QB Kyle Orton had one of the best seasons ever for a rookie QB in the NFL, helping to guide the Bears to a 10-5 record and the #2 seed in the NFC. So you will not be surprised to learn that RB Cadillac Williams of the Tampa Bay Bucs was named the AP offensive rookie of the year. Orton was tied for fifth with zero votes.
Do not adjust your monitor. You read that correctly. Zero votes. Nada. Zippo.
Williams got 47 of the 50 votes and the other three went to Miami RB Ronnie Brown, NE OL Logan Mankins and Pittsburgh TE Heath Miller.
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4 comments:
This is one of the few times I disagree with you, Jerry.
Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Heath Miller - they had seasons worthy not only for rookies but also for veterans. Williams had over 1100 rushing yards (despite missing nearly three games). Ronnie Brown had 950 rushing yards, even though he split carries with Ricky Williams. Heath Miller had 479 receiving yards and six scores, better than what most TE's produce.
I realize that Orton had a good season compared to other rookie QB's. But the numbers don't lie - 190 for 368 (.516 - not good in today's NFL), 1869 yards in 15 games (a meager 125 yds/gm), 9 TD's and 13 INT's for a putrid QB rating of 59.7. Only once did Orton throw multiple TD's in a game. Also, the Bears won many games IN SPITE of Orton, not because of him. The opponents included in Orton's 8-game winning streak were Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Green Bay - hardly stellar teams.
It speaks volumes when a QB gets benched when his team is *winning* (vs. Atlanta). How often does that happen? So I can't say that I was surprised that Orton didn't receive any votes for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
It also didn't help that Mushin Muhammad dogged him publicly every chance he got.
Jerry,
I think you are a genius and I am glad I found this site...so I can converse with you about sports. I am shocked that Orton got zero votes, however I do think that Cadillac, not Orton, is worthy of the award. Although Orton did have a successful season according to his win-lose record as a starter, his numbers were extremely bad for an NFL quarterback. The Bears realized this by benching Orton for Grossman. I believe if they felt that Orton was actually winning them games then they would have kept him in as their starter, as opposed to letting Grossman take the helm for the playoff race.
I remember hearing Sean Salisbury Steak saying in August:
"Kyle Orton will be the offensive rookie of the year in the NFL. Count on it."
I don't know whether to laugh or shake my head.
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