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QB Dan Orlovsky, Houston Texans

HT: 6-5, WT: 236, Born: 8-18-1983, College: Connecticut, Drafted: Round 5

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Texans | Week 9 Inactives (Sun Nov 8, 11:57 AM) - The Houston Texans have declared QB Dan Orlovsky, DL Deljuan Robinson, SS Dominique Barber, DL Frank Okam, CB Fred Bennett, WR Glenn Martinez, TE James Casey, OG Tutan Reyes inactive for Week 9.

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2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 3 - Orlovsky relieved Kitna following the injury late in the fourth quarter, and had his only pass attempt intercepted.

Week 5 - Orlovsky came into the game on the Lions' first drive of the second half. His second pass he threw an interception, which wasn't really his fault because it hit Roy Williams right in the hands and he deflected it to a defender. Orlovsky still didn't look good in his playing time however, often badly missing his targets and not having much velocity behind his throws.

Week 6 - Orlovsky showed poise at times, but was rattled at others, none more evident than when he took a snap in his own end zone and ran out of the end zone for a safety while trying to elude the Vikings' pass rush. He was under duress for a good portion of the game, and as a result threw short passes from the pocket. However, when he rolled out to throw a pass, he displayed a very strong arm and the confidence to go deep to his receivers and try to make big plays. He seemed most confident in Calvin Johnson as his go-to receiver for big plays, as Johnson was the only receiver he threw a deep pass to.

Week 7 - It was a tale of two halves for Orlovsky. In the first half, he and the Lions offense couldn't get anything going, and they quickly fell behind 21-3 at half. He did throw for 122 yards in the first half, but Detroit wasn't giving him any help in the running game, and 58 of those passing yards came on one play. In the second half, Orlovsky was able to lead three scoring drives, one of which included a 96 yard touchdown pass to WR Calvin Johnson for his only touchdown of the game. He finished 12 of 25 for 265 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions and one lost fumble. He did have two rushes for ten yards on the ground as well.

Week 8 - It was clear during the first half of the game that the Detroit coaching staff was not eager to have Orlovsky airing the ball out, and he did little to change their minds on those occasions when he actually did drop back to pass. While he wasn't responsible for any turnovers, by the intermission Orlovsky had completed only three of his nine pass attempts -- though one was a 31 completion on a play-action pass down the left sideline to his team's best offensive weapon, WR Calvin Johnson, that set up Detroit's first TD on the following play, and another went deep over the middle to an open Shaun McDonald. In the second half, especially once Washington took the lead, Orlovsky was allowed a little more lee-way, and he responded reasonably well. While he was unable to do more than engineer three three-and-outs on Detroit's first few second half-possessions, as the game entered its fourth period Orlovsky seemed to find a groove, exploited the Redskins' softening defense and registered his single TD pass of the contest. Truth be told, the 17 yard TD was more a result of Calvin Johnson's play-making to get the ball across the plane than anything else, but Orlovsky does deserve some credit for giving his receiver a chance to make that play.

Week 9 - Orlovsky opened the first series taking a sack, and on third down he threw an interception. Calvin Johnson slipped on his cut on the play, causing him to not get to the spot Orlovsky expected. With this start, it appeared the Lions were in for another long afternoon, but surprisingly they turned it around. As the first half wore on, the Bears struggled to get pressure on Orlovsky, which gave him plenty of time to find his receivers and put together nice drives. The Lions second scoring drive ended with a 17 yard touchdown pass on a fade route to Calvin Johnson, a nicely thrown ball that only he had a chance to catch. The following drive, Orlovsky found Shaun McDonald in the corner of the end zone for his second touchdown.

Week 15 - Orlovsky played well enough to win for almost any team but Detroit. He did not throw an interception or fumble the ball and avoided getting sacked by the Colts' lethal passing rushers. His QB rating of 96.8 was legitimate, as he completed 23 of 34 for 233 yards and one touchdown. In early November against the Bears he broke the thumb on his throwing hand in two places but still played the entire game. Hollywood would have made him the winning quarterback but this is the NFL and the Lions lost by four.

Week 16 - Orlovsky started for the sixth time in his career. Despite the lopsided score and his lackluster statistics, Orlovsky played reasonably well. Detroit was able to move the ball on their first two drives. Orlovsky had a 43 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson called back by a penalty, then threw an interception on third down. The interception however, was not a bad play; John Standeford had a chance at it and it acted like a punt by pinning New Orleans on their own three yard line. Orlovsky then led the Lions to a touchdown on their second drive. Orlovsky's other interception came on a Hail Mary-like throw to close out the first half. Otherwise, Orlovsky did a good job of protecting the ball. He was willing to throw the football away rather than try to force it into tight coverage.

After Calvin Johnson left the game with an injury, Orlovsky struggled. Eventually, he was replaced by Drew Stanton.

Week 17 - Orlovsky was up and down against the Packers and finished 22 of 42 for 225 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Both of his touchdown passes came on connections with WR Calvin Johnson from nine and 14 yards out, but his two turnovers were costly and Orlovsky couldn't get enough going offensively to keep pace with a productive Green Bay offense. Orlovsky was only sacked once, but while the Lions were just five of 17 on third downs, they converted four of five fourth down attempts.