrell McClover (hamstring) and tackle Fred Miller (shoulder) are out of Sunday's game as well. Lloyd (calf) is listed as probable after being limited in practice Friday, while linebacker Nick Roach (ankle) and defensive tackle Marcus Harrison (ankle) had full participation and are probable. … For the Rams, five players are listed as out: running back Steven Jackson (thigh), tackle Orlando Pace (knee), cornerback Tye Hill (knee), linebacker Chris Draft (foot) and defensive end Eric Moore (spine). … Danieal Manning lined up as the Bears' kick returner at Friday's practice. Devin Hester handled punt returns. … An NFL official said Colin Cole of the Packers had not been fined for a sideline hit on Hester that drew a flag.
vxmcclure@tribune.com
