Week 9 QB projections • DEN Stats

QB Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos

HT: 6-4, WT: 220, Born: 11-14-1982, College: Purdue, Drafted: Round 4

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Stats and Week 9 Projection

WK	OPP	RES	CMP	ATT	PYD	Y/A	PTD	INT	RSH	YD	Y/R	FPT
6	at SD	W, 34-23	20	29	229	7.9	2	0	5	11	2.2	23
8	at BAL	L, 7-30	23	37	152	4.1	0	0	1	11	11.0	9
SEASON TOTAL			147	231	1617	7.0	9	1	13	24	1.8	126
9	vs PIT	PROJ	23	37	241	6.5	1.4	0.8	1	4	4.0	18

Week 9 Injury Status and Other News

He was not listed on Friday's official injury report.

[Wed Nov 4, 6:58 PM] Kyle Orton Mike Chambers, of The Denver Post, reports Kyle Orton said he expects the team's Week 9 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be a very physical. "We're going to have to play physical. We're going to have to play smart. We're going to have to play our best game," Orton said. "We feel like we got a physical football team and certainly Pittsburgh prides (itself) on that, too. So it will be a hard-hitting game and whoever can win that battle will have a good chance to win."

Opinion (from The Upgrade/Downgrade/Waiver Report): Kyle Orton struggled to pass the ball against a formidable Ravens defense in Week 8. While he completed over 60 percent of his attempts, Orton could not attack downfield with the Ravens applying pressure on him all day long. Both wide receivers Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall struggled to get open and Orton could not get anything going against this tough matchup. Orton managed to not turn the ball over, but when a good defense was on the schedule, Orton did not rise to the occasion. The schedule is tough yet again in Week 9 as Pittsburgh heads to Denver next week.

Week 9 Matchup Info

vs Pittsburgh Steelers (Good matchup) - 'Offensively, everyone has to play better, myself included,' Kyle Orton (23/37 for 152 yards passing, zero TDs and zero interceptions last week) said after the 7-30 loss to Baltimore. 'I'm the leader of this offense, and when it doesn't go right, it's on me.' He put it another way for another reporter - 'Really not a good day for us. A good day for them.'. The leading receiver for Denver last week was Jabar Gaffney, with 3/43/0 - Brandon Marshall was held to 4/24/0 on eight chances by the determined Ravens' D. Two weeks prior, it was a different story for Orton (20/29 for 229 yards, two TDs and zero interceptions), with Tony Scheffler (6/101/1) and Brandon Marshall (5/49/0) leading the team in receiving vs. arch-rival San Diego. One bad game does not a season make, and Orton did avoid making any huge errors despite the tight Baltimore coverage last week.

This week, the Broncos welcome the 5-2 Steelers to Mile High Stadium. They'll need to rev up their passing attack, as the Steelers boast the #1 rush D in the land - luckily, the Steelers' secondary isn't nearly as stout, currently averaging 214.4 net pass yards allowed per game (16th in the NFL), with nine passing TDs given up vs. just five interceptions generated (tied with the Raiders, Lions and the Jaguars for 24th in the NFL). The Steelers are fourth in the NFL with 21 sacks through seven games, though - however, Denver is tied for sixth-best in the NFL with just 11 sacks allowed to date. Brett Favre managed 33/50 for 297 net yards, with zero TDs and one interception vs. the Steelers in week seven (the Steelers crushed the embarrassingly bad Browns' attack in week six, allowing 9/26 for 106 net yards, one TD and two interceptions - but everyone crushes the Browns' passing attack).

Orton and company need to get back up to speed in a hurry - home field advantage combined with the so-so Steelers' D on the field this week should be a boost. Advantage, Denver.

Game Summaries

Week 1 at CIN - Orton was wearing a glove on his throwing hand because of his injured finger, but showed no ill effects when he threw the football. He was able to throw with surprising velocity, and the glove did not change the way the ball came out of his hand. Orton moved around well behind the line of scrimmage, and even though he was sacked three times he was not holding on to the ball too long. Being safe with the football was the name of the game for Orton, as he rarely threw into coverage and didn't throw much past 15 yards in the game. Orton placed the ball in the right spot on most of his throws, and he was leading his receivers well. However, he did get both Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall crushed by not anticipating the angle the defense was taking on his receivers. He'll have to improve in that area or else it could lead to an injury to one of his main weapons. When the game was on the line, Orton started to throw deep sideline routes and almost had one of his passes picked off. In fact, the pass to Brandon Marshall that was deflected by Leon Hall could have easily been intercepted. Instead, it was deflected and plucked out of the air by Brandon Stokley and the rest is week 1 history.

Week 2 vs CLE - This is perhaps Orton's last week of wearing a glove on his throwing hand because of his injured finger. The glove didn't bother him last week, and it didn't bother him this week either. His passes still came off of his hand with good velocity, and he did a good job of placing the ball in the perfect spot for his receivers to make a play after the catch. The only time Orton's passes didn't look good, was when he was forced to throw on the run. He was able to get into a rhythm early, and overall looked very comfortable in the pocket. The Broncos came out firing and went play action on the first play, where Orton was able to find Jabar Gaffney deep for 25 yards. Orton even stood strong and was hit hard as he tried to deliver a pass to Brandon Marshall in the first quarter. The pass fell incomplete because Marshall didn't recognize the blitz and cut off his route. Orton threw short, while Marshall continued to run deep. Coach Josh McDaniels had a gameplan to pick on cornerback Brandon McDonald, and the Broncos were consistently throwing in his direction. Orton didn't get his receivers killed this week on crossing routes, and overall did a good job of leading them in the right direction. He even got out in front of Eddie Royal as Royal tried to reverse his field after the reception. Orton blocked his man like a quarterback, but we give him an "A" for effort. Orton was still safe with the football, but he had plenty of time to throw, didn't get sacked all day, and challenged the defense deep when he could.

Week 3 at OAK - The Broncos ran the ball very well, so Orton didn't have to pass very much this week in an easy win. The name of the game for the Broncos is efficient/effective passing, with most passes not going past 15 yards. For the third week in a row he was wearing a glove on his throwing hand because of his injured finger, but it has not bothered his throwing motion whatsoever. He had plenty of time to throw on Sunday, and was frequently lining up in the shotgun. Orton even ran a bootleg play where he rolled to his right and found Tony Scheffler for a first down. Because he was not pressured much, Orton was very patient when going through his progressions and didn't make any ill-advised throws. On his lone touchdown pass of the day, Orton waited patiently while Marshall came open in the end zone. He stood strong and delivered the pass on the money even though he was hit hard immediately after the ball left his hand.

Week 4 vs DAL - The Broncos offense was shooting itself in the foot early in this game with offensive penalties, and poorly thrown passes. Right tackle Ryan Harris was concerned about facing DeMarcus Ware and kept getting false start penalties as he was trying to get an early step to protect Orton. The Cowboys did sack Orton three times on the day, but for the most part he had plenty of time to throw. It seemed like for the first time in four games, the glove Orton was wearing to protect his injured finger was actually bothering him. Several passes sailed on Orton, and even when he did hit his target the ball was not placed in the right spot. After trying to connect with Jabar Gaffney on a couple of passes, finally at the end of the first quarter Orton was able to hit him on an eight-yard out. It was that pass that seemed to get the momentum and rhythm going for the Broncos passing game. The rest of the day Orton threw the ball well, and he continued to sprinkle in a few shots downfield when the play was there. The touchdown pass to Knowshon Moreno could have been intercepted, but it went right through OLB Anthony Spencer's hands. The touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall was short, but when coverage is tight a quarterback is taught to throw the stop so his receiver can come back and get the ball. Orton and the offense overcame their rough start and finished the game strong.

Week 5 vs NE - This was the first week Orton played without a glove on his throwing hand, and he commented before the game how he had a better feel of the football and that he trusted himself more without the glove. That confidence showed up on Sunday as Orton threw the ball 48 times against the Patriots. The Broncos debuted their "Wild Horses" offensive formation, which is their version of the Wildcat. Instead of bringing in a Wildcat QB, the Broncos instead would often line up Orton out wide and then motion him back under center. Starting a play in this formation simplifies the defensive look, and the Broncos had plenty of success both running and passing out of the Wild Horses formation. Once again, Orton was safe and effective when distributing the football and his one interception on the day came on a hail mary pass at the end of the second quarter. In addition to changing up their formations, the Broncos also substituted a lot of players in and out of the game which seemed to confuse the New England defense. The primary mismatch the Broncos looked to exploit was cornerback Leigh Bodden on Eddie Royal. Orton did a good job of looking off defenders, only to hit Royal on a timing route.

Week 6 at SD - Orton was calm, cool, and collected in this heated matchup of division rivals on Monday night. The Chargers tried to get after Orton to force him into mistakes, but often he would throw the ball away, throw it in the dirt, or just take the sack. Orton also did a good job of finding his hot read when the blitz was on. Most of the time it was tight end Tony Scheffler, who spent most of the night split out as a wide receiver. Orton took his shots downfield when the throw was there, with limited success. This was his second game without the glove on his throwing hand, and once again his release seemed natural and fluid. The veteran quarterback also did a good job of setting up defenders, which resulted in big plays later in the game. The Broncos did a good job of protecting Orton, and with plenty of time in the pocket he was able to make it all the way through his progressions and find the open receiver.

Week 8 at BAL - The tone for the day was set on the first offensive play for the Denver Broncos. Kyle Orton dropped back and barely had enough time to set his feet when linebacker Jarrett Johnson crushed him from the blind side. That one play pretty much summed up the Broncos day, because with the exception of one drive the Broncos offense was out of rhythm all game long. The Broncos did not use any "Wild Horses" offense to slow down the Ravens, instead relying on screen passes that were immediately sniffed out. Like most every week there were a few Orton passes that should have been intercepted, but all in all he was safe with the football. When the Ravens didn't get to him, they were knocking him down just after the pass or batting down passes from the air. To his credit, Orton took some big shots during the day but stood strong and didn't let the rush make him a timid passer.