QB conundrum

The Chicago Bears and quarterbacks. It's been stormy. 

The keys to the franchise have been handed to some world class strokes over the years. We all know the sad litany of names. Cade McNown, Kordell Stewart, Shane Mathews, Peter Tom Wilis, Rick Mirer, Moses Moreno, Jonathan Quinn, Chad "Hutch" Hutchinson. 

Rex.

Sure, we've had the occasional Eric Kramer or Jim Miller blow through town. There's nothing wrong with those guys. Jim Harbaugh may have developed into a good Chicago Bears quarterback if Ditka hadn't broken him so badly with the psychological torture and constant abuse. But mainly it's been disappointment, failure, and ineptitude under center. 

Enter Kyle Orton.

The then beard-less kid from Purdue started 15 games his rookie year, and while he didn't look great, he led the team to a winning record at 10-5 before being replaced by Grossman. That's second-best since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 for rookie QBs (behind Ben Roethlisberger's 14 victories in 2004). 

The kid's got moxie. We like moxie.

Orton took a back seat for a couple of seasons to let the Rex Grossman drama play out, then got another chance last year. We all know the story last season. Orton looks like a hero the first part of the year, hurts his ankle against the Lions in week nine, and comes back and looks bad. 

So which Kyle Orton shows up this year? Can he be the guy we're looking for? Do the Bears need to go out and make a run at another quarterback?

There's a couple of intriguing names out there in free agency. There will also be QBs available at 18 in the NFL draft. USC's Mark Sanchez could fall to them, especially now that the Chief's made their move for Matt Cassell and will not be looking for a QB with the second overall pick. 

Bears General Manager Jerry Angelo famously said the team is "fixated" on getting the quarterback position right. Does that mean the Bears should make a big move on QB right now?

The Bears don't have the luxury of fixating on the quarterback position this season. There are too many other holes to be filled on both sides of the ball. Kyle Orton may or may not develop into the QB Angelo is looking for, but he has definitely shown enough that Angelo probably believes the Bears can win with Orton under center. 

If Mark Sanchez is there at 18, trade down out of that pick. Someone will overpay you for the right to draft Sanchez, who reportedly did not help himself at the combine with a pedestrian performance in the position drills. Bring in another QB through free agency or later in the draft. Someone to add depth and develop. 

We need WRs and DBs. We need offensive line. We could probably use some defensive line too. Maybe a linebacker? This isn't the year to fixate on quarterback.

For better or for worse, Orton's the starting QB for the Bears this season.