Hut: Purdue QB showdown

For all things Chicago Bears

Moderator: wab

Post Reply
User avatar
wab
Mod
Posts: 29805
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:49 pm
Has thanked: 127 times
Been thanked: 1956 times

Former Purdue QBs collide

By NICK HUT - nhut@nwnewsgroup.com


LAKE FOREST - Bears quarterback Kyle Orton went to Purdue in large part to try to continue the quarterbacking standard that Drew Brees had established for the program.

Orton came pretty close to matching and even surpassing Brees' benchmarks as a quarterback.

"I wanted to throw for all those yards and put up the numbers that he did," Orton said.

Orton has not approached Brees' individual accomplishments in the pros, but he did get the best of Brees in a game a year ago at Soldier Field.

The Bears hope Orton can do it again when Brees and the New Orleans Saints visit Thursday night in a crucial game.

"It's not like we talk on the phone every night or something, but whenever we get to see each other, it's always friendly and good," Orton said. "He's fun to talk football with. He's an extremely smart player.

"I remember my freshman year, if I ever needed to find out how to run a play or a certain look, I'd just go and pop on [film of] what he did and try to do that. It seemed to work for him."

Orton, an Iowa kid, was set to back off his oral commitment to Purdue and attend Colorado as a high school senior in 2000-01.

Brees, wrapping up his senior season with the Boilermakers, convincingly talked to Orton about the opportunity to run a pass-oriented offense and sling the ball around for Purdue.

Orton's 9,653 yards of total offense at Purdue ranks second to Brees' 12,692 yards. Orton has the school's single-game passing record, with 503 yards against Indiana.

Brees came to admire Orton's comportment.

"He's not going to let anything get him down," Brees said. "His demeanor is always going to be calm and cool. For the first six or seven games of his senior year [before suffering a hip injury], I thought he was going to shatter every record I ever set."

While Orton has taken steps toward establishing himself as a long-term solution to the Bears' quarterback puzzle, he is not on Brees' level as a pro.

Brees already has 4,100 passing yards this season. He is on pace to finish with 5,046 yards, which would be 38 fewer than Dan Marino's single-season record. He has 26 touchdowns, while his 14 interceptions suggest teams can force him into mistakes.

After struggling for three seasons, Brees blossomed as a fourth-year pro with the San Diego Chargers in 2004. Orton has taken some of the same strides in his fourth season.

"Being around Brees, even off the field, he's the kind of guy that's got that confidence about himself," Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said.

"He's not arrogant. He does remind me a little bit [of] Kyle Orton. He feels and talks like a quarterback. Drew's that kind of guy. He doesn't get fazed easily.

"He knows sometimes you're going to throw a pick, [and] sometimes you're not going to have your best passes. But you get up and try it again, and that's the type of quarterback he is."





From Nick's blog:

Tuesday update: It's not all Brees

Posted on December 9, 2008 - 23:59:8 (3 hours ago)


The Bears had to practice inside today because of moderately heavy snow in Lake County, so they didn't get to further acclimate themselves to the cold. Of course, they're a lot farther along in that regard than the Saints.

There's a lot of talk heading into Thursday night's game about stopping Drew Brees, a tall task to say the least. But I get the feeling the Bears remain committed to stopping the run first.

There's a sense that Brees is going to get his yards -- maybe fewer on a December night at Soldier Field than he would in the Superdome, but still a good number. If the Bears shut down the running of Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister, they can at least make the Saints one-dimensional.

And if Brees throws a lot, he'll at least give the Bears a chance to make interceptions (he averages 1.5 a game). That's how the Bears overcame the Saints the last two seasons, when Brees threw for plenty of yards but also turned the ball over.

"They want to establish the run," defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "But they have passed it a lot against us and the outcome wasn't good for them. But with Drew Brees back there and that running attack, it's like almost pick your poison."
Post Reply