Rextacy, meet Neckstacy

What the hell are they smoking at Purdue?

Let's face it: Kyle Orton with a helmet on is not nearly as entertaining as the Sex Cannon with a helmet on. First of all, you can't even see his neckbeard, and second, he can't throw it downfield like Rex can. Even still, Purdue saw something in Orton that prompted this drawing of a behemoth with a plasma grenade for a throwing hand.

That said, I've decided that Orton is more similar to Samson.

"I take Flintstones vitamins!"

Samson's power came from his hair, and without it, he was weak and powerless. Orton's power comes from his neckbeard being allowed to roam freely, and during the game, it was confined to a tiny little helmet, sapping his true strength.

Even weakened, Orton still had a respectable game. His TD pass was taken away from him (a solid throw at that), and he kept the Bears out of stupid mistakes for as long as he could. Short passes to take pressure off the run game would work if the Bears weren't facing the toughest run D in football. Orton was also the first QB to successfully work at making Hester a legitimate passing threat. Hester has his best game as a WR with 4 catches for 28 yards, and had a few close catches taken away from him (he got knocked out of bounds on a sideline grab).

Also noteable was the way that Orton utilized Peterson, who until then had simply been filling in for Benson. Unlike Cedric the Complainer, Peterson can catch the ball. Orton used him on the screen enough times for Peterson to rack up 8 catches for 51 yards -- probably the best receiving game for a Bears RB this season.

I'm not saying Orton is the answer -- I'm not even saying that Orton is a bonafide QB -- but I will say that he gives the offense a new look that at least forces us to use the short routes.

I wonder if McNabb is paying attention for when he has to do this next year.