Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith has named Kyle Orton as the team’s starting quarterback. Orton beat out former starter Rex Grossman, whose inconsistency and turnovers look like they’ve cost him the job. “Completions, turnovers, to just the feeling we have on who can manage the game the best for us, all of things like that,” Smith said in an AP story. “And the good thing about evaluating both Rex and Kyle, we’ve had a long time to do it. It’s been quite a few years we’ve had a chance to see both guys play.”
That last part is certainly true. Smith has apparently come a long way from the “Rex is our quarterback” days. He must have uttered that phrase 100 times during the 2006-2007 season in which the Bears reached the Super Bowl despite Grossman’s errors. Smith benched Grossman last season for veteran Brian Griese, who didn’t fare as well as the team had liked. So now it’s Orton’s turn. Orton is a smart player who takes good care of the ball. He’s a game manager, not a gunslinger. He’s not going to throw for 300 yards and dominate on every possession, but he won’t make the mental errors Grossman became known for that had Bears fans pulling their hair out for the past few years.
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