Orton's stats

[BuffaloRedleg]

He doesn't pass the eye test but those are some great stats. Usually the eye test in the end is correct.

The next 2 games well tell us a lot.

[SpikedLemonade]

Orton gives a chance to win games that EJ could not.

I'm rooting for him.

We have to win 3 of the next 4 games. 3 of those games are at home.

Let's see him lead us to those victories.

[Ed]

Orton has definitely been better than I expected and I'm actually excited to see what he can do the rest of the way. The only thing keeping him from making more plays and being more consistent is better pass protection. Orton looks like he has cement blocks for feet and zero ability to avoid sacks. I'd like to say he could do a better job of getting rid of the ball, but that would require actually getting out of the pocket. His mobility will always be a limitation, so the O-line really needs to find a way to step up. Right now, the O-line is really the only major concern I have about this team.

[TacklingDummy]

It shows our line sucks, not that Orton isn't a top ten QB like you imply based on this. In fact, it is an argument in favor of Orton if anything.

Just goes to show you, even with a line that "sucks", teams can win if the QB produces.

[CommissarSpartacus]

hes no kelly holcomb or nick rolovich but he'll do

Actually, what's gone on is VERY similar to 2005.

Remember, Losman, a secod year first round pick, was anointed the starter that year and Holcomb was signed to play backup.

Losman won his first game, then stunk for 3 games in a row. Holcomb went in and the team immediately improved.

The difference between 2005 and now is that EJ doesn't have REMOTELY the same number of rabid fans as Losman had. Why that is is a matter of opinion.

Maybe it's because the Losmaniacs are 9 years older and so at least SOME are wiser.

[cookie G]

Orton gives a chance to win games that EJ could not.

I'm rooting for him.

We have to win 3 of the next 4 games. 3 of those games are at home.

Let's see him lead us to those victories.

With the running game the way it is, and Manuel's inability to hit a moving WR, I cringe to think where this offense would be had he not been named the starter.

[better days]

Actually, what's gone on is VERY similar to 2005.

Remember, Losman, a secod year first round pick, was anointed the starter that year and Holcomb was signed to play backup.

Losman won his first game, then stunk for 3 games in a row. Holcomb went in and the team immediately improved.

The difference between 2005 and now is that EJ doesn't have REMOTELY the same number of rabid fans as Losman had. Why that is is a matter of opinion.

Maybe it's because the Losmaniacs are 9 years older and so at least SOME are wiser.

Well, Orton is a much better QB than Holcomb as well.

I don't think Holcomb was any better than Losman at all, just different.

[Fletch]

Orton has definitely been better than I expected and I'm actually excited to see what he can do the rest of the way. The only thing keeping him from making more plays and being more consistent is better pass protection. Orton looks like he has cement blocks for feet and zero ability to avoid sacks. I'd like to say he could do a better job of getting rid of the ball, but that would require actually getting out of the pocket. His mobility will always be a limitation, so the O-line really needs to find a way to step up. Right now, the O-line is really the only major concern I have about this team.

I lean toward it being a combination of things. This OL should be better than it was last season and in past seasons. Should be.

Orton's taking sacks at nearly twice the rate at which he took them as a starter in either Chicago or Denver. His O-lines there didn't seem to be better than here, if anything I'd say worse. It's not like he had a bunch of pro-bowlers protecting him except for Kreutz in Chicago.

I'm thinking it comes down to play-calling impacting the line's requirements and Orton being older and not having played in several years.

It will be interesting to keep an eye on during the second half of the season.

[Fletch]

He doesn't pass the eye test but those are some great stats. Usually the eye test in the end is correct.

The next 2 games well tell us a lot.

Well, to be fair, his stats in the first three games were completely the opposite of the way they were with the Jets.

It was kind of like Spiller in 2012 where he started with 29 carries for 292 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs. He really didn't have another game like either of those two first games and his next 100-yard game wasn't until 10 games later or something, but it set the tone for expectations that he couldn't live up to. After those two games Spiller was averaging over 10 yards per carry. The rest of the season he averaged just over half of that.

I view the Jets game like that. If people are really expecting top-10 play from Orton I think that they'll be disappointed. Of the stats used to start this thread, other than the longest pass stuff, the only time that he's finished in the top-10 of any of the other categories in his career was in 2010 when he finished 4th in yards/game. Fitzpatrick had more TDs on over 600 fewer yards in the same number of games that season.

The dust is going to settle from that Jets game which was one of the strangest we've played in years. When it does Orton will more than likely revert to the QB he was in the first three games he played here. It's wise to expect more production along those lines.

[CommissarSpartacus]

Well, Orton is a much better QB than Holcomb as well.

I don't think Holcomb was any better than Losman at all, just different.

You were a Losman fan, right?

[X-Era]

There is no argument against winning... and we're winning. If we can be a playoff team with Orton I'll be happy.

[jimmifli]

There is no argument against winning...

The last time we made the playoffs half the fanbase did just that.

[CommissarSpartacus]

The last time we made the playoffs half the fanbase did just that.

Did you see the Flutie doc on NFL network where Dougie pinned that on Ralph?

It was also Ralph that insisted Mularky had to fire Tom Clements because he objected to Ralph's order to make Losman the starter in 2005.

Ralph may have done WNY a favor by keeping the team in Buffalo but he did the team no favors with the way he butted in on football decisions because he had a man crush on certainj players.

[Typ0]

We have a very talented offense at the skill positions and with that I can see Orton sticking in the top 10. I do question the line though as everyone else does. This plays right into his weakness. He needs to protect the football for us to continue winning.

[bleve]

I don't need no stinkin' stats.

Football is fun to watch again.

[jimmifli]

Did you see the Flutie doc on NFL network where Dougie pinned that on Ralph?

It was also Ralph that insisted Mularky had to fire Tom Clements because he objected to Ralph's order to make Losman the starter in 2005.

Ralph may have done WNY a favor by keeping the team in Buffalo but he did the team no favors with the way he butted in on football decisions because he had a man crush on certainj players.

No. I can't watch it.

I met my wife that year. We've been married for a decade, we have a 6 year old at home. I grew up, built a business, sold it, semi-retired, went back to school, semi-retired again, bought a house, sold a house, built a new house, moved to another country, moved back to Canada, started another business, sold it, got a new job...

During that lifetime of change the Bills have been consistently horrible. I feel like they've given me the sports fans' equivalent of PTSD. Frankly, reliving the mistake that ruined the franchise is a beating I'm not willing to take.

[YardRat]

I believe I ran across an article this morning that said Orton had the highest fourth quarter passer rating in the league. I'll see if I can find it again.

[YardRat]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/art...6-dff818e1aa61

11.Kyle Orton became the first NFL quarterback to throw four touchdown passes with 10 or less completions since Bubby Brister with Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland on 12/23/90. ... Orton’s four touchdown passes tied a career-high.
12. Orton ranks sixth in the NFL with an 8.0 average yards per pass attempt.
13. Orton leads the NFL in fourth quarter passer rating at 132.5.

[Night Train]

3-1 is the only stat I need to know.

[Mace]

Actually, what's gone on is VERY similar to 2005.

Remember, Losman, a secod year first round pick, was anointed the starter that year and Holcomb was signed to play backup.

Losman won his first game, then stunk for 3 games in a row. Holcomb went in and the team immediately improved.

The difference between 2005 and now is that EJ doesn't have REMOTELY the same number of rabid fans as Losman had. Why that is is a matter of opinion.

Maybe it's because the Losmaniacs are 9 years older and so at least SOME are wiser.

I have to say the same thing I said last time you brought this up, Holcomb had a rag arm, way less starting experience (spent 3 years on the pines without taking a snap even), etc etc. He wasn't comparable to Orton. Doesn't have anything to do with fanbase, it's statistical. I don't think Manuel and Losman had similar situations either from what I remember (neither pro or con but diff situations).

That said, I'm enjoying Orton while I can and hoping it lasts. I don't think he was ever so bad as compared to our scale of bad through his career and I think, from watching him, became better through it, though not spectacular.

I don't think we've seen what his ceiling here could be with better protection, but not how bad it can get either if he keeps taking vicious beatings week to week.

I think he can squeak into top 10, likely as mentioned top 15 (closer to 10) which will be splendid here. I want to believe he can be the perfect QB in the right place at the right time, feels like it to me (which is intangible and iffy anyway with my track record).

Also think, if Manuel really is going to learn anything, Orton is the right guy to learn it from outside of Fitzpatrick (great mind, terrible arm).

I don't feel good about expecting anything to turn out too well anymore, but Orton is head and shoulders above what we've come to be used to past decade in any case.