Paying Big Dividends

Kyle Orton will live with the label, even though he doesn’t like the ring of it.

Orton, rookie quarterback for the Chicago Bears, has been portrayed as a “game manager” since stepping in for the injured Rex Grossman during the exhibition season. So far, the Bears (7-3) are the surprise of the NFL, winning six in a row to take a two-game lead in the NFC North. They have done so with defense -- the only NFC teams who have scored fewer points are the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints -- but Orton has done a good job of avoiding game-losing mistakes.

Still, for a onetime top-notch college quarterback, the game-manager moniker is tough to stomach.

“It’s a negative stereotype, to be honest with you,” Orton told reporters last week, taking a break from preparations for today’s game at Tampa Bay. “Probably the best guy to manage a football game is Tom Brady, and he’s got three Super Bowl rings. There isn’t anybody going up to Tom Brady saying, ‘You did a great job of managing the football game.’ ”

However, New England’s quarterback leads the league in passing yardage; Orton is 27th, and his 62.5 passer rating is worst among regular NFC starters.

Then again, no one expected him to be thrust into action so quickly. He was a fourth-round pick in April by the Bears, who were looking for an insurance policy in case Grossman was injured. Orton had a spectacular start at Purdue last season, throwing for 1,642 yards and 18 touchdowns in his first five games, all of which the Boilermakers won. Then he suffered a hip injury, tried to play through it, and never regained his form. Purdue lost four in a row, and scouts quickly cooled on him.

Some people called Orton a steal when the Bears were able to get him on the second day of the draft.

“To get someone of that caliber in the fourth round, I think it’s a great deal,” Bear offensive coordinator Ron Turner said in April. “He’s a first- or second-round talent.”

But when Grossman went down with a broken ankle in August, the Bears were widely criticized for having passed on the chance to sign a veteran free agent such as Kurt Warner or Jeff Garcia to serve as a safety net. Orton wound up winning the starting job over Chad Hutchinson, and Chicago limped into the season by losing three of its first four games.

Since, the defense has come on strong. It has given up a league-leading 252.1 yards a game -- 20 yards better than second-place Baltimore -- and has drawn comparisons to the legendary 1985 unit that helped power the Bears to their only Super Bowl victory.

Meanwhile, Grossman has been recuperating. He participated in seven-on-seven drills last week, and, for the first time, will suit up today as the third quarterback. Coach Lovie Smith has made no secret of the fact that Orton is a space-holder and the team was built around Grossman. But the coach is quick to dole out praise to the rookie, calling last Sunday’s victory over Carolina his best game.

“Rex makes the position stronger,” Smith conceded. “But I’m going to say again: The guy who has been quarterbacking our football team, that’s who we’re really excited about, what Kyle has been able to do.”

Grossman knows the job will be his again soon enough. So far, he has been patient.

“The last thing I want to do is become a distraction,” Grossman said. “For fans, the backup quarterback is the most popular position in all of sports. I feel like if I work hard and do exactly what the coaches ask me to do and understand this offense, that’s all I can do. If needed to play, I’m going to take full advantage of it because it’s an opportunity that only comes around once. To be on a great team and play quarterback ...”

And Orton insists he isn’t rattled. He understands the pressure he’s facing. He has stopped answering questions about Grossman waiting in the wings.

“I’m just happy where I am,” Orton said. “We keep on winning, so I don’t pay attention to it at all. I’m not the type of guy to look over my shoulder.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Super models

The Chicago Bears are similar to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, teams that won the Super Bowl with sub-par offenses and superb defenses:

*--* 2005 Bears 2002 Bucs 2000 Ravens Total offense 28th 24th 16th Rush offense 5th 27th 5th Pass offense 30th 15th 22nd Total defense 1st 1st 2nd Rush defense 7th t-5th 1st Pass defense 2nd 1st 8th

*--*

Source: STATS LLC