Kyle Orton’s NFL Career Off to a Kick Start

Kyle Orton, rookie quarterback for the Chicago Bears, has led the Bears in 7 consecutive victories thus far this season. In this short time, Orton has also set a Bears rookie record for touchdown passes and yardage. Please visit Kyle Orton's official website at www.korton18.com, being launched by Cardboard Heroes, for additional information on Kyle Orton and the Chicago Bears.

(PRWEB) November 30, 2005 -- Kyle Orton, named Rookie of the Week by Diet Pepsi for the NFL in Week 7, has led the Chicago Bears team to a first place 7-3 record as their rookie quarterback this season. Although Orton is new to the NFL, being selected by the Chicago Bears as the 106th pick of the NFL draft, he is already making a name for himself and meeting the challenges that come along with this new responsibility and tremendous expectations that come with being the team leader. In addition to leading the Bears to 7 consecutive victories already this season, Orton has also set a Bears rookie record for touchdown passes and yardage.

Born November 14, 1982, in Altoona Iowa, Orton has always been a natural at sports, lettering in basketball, track and tennis, in addition to football, at Southeast Polk High School in his hometown. Coming out of school, Orton was ranked the 2nd best quarterback in the nation before attending Purdue University where he majored in history and quarterbacked the Boilermakers to a 9-4 overall record in 2003 as well as a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten Conference and an appearance in the Capital One Bowl.

Standing at 6’-3” and weighing in at 226 lbs, additional highlights of #18’s Purdue football career include:

#4 ranking with a .581 completion %

#5 ranking with 947 passing attempts, 550 completions, 6,247 passing yards and 6,451 yards total offense

#7 ranking with 32 passing touchdowns and

a #11 ranking with 119.8 passing efficiency and

a #14 tie for 23 interceptions in 947 attempts

As if that were not enough, Orton was also the 3rd quarterback in Purdue history to start 3 bowl games, following Mark Herrmann (1978-1980) and Drew Brees (1998-2000).

When Orton tied a school bowl record with 2 rushing touchdowns vs. Georgia in the Capital One Bowl, in spite of sustaining a dislocated left thumb, a sprained toe and a cracked rib during the game, Purdue head coach, Joe Tiller, was inspired to comment that Orton’s endurance was “one of the two truly courageous performances I’ve seen in all my years of coaching.”

Since joining the ranks of the NFL, playing for the Chicago Bears, Orton was named as starting quarterback by coach Lovie Smith, following Orton’s strong performance in the Bears’ 16-12 win over Buffalo, in which he led an 81-yard scoring drive, completed 2 interceptions and three sacks.

Orton is not the only newcomer to the Bears team, with a lot to learn and a great deal to prove. Rookie runningback Cedric Benson is also battling his way to the top during his NFL rookie season with the Chicago Bears. Although still basking in the glow of his success he enjoyed at Texas, where he became the sixth all-time leading rusher in NCAA Division 1-A history, Benson also agrees that he has much to learn and hopes and dreams of a very successful NFL career.

In addition to being recognized for their 6 game winning streak thus far in the season, the Chicago troops were also just presented with the prestigious Patron of the Year Award by the Chicago Architecture Foundation in recognition of the new Soldier Field and the North Burnham Park Redevelopment project. The Bears are definitely off to a good start. Now it is up to the entire team to see that the Bears stay on top. Looking toward the future, General Manager of the Chicago Bears, Jerry Angelo, has stated that he wants rookie, Kyle Orton, to hold the starting position the remainder of the year because that would mean he is playing well.

For additional information on Kyle Orton and the Chicago Bears, please visit Kyle Orton’s official website at www.korton18.com, being launched by the midwest’s sports merchandise retailing leader, Cardboard Heroes. Show your team spirit by sporting their colors. Visit Cardboard Heroes’ retail store at cheroes.com for the best selection in collegiate and professional sports apparel and merchandise.

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