Eatman: QB Coach Expresses Disappointment In Orton’s Absences

boozeman

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QB Coach Expresses Disappointment In Orton’s Absences

Posted 19 hours ago

Nick Eatman

DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer


IRVING, Texas – Throughout the offseason, both Jason Garrett and Jerry Jones have tried to dismiss the notion of backup quarterback Kyle Orton not participating in the voluntary workouts and have reiterated their expectations that Orton will be back for the mandatory events. Garrett even said a handful of times Saturday in between rookie minicamp practices that he expects Orton back.

However, quarterback coach Wade Wilson, who goes back with Orton to their days in Chicago, admitted a bit of frustration that Orton has been a no-show this offseason.

“Kinda, I would love for his heart to be into football and be with the guys,” Wilson said of Orton. “Especially since we’ve got some new stuff going on with Scott (Linehan). I would like for him to be here but its’ certainly voluntary. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

Wilson, who served as the Bears’ quarterback coach from 2004-06, coached Orton when he frist got to the NFL in 2005. He said he reached out once to Orton this spring but has since backed off and still hasn’t talked to him since the season ended.

“Not since the end of the year. I texted him once,” Wilson said. “I know his agent real well. He said to hold off for now.”

If Orton decides to retire, he would owe about $3 million back to the Cowboys, who have signed Brandon Weeden and Caleb Hanie as insurance policies this summer.

Wilson said Weeden will be groomed as the No. 2 to Tony Romo if the Cowboys learn Orton has decided not to play this year.

“That’s one of the reasons we signed him,” Wilson said of Weeden. “He’s a first-rounder coming out. Big arm – we like that. He’s a mature guy. I don’t think the stage will be too for him. I think he’s young enough that he hasn’t taken a bunch of hits. He still has a lot of hits left in him.

“But we’re still hopeful Kyle will be here. If he doesn’t, we feel good about Brandon especially since he’s going through our offseason program.”

This weekend, rookie Dustin Vaughan from West Texas A&M has handled the majority of the reps along with Kolton Browning, who is here on a workout basis.

Wilson said the main focus of the position has always been with Tony Romo, who is recovering nicely from his back surgery last December to repair a herniated disk.

“We’re not trying to push him too hard,” Wilson said of Romo. “The hope would be to get him going for het OTAs and for sure the minicamp at the end of the summer, and go from there.”
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Well, at least we aren't saying we are "not worried".
 

Cotton

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Wilson has come out and said that he texted Orton and Orton's agent is the one that told Wilson to back off.
 

boozeman

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Wilson has come out and said that he texted Orton and Orton's agent is the one that told Wilson to back off.
That's code for "he's keeping Jerry's money and there's not a damn thing you are going to do about it, limp dick".
 

Carp

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This is just baffling to me...why he'd walk away at this point is crazy. He has a good gig here.
 

Smitty

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It always struck me as odd that Orton signed here for really such a cheap deal. He's highly paid for a backup, obviously, but in 2012 when he signed here, he was only 1 year removed from a two year run in Denver (when he would have been 27-28 years old in his prime) where he threw for 41 TDs versus 21 INTs and like 7400 yards with a QB rating in the high 80s.

That's not exactly lighting the world on fire, but there are a lot of bad QBs out there starting -- look at Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran at the time, Oakland, Seattle I believe, etc.

Seems to me he settled for a highly paid "sit on the bench and hold a clipboard" gig instead of what would have been a pretty clear path to a starting job somewhere, if he had wanted one. I wonder if his heart wasn't truly in it, even then.
 

boozeman

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This is just baffling to me...why he'd walk away at this point is crazy. He has a good gig here.
Well, the sessions are voluntary.

This is basically him saying you are going to pay me and I don't have to pretend like I give a shit.

Kind of to be expected with how Jerry has paid other guys on the team.
 

boozeman

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It always struck me as odd that Orton signed here for really such a cheap deal. He's highly paid for a backup, obviously, but in 2012 when he signed here, he was only 1 year removed from a two year run in Denver (when he would have been 27-28 years old in his prime) where he threw for 41 TDs versus 21 INTs and like 7400 yards with a QB rating in the high 80s.

That's not exactly lighting the world on fire, but there are a lot of bad QBs out there starting -- look at Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran at the time, Oakland, Seattle I believe, etc.

Seems to me he settled for a highly paid "sit on the bench and hold a clipboard" gig instead of what would have been a pretty clear path to a starting job somewhere, if he had wanted one. I wonder if his heart wasn't truly in it, even then.
He just lost his job to Tim Tebow. And finished the year playing out the string in KC.

He was probably on a bender and answered the phone one morning "you want to offer me, what?"
 

Smitty

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I would just guess that even at age 29, if he wasn't already contemplating retirement, he probably even then did not have the drive to say "I want to be a starter who takes that 16 game a year beating."

Probably why he settled for a highly paid backup job so quickly.
 

Carp

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Well, the sessions are voluntary.

This is basically him saying you are going to pay me and I don't have to pretend like I give a shit.

Kind of to be expected with how Jerry has paid other guys on the team.
He has a real chance to play again this year...maybe he sees the writing on the wall with youthful Weeden behind him.
 
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