The Great Quarterback Quagmire

By: Dustin Beutin

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? What came first, the chicken or the egg? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

What does Lovie Smith’s choice of Kyle Orton to start the first game of pre-season – with Rex to start game two - mean about Lovie’s ultimate choice for the regular season?

It could mean a lot or a little; a little or a lot. It could mean Lovie saw Orton’s face in a slice of pizza last night and took it to be a sign from above. Or it could mean Lovie is sick of Rex. It could even mean that Coach Smith simply is a fair man and randomly chose this order for games one and two.

You can bet your drills and tire gauges that people all over Chicago are talking – and agonizing – over the deeper meaning behind Lovie’s choice of Orton for this Thursday.

(And gloating that for once it’s the Packers who look like they are managed by a group of bone heads more interested in ego than wins.)

So what does Lovie’s choice mean? Orton or Grossman or Grossman or Orton? Or does it mean nothing?

THREE REASONS WHY IT MEANS ORTON WILL BE THE STARTER

1.)                The ball is in his hands: In sports, there is no truer philosophy than the person who has the ball is in control. If Lovie has chosen Orton first, it could be a clear signal that Lovie thinks Orton is in the driver’s seat and therefore deserves the first shot to hold on to the position. Lovie has never been one to send a lot of mixed messages: he tends to put the players on the depth chart the way he sees them and sticks with that for good or bad. See Mark Anderson, Fred Williams and Cedric Benson last season.

2.)                Rhythm: Pre-season centers around the third game of the series, in which the starters for both teams play the entire first half and typically deep into the third quarter. While Rex will play with the second stringers this week and Orton in the next when – presumably – Rex starts in game two, the established rhythm of starting Orton first would lend itself to putting Orton behind center for the third game.

3.)                Feeding off the fans: If Orton can generate some positive momentum in his start at home this week, it would be well received by the Garbowskis who show up for a pre-season game. Nothing puts a coach on better ground than to please the fan base and build some good karma with the hot dog eating folks. If Lovie has ordained Kyle as his starter, than this might be Lovie’s way of building some emotional momentum heading into announcing his decision.

THREE REASONS WHY IT MEANS THE RETURN OF REX

1.)                Protection: Let’s face it: Bear fans are pretty tired of Rex. While they may go to sleep at night dreaming of his early 2006 success, they wake up to nightmares of fumbled snaps, interceptions and leg injuries. Rex is one mistake away - even in a pre-season game - from a cascade of boos and talk-radio beat downs. To insure Lovie’s first choice get’s the best start to the season, he will give Rex his first pre-season start on the road, away from the slings and arrows of Soldier Field; meanwhile, letting Orton take the heat.

2.)                Setting up Orton: The first preseason game of the year is comparable to a Chinese Fire Drill. With a rookie running back in the backfield, an unsettled offensive line, new receivers and everyone working out the kinks, the chances of Orton having even a scrap of success are pretty narrow. By the second game of the pre-season, Grossman will have a better opportunity to show off his skills with everyone from coaches to ball boys having settled into a rhythm.

3.)                Appearances: Lovie is a smart man and his ability to handle the media has grown since he first arrived. By naming Orton the starter for pre-season game number one, he can put the “fair competition” spin on his eventual choice of Rex as the regular season starter. After all – Orton was given first crack at starting in the pre-season.

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Though other sportswriters in Chicago might still be unpacking their carpetbags, Dustin Beutin is a born and bred Chi-town sportswriter. Heading into the heart of the Big Ten (Purdue) broadened his sports views, and it was during the Jauron era that he lost the innocence of blind love for Chicago sports and began looking for an outlet to vent his frustration. A trip out west to USC for a Master’s in writing was only tolerable with high doses of ESPN and Dodgers games, though it gave him a respect for the national perspective. Now in the early stages of a sports-writing career, Dustin hopes to give back to the city of Chicago everything it gave him: opinions and heartburn.

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