You guys must be forgetting about what the man did in Chicago and in Denver. All he's done is win win win no matter what... Sure, he's had a D that would help out, But Chicago faithful wanted Rex to succeed so bad that Orton's legacy will be tied to that. He was a rookie thrown into the mix and accepted what came his way. He may very well be the inspiration for McDaniels and Co.'s ill advised first round pick. Tebow and Orton over came doubters and certain odds and became known as winners despite not really being respected for playing the position they've made their name in, and yet both of their history would suggest that they must do it better than most of the 'sexy' QB's. Most of the Kneck Beard's losses came in the latter half of Denver's rookie coaching collapse.
So I say bring his ass back kneck beard and all. Besides who's really going to call for Orton over Cutler on Cutler's worst day. But when he is called on and the Bears are 3 games away from clinching the Conference, we know Orton won't lose it for us. He flat out won some games in Denver last season and that shows some growth and leadership that Cutler could learn from him if he is not too igg-nit(ignorant) to understand that. And since Cutler is smart enough to reach out to other QB's that says something good to that whole notion. Which brings me back to the Neck beard. Why not. All he has done is win. No one expects him to be a Hall of Famer. If he can learn the different systems he's been in I'm sure he can learn Martz's and be more than serviceable when called upon, just like in times past. He only loses when he shaves the neck.
What the hell are you talking about? Kyle Orton is known as a "winner" because he benefited from having an unstoppable D playing for him in Chicago and another solid D in Denver, not to mention the "holy shit he got really lucky there" plays that went in his favor last season.
2005 Kyle Orton Stats (rank): 51.6 Comp% (33rd), 1869 Yds (28th), 3.5 INT% (25th), 5.1 Y/A (34th); 2005 Overall Defense Rank: 2nd
2008 Orton Stats (rank): 59.1 Comp% (25th), 2972 Yds (19th), 2.6 INT% (18th), 6.4 Y/A (24th) 2008 Overall Defense Rank: 21st
2009 Orton Stats (rank): 62.1 Comp% (14th), 3802 Yds (11th), 2.2 INT% (7th), 7.0 Y/A (16th); 2009 Overall Defense Rank: 7th
So really, 2009 was his only "average" season, and that's just looking at the bare-bones stats: Orton was atrocious at throwing the ball even in the medium range, and really benefited from miraculous plays made in his favor (to say nothing of the collapse he suffered in the last half of the season).
So I guess you could say (if you really want to stretch for it) that Kyle Orton is an average, AT BEST, QB in the NFL, but that's only if you cherry pick his successes and completely forget about his failures, because looking at his complete body of work he has shown himself to be a below-average NFL quarterback.
Oh, and those "sexy" QB's you referenced continually finished higher than Orton in the things you can reasonably expect a QB to be accountable for