once more into the breach

One of the most reviled successful QB's- in terms of regular season winning percentage- is back @ the helm of the Bears. Welcome back Kyle Orten to taking snaps on the Bears. Since Rex came back in the last game of the year in 2005 to reclaim the starting job, Orten hasn't had a snap during a game that counts.

Although we know he was deeply over matched as a rookie in 2005, he did lead the Bears to a 10-5 record. However, he did so so comically that it is hard to take him seriously as a starter- or even as a third stringer. You think Rex looked bad when he is in the bad Rex mode? Shit, you'd have to tag Orten as Stunningly Shockingly Horrible Orten. But, two years later, he's back. And I, for one, welcome him back.


Oh, but there is a problem: there is still a season to go. I know that the Bears are 5-8, but they are only two games out of a playoff spot. Playing the third stringer- well, he's second on the depth chart rite now- means that the white flag is being raised. However, even though I am Diehard Hilts, I fully realise that this year the team is probably not gonna beat the Colts or Patriots, or even the Giants or the 1976 Tampa Bay Buc's, so I'm more than willing to give him a shot.

But: does he have a future in the NFL? He has worked in the Bears system for three years now, and there are a lot of familiar faces around him. Presumably he has grown - but we don't know. So, I will be interested Sunday, and not just during Hestertime. I have a feeling we are going to witness the second coming of Henry Burris- or, rather, the second coming of Kyle Orten- and I think we will get the same results.

I always felt bad for any of the Bears when they turn up laughingly bad. Hopefully he has used his two years in the wilderness to good effect. We'll see. I hope he stuffs it in my face and comes up with a decent game. It is baby Drax's first Bears game, after all.