Orton gets call, will start opener

Usually the Bears' quarterback changes aren't so easy to forecast.

The Kyle Orton era was born Sunday morning at Halas Hall whencoach Lovie Smith met the rookie in the weight room and summoned himto his office. In the meeting, Smith did what many thought has beenhis only choice since Chad Hutchinson bombed a week ago atIndianapolis: He named Orton the starter for the Sept. 11 seasonopener at Washington.

Orton's start will mark the 27th change in the last 92 regular-season games for the quarterback-challenged franchise. There is asense of optimism this time, driven by the fact that Orton does notbring with him the retread" tag like so many who preceded him throughthe quarterback turnstile.

The Bears have been around so long, precise records for rookiequarterbacks are not readily available. This much is known, though:No rookie has started the season opener since 1965, and the earliesta rookie has started since then is Cade McNown, whose forgettablecareer got going in Week 6 of 1999. Jim McMahon made his first startin Week 3 in 1982, but that was Nov. 21 after a two-month strike.

Orton has a swagger not common in rookies and does not seem in aweof his position as the leader of an offense that must complement aplayoff-ready defense.

I wasn't surprised," he said of the switch. I kind of thought itwas going to happen. I still realize that I'm young and I've got alot of improvement I can make. Now I've got to quicken the process alittle bit."

Orton's teammates figured the move was coming, too. Theygravitated toward him Friday during the Bears' 16-12 victory over theBuffalo Bills while Hutchinson -- who will be released soon -- wasleft to stew alone on the sideline. The list of rookie quarterbackswho have played well in the NFL is short, but that history lesson wasa tough sell as players left the practice field Sunday.

Roethlis-something," wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad joked about BenRoethlisberger, who guided the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 15-1 recordas a rookie last season. I have confidence in Kyle. He came in andsparked the offense when he played and created a lot of momentum. I'mready for him."

The Bears are hoping they can re-create the Steelers' winningformula with an elite defense and a power running game.

There is a pretty good blueprint they had," Orton said.[Roethlisberger] didn't have to do a whole lot from what I saw, andI'm not going to try to go out there and be an MVP. I'm going to tryto make plays when they're there and hang on to the football."

Roethlisberger wound up going to the Pro Bowl, but his numbersweren't spectacular: 2,621 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.His efficiency was, though, as he completed 66.4 percent of histhrows and had a 98.1 passer rating.

We have a pretty good running game," Muhammad said. I don't think[Orton] is going to have to win every game. Hopefully we put him insituations that are favorable. Rookies tend to struggle becausesometimes they're not afraid to throw certain balls that theyshouldn't throw. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it's not."

The Bears still want to refine Orton's throwing motion; he had adifferent arm slot on almost every throw at Purdue. But working inthe spread offense helped him develop good vision, and it showed on atouchdown drive against the Bills when he looked outside and cameback inside, throwing strikes to Justin Gage and Bobby Wade in tightspots for first downs.

Defenses attack the spread by blitzing, and Orton is adept atgetting the ball out of his hand quickly. Like the spread, the WestCoast offense deploys almost everyone, allowing for few maximum-protection situations.

It's hard," quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson said. There are thingsthat we can teach him and show him, but he's going to have to go outand actually experience those on the field."

Orton figures to see the kitchen sink and then some against theRedskins, whose defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, is regardedfor his creative pressure schemes. Orton will play only briefly inthe exhibition finale Thursday against the Cleveland Browns atSoldier Field (7 p.m., Ch. 5, 780-AM). Jeff Blake is now the backupand will see extended time, with Kurt Kittner now No. 3.

Blake has yet to practice in the system as all of the reps hadgone to Hutchinson and Orton. He's preparing himself now and calledit a blessing to go from unemployed to No. 2 in two weeks.

I have to be ready any time," he said. It has nothing to do with arookie. He can get hurt. Anything can happen."

Even a newcomer realizes the starter never remains the starter forlong with the Bears. Because it is the preseason, center Olin Kreutzwas able to laugh about a situation that isn't one bit funny. Ortonwill be the 14th quarterback Kreutz has snapped to since 1998.

I don't even know what [consistency] is about," said Kreutz,cracking himself up. Of course it's important. That's your No. 1position. We've chosen our guys and tried to stick with them, butthere have been freak injuries and things like that. Hopefully, Kyleis our guy."

Hutchinson left the practice field without commenting. He brokeinto a jog as he neared the weight room.

I'm not talking right now," he said as reporters approached.Thanks, though."

Smith likes Orton because of the way he has handled his brusheswith adversity, such as the bad interception he threw against Miamiin the Hall of Fame Game. Hutchinson just seemed to dig his hole evendeeper.

[That made the decision] a lot easier," Smith said. We think he'llbe OK, and we're going to grow with him."

Orton doesn't know much about team history, but he does know thatin the NFL, Not For Long" applies to the Bears' quarterback situationas much as anything.

I know the city and all the fans want a talented quarterback who'sgoing to play well and win a lot of games," he said. Hopefully I'mthat guy. I think I will be."