I think McDaniels had no choice but to start Orton. Luckily for him Orton wasn't half bad last year when he was healthy. He could be the second best QB in the AFC West.
i think orton is going to exceed expectations. better receivers, and a better system than in Chicago. How stupid will Chicago look if Orton does better than Cutler this year?
Immediately: pretty stupid. Long term: very stupid. They gave up a ton to get him. I know you know what the trade details were. I don't care who the quarterback is. I am keeping those picks. Unless you get a fortune teller and tell me he's going to be one of the best QBs to ever play the game and the team trading him is not allowed to look at the same crystal ball. inb4 "you traded all your draft picks away in the GM league".
In my opinion, its a yes and no in terms of exceeding expectations. In Chicago, Orton put up decent numbers with a poor core of wide receivers and had a defense that bended a lot in the fourth quarter. They struggled closing out ball games defensively quite often but there were a few games in which they did well. Now in Denver, from a statistical point of view, I think he'll absolutely exceed expectations if Brandon Marshall is there and working hard. Marshall has missed camp because he wants a new deal and was last seen walking out of the Broncos facility with boxes being moved into his car. Now, if he's there, they're going to be a good offense and I think Orton will do well in the spread offense. I still think we'll see a basic and predictable offense like we did in New England and I still think that he'll put up better numbers than he did in Chicago. However, I don't see him winning more games than he won in Chicago because of Denver's struggles on that side of the ball. Just this year? Not that stupid IMO. I think its going to depend on what kind of offenses we see with those two teams. Chicago is a heavy run team and Denver might not be that. If they're similar ball clubs and Denver has more success, it'll be because they have more weapons on the offensive side of the ball IMO. Chicago is still full of possession wide receivers while Denver has a dominant wide receiver in Brandon Marshall and a outstanding second year guy in Eddie Royal.
IMO Orton will be better in Denver than Cutler will be in Chicago. This is just IMO, I think with a better line (best LT in the game right now, TBH) and great receivers... Orton will shine. I'm not worried about the Marshall situation, I don't think it's as bad as some portray it. I think Cutler will be a flop in Chicago.
