By BRIAN MCTAGGART Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 27, 2009, 8:51PM
Dan Orlovsky says there will be no bigger fan of Matt Schaub than himself, insisting he wants the Texans’ starting quarterback to play in 19 games — including the playoffs and Super Bowl — and take every snap.
That would leave Orlovsky spending the season holding a clipboard during games, a role the veteran backup quarterback knows well.
But in the likely event Schaub is forced to miss a game or two — or five like he has done in each of the previous two seasons — Orlovsky vows to be ready.
“I learned quickly that the best thing for a quarterback, no matter if you’re first, second or third, is stability,” Orlovsky said. “I have complete confidence Matt is going to have a good year. That’s what’s best for this team. But I’ve been taught if a starter goes down the backup needs to come in and play as good or better.”
Orlovsky, 25, signed a three-year, $9.1 million deal with the Texans in the offseason after enduring a 0-16 season with the Detroit Lions, the team that drafted him in 2005 out of Connecticut.
Blooper infamy
He threw for 1,616 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions last year for the Lions, going 0-for-7 as a starter. The video clip of him mindlessly running out of the back of the end zone against Minnesota became a staple on NFL blooper reels.
But Orlovsky (6-5, 230) is ready to put the agony of a winless season behind him.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in sports,” he said. “You put everything you have into the sport since you were a child, but to have that embarrassment next to your name and to never say ‘We got one,’ it’s difficult.
“I don’t think that me or anyone that was on the team is going to hang our heads and say that’s how we’re going to be remembered. It happened and we were in full responsibility, but it’s over and done with.”
Orlovsky had offseason visits planned to Denver and Seattle, but the Texans never let him leave Houston without a deal to replace Sage Rosenfels. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said Orlovsky is similar to Schaub when it comes to arm strength, but he doesn’t have Schaub’s accuracy.
“I think that accuracy comes from a quarterback being in a comfortable position to throw,” Shanahan said.
Orlovsky credits coach Gary Kubiak for making him emphasize his footwork during the ongoing organized team activities at Reliant Park.
“That’s something I had never experienced before, never had coached that way,” Orlovsky said. “It’s going to be a big adjustment for me, but I can see differences already when I try to do that,.
“That and just getting more knowledge of the game and being around a guy like Matt, who’s an intelligent guy, a competitive guy and a guy similar to me and being around a great offense that is very quarterback friendly.”
Big-time expectations
Kubiak, who had a long NFL career as a backup quarterback, expects Orlovsky to be ready when called upon.
“He’s obviously got all the ability to do things, the size and arm and those things,” he said. “I make a commitment to our team that our quarterbacks are going to play good. Our expectations are that if something happens to Matt, he’s going to have to go in there and play like a big-time quarterback.”
By DESMOND CONNER | The Hartford Courant
May 26, 2009
Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky, formerly of UConn, runs past an official who calls a safety in the end zone in the Lions’ game at Minnesota on Oct. 12, 2008. (JIM MONE / AP / October 12, 2008)
As a youngster playing football, Dan Orlovsky was blessed with size and a cannon arm.
The former Shelton High and UConn quarterback knew that, but he also had a clear understanding of what it would take to reach his dream of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. He knew size and a cannon arm wouldn’t be enough.
“Every quarterback in the league can throw the ball but I always believed, ever since I was playing Pop Warner, that doing things like getting to practice early and working and staying afterward will help you down the road,” Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky, 25, spent four years with the Detroit Lions, mostly as the No. 3 quarterback, before signing a three-year, $9.1 million deal, including a $2.4 million signing bonus, with the Houston Texans on March 1 to back up Matt Schaub.
Orlovsky, a fifth-round pick by the Lions in 2005, realized he had to make an impression last season if he was going to get another contract.
He made the first of his seven starts Oct. 12 against Minnesota after Jon Kitna was put on injured reserve. Orlovsky made an impression in a 12-10 loss, but one he would probably like to forget.
The Lions were at their 1 when Orlovsky dropped back to pass. The Vikings’ Jared Allen broke through the line.
Breaking to his right, Orlovsky saw Allen but inadvertently stepped out of bounds in the back of the end zone. He not only ran out of bounds, but he kept running as if the play were still live while Allen was merely shadowing him and celebrating the safety.
“That wasn’t the impression I was looking to make,” Orlovsky said, laughing. “But I felt terrible. It was a stupid play and I was really down about it, but Jared DeVries, a defensive end and an 11-year veteran, comes up to me right after the play and says, ‘Forget about that. We need you. Everybody makes mistakes.’
“[Wide receiver] Calvin Johnson comes up to me and says, ‘Man, I didn’t mean to laugh, but that stuff was funny.’ So I mean, it happened. I’ll be remembered for it, I’m sure. But you have to move on, and I did. After that game, I just went back to paying attention to detail again and doing the little things — like I always did.”
Orlovsky (6 feet 5, 230 pounds) made a more positive impression against the Texans in Houston the following week. The Lions lost that one, 28-21. In fact, they lost them all, going 0-16.
Detroit and Orlovsky made it close, outscoring the Texans 11-0 in the fourth quarter, which included a career-long, 96-yard TD pass from Orlovsky to Johnson. Orlovsky finished 12 of 25 for 265 yards with the TD pass and no interceptions.
Less than five months later, Orlovsky signed with Houston despite missing five games with a hand injury.
“It’s a blessing,” said Orlovsky, who will marry fiancee Tiffany Lesher in July. “Do I think I deserve that much? No, I don’t. But I think I’ve earned it because I put a lot of work into playing this game and I didn’t cheat or cut corners.”
He looks at the contract as more of a reward with a greater one still out there — to be a full-time starter.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me here, but I’m going to continue to do the things that got me this far, my mainstays, and I’ll continue to gain experience,” Orlovsky said. “I may not be in the same place, but my goals have not changed. I want to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. I’ve made a long-term investment and commitment to making it happen.”
Congrats To Dan. O And Props To His Group
By Desmond Conner on May 19, 2009 4:56 PM
What’s good?
Just got off the phone with Dan Orlovsky a few minutes ago. We could talk all day. I covered some of that kid’s games at Shelton High. Anyway, we talked about a lot of things, being in Houston, his contract and, what he thought the keys to that all-important contract with the Texans:
“Everybody in the NFL is talented,” Orlovsky said. “But from the time I started playing this game seriously at 12 until now, and I’m not patting myself on the back, but I’ve always paid attention to the little things. Tom Brady isn’t the most talented quarterback in the NFL but he does every little thing right, like, he always has his body in position to make the throw he wants to make. Sounds simple, right? It’s not easy but he does it consistently and you see the difference.That’s huge as a quarterback. But it’s a little thing. From Pop Warner, to Shelton, to UConn and even Detroit - I was in Detroit In January, February and March watching film instead of going on vacation - the little things have been big to me. I think that, more than anything, is why I landed where I did.
“Do I think I deserve the contract I got [3 yrs, $9.15 million plus a $2.4 million signing bonus)? No, I don’t. Do I think I earned it? Yes, with all I’ve put into this, yes, I do.”
Yeah, we’ll hear more from the former fifth round draft pick out of UConn in the coming days but he’s in Houston now and has actually been down there a while getting the lay of the land.
He kept saying, ‘we’ve been this, we’ve been that’ so I stopped and asked him, ‘”Man, who is we?”
“We” is Orlovsky, 25, and his bride-to-be, Tiffany Lesher, a young lady out of Philadelphia. They’re getting married on July 5th. Congrats to Dan and Tiffany and their families.
So he has that and the work he’s got going with his foundation going on this summer. Speaking of which, here’s another press release on something else he’s got going on and a little info on the foundation itself:
SHELTON HIGH SCHOOL ROAD RACE PARTNERS WITH THE DAN ORLOVSKY FOUNDATION
Renamed “The Dan Orlovsky Foundation/Shelton High School 5K Road Race”
SHELTON, Conn.– Now in its fourth year of raising funds for student athletics, the Shelton High School 5K Family Fun Run has joined forces with the Dan Orlovsky Foundation and is being relaunched in 2009 as the “Dan Orlovsky Foundation/Shelton High School 5K Road Race,” according to race committee officials.
Proceeds from the race will now benefit SHS athletics and the Dan Orlovsky Foundation, which was created three years ago by the Shelton native and National Football League quarterback to enrich the lives of children across Connecticut.
“We got involved in the race because the foundation’s board members believed it was a good event right in the heart of the community,” said Orlovsky. “The road race promotes active fitness and health. The proceeds benefit Shelton High School athletics and I am certain that if I didn’t have high school athletics as a young adult, I would not be where I am today.”
As part of the new affiliation, the Dan Orlovsky Foundation will promote the June 6 road race on its Web site (www.danorlovskyfoundation.com) and at foundation events including the April 25 “2nd Annual Family Bowl-A-Thon” at Nutmeg Bowling Alley in Fairfield.
“Teaming up with the Dan Orlovsky Foundation raises the profile of our road race and benefits Shelton’s student athletes,” said SHS Athletic Director and race committee member John Niski. “Having been a Shelton High School student athlete, Dan is a great ambassador for our race as well as a role model for our kids.”
For more information: www.hitekracing.com.
About the Dan Orlovsky Foundation
The Dan Orlovsky Foundation is primarily a special events organization, raising nearly all its monies through sporting events, celebrity galas, auctions and The Dan Orlovsky Golf Classic. Corporate sponsorships and private donations are also a means of funding. The goal of the Dan Orlovsky Foundation is to bring hope to our youth who desperately deserve it and be the positive role model they deserve.
Hey folks, we got gotta ramp it up over here and on the web. I’m tweaking my Twitter page but I’m up and running over there, too.
Peace,
DC
Hey, Folks.
Wanted to pass this along from Dan Orlovsky’s people. The former Shelton High, UConn, Detroit Lions quarterback now with the Houston Texans has got some things going on with his foundation.
Help out if you can.
I know a few of you have asked about catching up with Dan and a few of the other guys in the league this summer. That’s the plan.
Anyway onto some Dan O. business starting with his foundation’s 4th annual Kick-Off Gala and Charity Golf Challenge June 18 and 19:
The Gala will be held from 6 pm to 10:30 pm at Scinto Towers in Shelton, CT. The Gala will feature live music, food and beverage provided by Vazzy’s Restaurants and SBC Brewery. Prepaid advance tickets are $25. The evening will feature a premium live auction and raffle with all net proceeds to benefit the Dan Orlovsky Foundation.
The Golf Challenge will be held this year at Race Brook CC in Orange, CT. It is a
1 pm shotgun start scramble tournament with registration at 11 am. The entry fee is $2,500.00 per foursome which includes a sponsorship. As always, the tournament will conclude with families joining golfers for food, fun and a finale of fireworks.
Contact Matt Reale (203) 231-1597 or Kevin Digby (860) 558-4155 for Gala tickets and the Golf Challenge information. You can also visit the website: www.danorlovskyfoundation.com to keep informed of upcoming events.
The Foundation is also participating in the Travelers Championship Charity Fundraisers; Birdies For Charity & Chip in for Charity.
The Birdies for Charity takes pledges, as low as one penny, & based on the number of birdies made, donors are billed at the end of the Tournament with 100% of collected pledges sent to the Dan Orlovsky Foundation. Pledges can be made via a form or online; www.travelerschampionship.com. The DOF Bird Code is 315.
Through the Chip in for Charity, The Foundation sells tickets for any one day admission to the Travelers Championship at a discounted price of $20. 50% of proceeds come back to the Dan Orlovsky Foundation. On sale now thru June 12.
For more information, pledge forms or tickets, contact Eve Wood 203-929-8959 or email ebw27@aol.com or other board members listed on website. Visit Dan Orlovsky Foundation website for all upcoming events:www.danorlovskyfoundation.com
OK. What else we got:
- Big East meetings in Ponte Vedra, Fla, next week with basketball taking up most of the attention on the front end and football on the back. What to do about the bowl situation? Can the league do better? What about adding another team or two? Does that come up this year with the transition at the top coming soon. You know commissioner Mike Tranghese is stepping down in a matter of weeks. I’m for expansion, personally. I think the league needs it and I’d love to see it add enough teams for a championship game. There’s always talk about the presidents not bringing expansion up at these meetings but it doesn’t mean the idea hasn’t been brought up to the presidents from the coaches. There are coaches in the league who favor expansion. I know Randy Edsall is one of those guys but he ain’t alone. Budget discussions, NCAA legislation, the BCS and other bowls, scheduling and officiating will be the top topics. And I’m just being told now from someone out of the Big East, “really nothing out of the ordinary.”
- On the UConn recruiting front, I think the coaches are wrapping up their junior evaluations next week. They’ve been on the road about three weeks now, I think.
- A comment came in about UConn football having a high graduation rate for African- American’s. That’s true. In fact, one of the highest grad rates in the country.
- Speaking of graduatuation rates, a belated congrats to the Huskies who got their paper last weekend.
- Congrats for attending! I say that because I’ve been checking out this story on the Notre Dame graduate, Emily Toates, who won’t be attending hers. Toates is boycotting graduation on Sunday because President Barack Obama is speaking and is going to be honored but Toates doesn’t agree with the President’s views, understandbly, on serious issues: “We do not believe that it’s right to celebrate a man that’s gone so far against Catholic principles,” she quoted as saying.
Now, I’m not sure that’s the case the way she’s quoted here but I do know it’s not worth boycotting graduation. Isn’t that one of the biggest days of your life? And Someone’s views are affecting what YOU do on Sunday? Go to the ceremony, put earplugs in, don’t clap. Not attend your own graduation?
I saw Toates on CNN this morning, too. She said she won’t regret attending the ceremenony because her department is actually doing the deal on Saturday, where she actually walks, gets her paper and all that. So in other words, in her mind, the real deal is on Saturday.
Well, congratulations anyway to Emily Toates and all those sitting out the commencement ceremonies Sunday with her in protest of the President. It’s certainly your right to do so but what will you do in the real world if your views are different from others? Gonna sit out something else? Gonna pull that if your boss has differing views than you?
- Next time I’ll stick to football all the way through. Or, not.
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES • March 28, 2009
SHELTON, Conn. — Former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky
will have his No. 7 retired by his former high school.
Orlovsky starred at Shelton High School in 1998-2000 and was named the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year during his senior season.
Orlovsky went on to play quarterback for the University of Connecticut, leading the Huskies to their first bowl appearance, a victory in the 2004 Motor City Bowl.
The Lions drafted him in 2005, and he started seven games in 2008 for the only NFL club ever to go 0-16 in a season. He signed with the Houston Texans this off-season.
The Shelton Board of Education says the ceremony will likely be in June.
Posted by The Grand Rapids Press March 05, 2009 00:00AM
Former Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky joined Bill Simonson on “The Huge Show” to talk about his decision to leave Detroit and sign with the Houston Texans.
“I hope and I wish Daunte (Culpepper) the best, but if you put on the game film from last year, it didn’t warrant (the Lions) coming to me and saying ‘Hey, you’re the backup,’” Orlovsky said. “I wanted the opportunity to change things, to compete. I wanted to be in Detroit, but the feeling was not mutual.
“I’m not Tom Brady. I’m not Peyton Manning. But I’m not some slap who can’t play, either.”
Posted by Brian VanOchten | The Grand Rapids Press March 02, 2009 01:00AM
It should surprise no one that Dan Orlovsky fled the Detroit Lions.
He signed a free-agent contract with the Houston Texans to serve as Matt Schaub’s backup.
Orlovsky, regardless of your opinion about him as an NFL quarterback, felt he had proven enough on the field last season, while replacing injured starter Jon Kitna, to at least warrant a chance to compete for the staring job with the Lions this year.
He didn’t ask for a guaranteed spot on the roster. He just felt he’d made enough progress to be part of the quarterback competition.
In the end, though, new Lions general manager Martin Mayhew unfairly denied him that opportunity.
Mayhew publicly stated Orlovsky had no chance of being considered for the starting job in Detroit. He viewed Orlovsky as nothing more than an NFL backup, which might be true enough, but he issued no such proclamations about the rest of the middling talent on the Lions’ roster.
It’s disappointing Mayhew felt it necessary to disrespect Orlovsky like that. He should’ve kept his mouth shut and just let Orlovsky pursue free agency and be done with it.
Instead, he singled out Orlovsky and denigrated him for no good reason. How many other NFL general managers do you see taking cheap shots at players who haven’t said “boo” the entire time they’ve been with a franchise and just showed up and prepared to play every day of their career?
Orlovsky was respectful of management and the coaching staff his entire time in Detroit. He never was a problem in the locker room. He earned the respect of his teammates under difficult circumstances last season. He never whined or complained. He never disrespected the fans.
He also might never be more than an NFL backup quarterback. So be it. He can live with that. Except he’d prefer to do it Houston.
It’s not hard to figure out why he’d rather be elsewhere.
Dan Orlovsky said he was looking for a chance to start. But really, he was just looking for a chance to start over.
Orlovsky, who started seven games last season in relief of Jon Kitna and Daunte Culpepper with the Lions, signed a three-year contract with the Houston Texans on Sunday. The deal is worth $9.1 million, according to a league source, including a $2.4 million signing bonus.
A 2005 fifth-round pick who spent his first four seasons with the Lions, Orlovsky will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Matt Schaub in Houston. He canceled a scheduled visit to Denver.
Orlovsky, 25, balked at the Lions’ pitch to re-sign him before free agency, saying he didn’t feel he’d get a fair shot at winning the No. 1 job over Culpepper.
“It was a confusing situation to be a part of because I didn’t think the play on Sundays was warranting that call or that decision,” said Orlovsky, who completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards and eight touchdowns with eight interceptions last season. “So it was disappointing.”
Lions general manager Martin Mayhew addressed that last month at the scouting combine.
“I told Dan … ‘The best player will play,’ ” Mayhew said. “ ’If you come in here and you’re the best player to help us win football games, you’ll start.’ ”
But, Mayhew added, “He was a backup last year, he was a backup before that, he’s been a backup his whole career. I don’t think anybody would be surprised if I thought he was a backup.”
Orlovsky got his first chance at extended playing time last season when Kitna went down with a back injury Oct. 5. He started the next four games before suffering two fractures and a torn ligament in the thumb on his throwing hand Nov. 2. The day before, the Lions had agreed to terms on a deal to bring in Culpepper, though, and Orlovsky knew he was headed back to the bench.
He started the final three games after Culpepper hurt his throwing shoulder Nov. 9, and played arguably his best game in a 31-21 loss to the Colts. But he and his teammates couldn’t avoid a historic 0-16 finish.
“When you’re 0-9, 0-10, 0-11, that’s really difficult to get up every day and go to work when you know that not everyone is on board,” Orlovsky said. “I can’t say that the players weren’t; I think all of our players were great and I think they didn’t give up, but it was difficult.”
As for becoming a starter, Orlovsky insists he understands his role in Houston.
“I think any quarterback in the NFL wants to start,” he said. “That’s just the competitive nature of us. … But I’m not stupid: I know no team is just going to say, ‘Hey, you’re our starting quarterback.’ And I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them because I haven’t done enough to prove that I’m a clear-cut starter. Did I do enough to say that I have potential? Sure.”
Orlovsky played for four offensive coordinators in four seasons in Detroit, but he’s eager to get to work with a fifth, Kyle Shanahan, as well as offensive-minded coach Gary Kubiak, in Houston.
“They’re straight shooters,” Orlovsky said. “I feel it’s a good opportunity just to learn from those guys. I told them I’m really hungry to get coached, to get pushed and to see where I can get to.”
By CARLOS MONARREZ • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • March 1, 2009
Quarterback Dan Orlovsky officially ended his tenure with the Lions when he signed a $9.15-million, three-year deal with Houston.
He played four seasons with the Lions and started seven games last year. He received a $2.4-million bonus and is expected to back up Matt Schaub with the Texans.
“I’m very excited, I’m stoked,” Orlovsky said in a phone interview. “Just to get the opportunity to come down here, walking into a really good situation, just a great organization, a team that I really feel is where it needs to be.
“I like the makeup of the team. I loved coach (Gary) Kubiak and the time I spent with him and (offensive coordinator) Kyle Shanahan; the moments and the time I got just to sit with them and talk football and talk everything. I’m really excited, and I think it’s a great opportunity to come learn from them and work and get pushed and learn from a really good starting quarterback.”
Orlovsky also was scheduled to visit Denver. But after talks fell through, he signed with the Texans, whom he visited Saturday and Sunday.
Orlovsky said last week he preferred to test free agency rather than accept the Lions’ offer to return as Daunte Culpepper’s backup. Orlovsky said then he did not understand why Culpepper was deemed the starter, especially because Orlovsky felt he outplayed Culpepper.
Orlovsky did not dwell on any ill feelings and said he would miss some of the personnel in Detroit.
“I will be eternally grateful to the Ford family for giving me the opportunity,” he said. “I will very much miss some of the coaches, but most importantly, just the people in the building in the background that I built relationships with, from the PR to the cooks to the equipment people to the strength coaches. You build a relationship over four years.
“And just the players. I’ll miss playing with Dom (Raiola) and Jeff (Backus) and Calvin (Johnson) and Kevin (Smith) and guys that I was good friends with like (Don) Muhlbach and Drew (Stanton). I’ll miss them, but I had to make my decision and what’s best for my career and my family, and I did it.”
From Wire Reports • March 2, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal
He played four seasons with the Lions and started seven games last year. He received a $2.4-million bonus and is expected to back up Matt Schaub with the Texans.
“I’m very excited, I’m stoked,” Orlovsky told Gannett News Service in a phone interview. “Just to get the opportunity to come down here, walking into a really good situation, just a great organization, a team that I really feel is where it needs to be.”
| 25th February, 2009 - 5:29 pm |
| Houston Chronicle - Having traded backup Sage Rosenfels to the Vikings, the Texans are keeping their eyes on a number of quarterbacks in the event that starter Matt Schaub goes down with an injury.
Free agency begins on Friday, and the team could look in the direction of Dan Orlovsky, Rex Grossman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Garcia or Patrick Ramsey |
Posted Feb 24th 2009 4:00 PM by Ryan Wilson
Maybe he will go on to NFL greatness, but for now, Dan Orlovsky is best known as “that dude who ran out of the end zone for no apparent reason.” The Lions’ 2005 fifth-round pick, Orlovsky started started seven games at quarterback last season, but has decided to test the free-agent market instead of returning to Detroit.
It has less to do with the Lions’ 0-16 putridity and more to do with the organization telling Orlovsky, in so many words, that there was a better chance he’d lead the league in rushing yards than win the starting quarterback job.
“They made an offer, but I’m going to test the market and see what’s out there for me,” Orlovsky told the Associated Press Monday, adding that he’d been told by Lions officials he’d back up Culpepper next season. “I’m pretty confident that I’m going to get a better offer.”
General manager Martin Mayhew denies Orlovsky’s assertion, naturally. “I told Dan when I talked to him: ‘The best player will play … If you come in here and you’re the best player to help us win football games, you’ll start.’”
A couple things worth pointing out: still no mention of Drew Stanton, the team’s 2007 second-round pick. Also, no matter who you believe, the Lions still could be in the Matt Stafford/Mark Sanchez business with the first-overall pick. Or, as has been suggested numerous times, they should focus on the offensive line before searching for a franchise quarterback. Makes sense in theory; whether Detroit actually follows through is another matter entirely.
DETROIT (Ticker) — Detroit Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky on Monday said he would test free agency rather than accept the team’s contract offer to return in a backup role, according to a published report.
After starting seven games for the winless Lions this past season, Orlovsky told the Detroit Free Press that he has had a hard time understanding how Dante Culpepper was just given the starting job.
“You question how come he just got given the job,” Orlovsky told the newspaper. “I mean, you’re not going to restructure somebody’s deal and say, ‘Oh, it’s a competition.’ So it’s tough.
“I think looking at the film and watching Sundays and looking at the statistics, it doesn’t make sense why the move was made to me, from my end.”
A backup for his first three seasons in Detroit, Orlovsky took over for Jon Kitna and completed 143 of 255 passes for 1,616 yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Culpepper was signed midseason after Orlovsky suffered a broken thumb - and struggled mightily. He was pulled in four of his five starts.
During an interview on Sirius NFL Radio, free-agent WR Mike Furrey (Lions) said Detroit Lions QB Dan Orlovsky is looking to sign elsewhere for next season.
NEW HAVEN — It’s a safe bet to say that there were several mornings over the last couple weeks of the season when Dan Orlovsky would have done almost anything if he could have slapped the snooze button on the bedside alarm clock, rolled over and pulled the covers over his head.
The 2008 football season had long since gone down the drain. The Detroit Lions hadn’t won a game, weren’t going to win a game, and Orlovsky had become the butt of a lot of jokes for a mistake that even today, four months after the fact, is still plastered all over YouTube. Yet, each day when that alarm sounded, Orlovsky got up, got dressed and worked like crazy at the Lions training facility to try and save face.
But it didn’t happen.
Detroit ended up 0-16, the first NFL team in history to lose every single game in a 16-game season. And Orlovsky had to endure the frustration of being the starting quarterback for seven of those losses, one of which came when he mistakenly ran out of the end zone against the Minnesota Vikings for a safety that later proved to be the margin of defeat.
He was thrust into the starter’s role after Jon Kitna injured his back against Chicago in Week 4. Orlovsky threw for 265 yards against Houston and 223 against Washington. But the Lions lost.
He played nearly the entire game against the Bears in November with a thumb that was broken on the Lions’ first offensive play from scrimmage. He completed 28 passes and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns
that day. But the Lions lost.
He missed five weeks as the thumb healed, watching the Lions lose each time. He knew that he could have bagged the final three weeks, but Orlovsky went back out there as the starter, trying to find a way to win against Indianapolis, New Orleans and Green Bay. But the Lions lost.
Zero and 16. Try and live with that.
“It was a very, very tough season “¦ mentally. Physically, I got a little beat up, but mentally was hard,” Orlovsky said recently when he was back in Connecticut for the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-American weekend.
“People don’t understand when you go 0-9, 0-10, 0-11, 0-12, and have to get up and work and work and work. In a physically and mentally grueling profession, it wears you out. And you had to decide to get up every morning and go to work and work like you were 11-0, 12-0, 13-0.”
Orlovsky showed up. Every day. To some, that work didn’t go unnoticed.
Against the Vikings, in the middle of his first NFL regular-season start, FOX-TV analyst Tony Boselli told the viewers watching the game that Orlovsky was playing “beyond his years.” Considering that the former UConn quarterback was playing in just his sixth NFL game in four seasons, he most definitely was.
Orlovsky’s head coach, Rod Marinelli, said on the Lions’ Web site that he was pleased with his young quarterback’s performance. Marinelli said Orlovsky didn’t turn the ball over and kept his team in a position to win.
“He’s a really bright guy, very intelligent,” Marinelli said of Orlovsky on Detroitlions.com. “He’s kind of like the gym rat that’s always around here. He’s got a pretty quick arm and decent mobility. He’s got a pretty good gun to him. He studies a lot and I think he’s got a nice toughness to him.”
But that and $2 might buy you a cup of coffee. With the 0-16 still staring them in the face, the Lions have started cleaning house. Marinelli is gone, replaced by new head coach Jim Schwartz. There is a new offensive coordinator too, Scott Linehan. General manager Matt Millen is also gone, In his place is Martin Mayhew.
Right now, the Lions have quarterbacks Kitna, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson in addition to Orlovsky, who is a free agent. It would seem as though Culpepper would have the edge — Linehan was the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator from 2002-04 and coached Culpepper there. Culpepper thrived for the Vikings, throwing for a career-high 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2004.
John Niyo of The Detroit News reported Thursday that Linehan had already met with Culpepper, Kitna and Stanton and had not met with Orlovsky. But Linehan also said Wednesday that there was no front-runner for the job.
So the big question is: Will Orlovsky stay or will he go?
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Orlovsky said. “This is the first time going through this,” he said.
Apparently, Mayhew doesn’t have much of an idea, either. He told The Detroit News recently, “One of the good things is we don’t have to play a game for a while because I don’t know who our starter would be,” he said. “The quarterback is the leader of your team and he is the trump card of all positions. A good quarterback can hide a lot of other holes on your roster. If you don’t have a quarterback, you have to be really good in a lot of other areas to overcome that.”
Last season, the Lions weren’t good in a lot of areas. Offensively, they were 30th in rushing and 24th in passing. Their defense was dead last, No. 32 in both total defense (allowing 404.4 yards) and scoring (32.3 points).
In his 10 games (seven starts), Orlovsky completed 143-of-255 passes for 1,616 yards, eight interceptions and eight touchdowns, including a 96-yarder against the Texans. His QB rating was a decent 72.6.
“I’ve never been one to try and judge, but I think I did enough to prove that I definitely have potential to be a starter in this league. I belong,” Orlovsky said. “With the circumstances that were placed upon my shoulders, I think more than enough was proven.”
Receiver Calvin Johnson stands in Orlovsky’s corner. After that Vikings game, Johnson said, “(Orlovsky) put us in a position to win. We were in a position to win the whole game because of the quarterback play. He took charge in the huddle and all the guys rallied around him. I think that’s important.”
So does center Dominic Raiola. Just before Detroit’s last game of the season against the Packers, Raiola said on the Lions Web site: “Dan put his time in and prepared each week like he was going to be the starter even when he was the third quarterback. I think that helps out a lot. He’s definitely a guy I trust in there “¦ we trust in there.”
But will Schwartz, Linehan and Mayhew trust Orlovsky?
One thing Orlovsky hopes to make known to the organization is his feelings. Despite everything that happened this season, he wants to come back to Detroit and turn things around.
“There’s two reasons really why I want to go back,” the former Shelton High star said. “I want to be part of change, like I was at UConn. I want to be able to be part of something that I can hang my hat on when I’m 50. And I want to play with (receiver) Calvin (Johnson), so we’ll see. They have a pretty good idea where my mind is, my heart is, but I haven’t said those exact words to them. I’m sure once contract talks get started, I’ll have the opportunity to talk to them.
“People know I want to be back there, but you have to be wanted also. I’m going to do what’s best for me and my family and for my career, so a lot of thought will go into it, but I want the opportunity.”
Because as bad as 0-16 was, Orlovsky knows that from hardship can come success.
“Absolutely. I won’t face any more difficult situation from top to bottom athletically in my life,” he said. “No question it will make be a better quarterback. It will help me prepare more, allow me to handle difficult situations better.
“It’s nothing you want to be a part of, but you have to understand that you went through it, you can’t erase it, but you can learn from it.”
One thing Orlovsky has learned is not to put much stock in what the newspapers are writing or what’s being said on Detroit’s talk radio stations.
“The only thing on my radio is country music,” he said. “I do as much as I can to stay away from that. At the end of the day, you can look at yourself in the mirror and feel that you did everything you could, that’s all that matters.”
“There’s two reasons really why I want to go back,” he told the Connecticut Post. “I want to be part of change, like I was at UConn. I want to be able to be part of something that I can hang my hat on when I’m 50. And I want to play with Calvin Johnson, so we’ll see. They have a pretty good idea where my mind is, my heart is, but I haven’t said those exact words to them. I’m sure once contract talks get started, I’ll have the opportunity to talk to them.
“People know I want to be back there, but you have to be wanted also. I’m going to do what’s best for me and my family and for my career, so a lot of thought will go into it, but I want the opportunity.”
John Niyo / The Detroit News
Linehan said he has spoken with three of the four quarterbacks signed through next season: Culpepper, Jon Kitna and Drew Stanton. Drew Henson is the other, with Dan Orlovsky, who finished the season as the starter, likely headed elsewhere as a free agent this winter.
So who’s his starter? MORE>>>>
Tiffany Lesher and Dan Orlovsky
Detroit Lions’ wide receiver Mike Furrey hosted a roster of sports and local celebrities for the Mike Furrey Foundation Celebrity Halloween Bowling Party with a dinner, auction and awards ceremony at Plaza Lanes in Plymouth. The money raised from this year’s event benefits a variety of events planned in the Detroit community. The Mike Furrey Foundation will be adopting Caesar Chavez Academy (Detroit), Christ Child House (Detroit), Children’s Hospital and many more.
Here is who Orlovsky will be competeing against this off season.
By: Greg Davis
Kurt Warner, UFA, Arizona Cardinals
The former MVP and Super Bowl winner has had a resurgent season in Arizona and has his team past the first round of the playoffs. He racked up 4,583 passing yards, his second highest career total for a season, and threw for 30 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions. Also, his passer rating of 96.9 was his best since the ‘01 season. Warner has not wanted his contract status to be a distraction, but he will be looking for an extension from the team once the season comes to an end. Warner could find another team willing to name him the starter if the Cardinals want to let Matt Leinart take over.
Kerry Collins, UFA, Tennessee Titans
Collins may have recently turned thirty-six, but he helped lead the Titans to the best record in the NFL at 13-3 when the Vince Young situation threatened to put a damper on the entire season. Instead, Collins stepped in and managed the offense well. He may not have looked like the quarterback he was when he led the New York Giants to a Super Bowl appearance early on this decade, but he did prove that he was capable of winning games and protecting the ball enough to allow his offense to run fairly smoothly. He may not have a lot left after this season and a potential Super Bowl run, but he may still be of interest to some teams looking for a steady game manager or an experienced backup for insurance purposes. The Titans may be looking to move forward with Vince Young, but Collins knows the system and could be offered a new contract to keep his services around.
Matt Cassel, UFA, New England Patriots
Rumor has it that Cassel will be franchised, thus ending his chance to hit the market.
Jeff Garcia, UFA, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Garcia could retire given that he is nearing forty years of age, but many probably expected that he would have hung up his cleats before the just completed season. The veteran just keeps going and going and has kept the Buccaneers competitive. Last season the veteran passer threw for over 2,400 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games. This season, in twelve games, he passed for over 2,700 yards and had 12 touchdowns tosses to just six interceptions. He can still manage a game and make things happen often enough to keep defenses honest. He may be asked to stick around somewhere in the league for another season.
Rex Grossman, UFA, Chicago Bears
With all of the criticism that Grossman has had to face, he did lead a Bears team that reached a Super Bowl in ’06. During that season he threw for over 3,100 yards and 23 touchdowns; however, he also turned the ball over 25 times. Grossman lost his starting role to Kyle Orton this season and threw just 62 passes, completing only 32 and having a pair of touchdowns and picks. Grossman may wind up being a career backup.
Kyle Boller, UFA, Baltimore Ravens
Boller has never lived up to the hype that came with him and he was placed on the injured reserve this season. In five seasons of earning sporadic playing time, Boller has thrown more touchdowns than picks just twice. The presence and early success of Joe Flacco guarantee that Boller will be gone after the season, and it is hard to imagine that he’ll be given a shot at starting anywhere. Like Grossman, he seems destined to be a career backup.
Other Quarterbacks
Charlie Batch, UFA, Pittsburgh Steelers
J.P. Losman, UFA, Buffalo Bills
Patrick Ramsey, UFA, Denver Broncos
Dan Orlovsky has the 213th best selling jersey in the NFL.
EAST HAVEN — Cheshire football coach Mark Ecke knew he had someone special on his team four years ago.
That’s when Billy Ragone had just entered the high school.
But Ragone, like most freshmen, spent that season with his classmates on the freshman team.
Ragone soon proved he wasn’t just any other freshman and on Saturday, after three remarkable seasons with the Rams, he was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation High School Player of the Year at the Second Breakfast of Champions banquet.
Ragone, who will play at the University of Pennsylvania this fall, was honored along with New Canaan’s Lou Marinelli, who was named coach of the year after guiding the school to the Class MM state title and the No. 1 ranking in the Register Top 10 poll.
Ecke kicked himself a bit for not using Ragone right from the start.
“That’s how dominant he was,” Ecke said. “When he came here, we were 3-7, and he single-handedly turned our program around.”
Cheshire went 9-2 last fall.
“He’s a special kid who gets it done on the field and in the classroom,” Ecke said. “He’s a great leader and ambassador for our school. I have two boys, and they want to know what Billy’s doing. They want to wear his number. That’s the type of role model he is. He’s a kid that we’re going to miss.
“He shows that you can balance the academics and the athletics.”
Ragone said that’s why he selected Penn.
“My parents instilled in me a long time ago how important it is do well in the classroom,” Ragone said. “I wanted to go to a school that was both strong athletically and academically.”
Ragone was not surprised at how much the Rams improved during his time at the school.
“Coming up we had a lot of great talent, and coach Eke put a lot of expectations on us,” Ragone said. “He got me into playing varsity football soon, and that enabled me to get better as a junior and a senior. That experience made me a better player.
Ragone was proud to help restore Cheshire to one of the best teams in the state.
“We had a mix of some of the old players from the ’90s that came back to coach, and they instilled that winning attitude on us. We knew we had a lot of talent to take us back to where we were in the ’90s, and that was something we were able to accomplish.”
Ecke was also happy that Ragone won one of the prestigious player of the year awards. He was selected as a Register All-Stater, but the top player went to Glastonbury’s Jordan Brown. Brown and Seymour’s Mike Osiecki were the finalists for the Camp award.
“To win this award over those types of players is very satisfying,” Ragone said. “They are great players, and we played against both of them.”
Orlovsky hoping to catch on
The breakfast was presented by the Dan Orlovsky Foundation.
Orlovsky, a former Register Player of the Year from Shelton, started seven games (he played in 10) and threw eight touchdowns and eight interceptions for the Detroit Lions this season.
He threw for 1,616 yards, connecting on 143 of 255 passes (56.1 percent). Orlovsky, who was an All-Stater and Register MVP at Shelton before heading to UConn, finished the season with a passer rating of 72.6.
While those numbers are not bad, the Lions will go down as the worst team in NFL history after becoming the first team to go 0-16 for the season. They also set another dubious mark losing their home games by an average of 21.4 points.
Orlovsky’s contract ran out this year, and he is hoping on catching on with a team for next season.
Orlovsky did have a couple of good games. He threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-23 loss at Chicago. He also finished with 224 yards and two touchdowns in the season-finale loss at Green Bay. In that game, the Lions led in the fourth quarter.
It was the fourth season in the NFL for Orlovsky, who didn’t see any action the previous two season and played briefly in two games in 2005. He was a fifth-round selection in the 2005 draft.
Orlovsky took over for Jon Kitna, who went on injured reserve during the season. The Lions also have Drew Stanton and picked up veteran Daunte Culpepper after Week 9. Stanton has three more years on his contract, Culpepper one.
The Lions also have the first pick in the NFL draft this season and many speculate that they’ll use that to pick USC’s Mark Sanchez or Georgia’s Matt Stafford, both quarterbacks.
The Walter Camp Football Foundation lauded the efforts of Orlovsky.
“If anyone’s looking for a role model, look at Dan,” said Joe Barbarotta, president of the Walter Camp Football Foundation. “He’s walked in your shoes.”
Fulcher makes his pitch
David Fulcher, a 1985 Walter Camp All-American, also spoke at the event. Fulcher was a three-time Pro Bowl safety with the Cincinnati Bengals. He came to represent his foundation which benefits Multiple Sclerosis, a disease his wife is battling.
Fulcher had several words of inspiration for the audience.
“The first thing you have to be is a professional student,” Fulcher said, “before you can become a professional athlete. You’re going to have some falls in life, but what’s important is how you handle those falls. Success if very hard, but you get there with determination, and the choice you make today will affect you the rest of your life.”
Lifetime of work
Bill O’Brien won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
O’Brien was the first commissioner of the Southern Connecticut Conference and helped mold the league into one of the state’s best.
O’Brien has also been a member of the Walter Camp Football Foundation for decades. “This is very special because it represents a long time,” O’Brien said. “You do it because you love it, and what’s great about this weekend is that every January New Haven becomes the football capital of the world.
“I’m proud to have a played a small part in it.”
Bill Clouter can be reached at http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/01/18/sports/18-camp_nb.txt.
On Lions quarterbacks Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton and whether any looks like a starter: “Without looking at all the film, Culpepper has done it. Orlovsky is a good, young guy. I think Stanton needs a good quarterback coach to bring him along. I’ll have to make that determination as we go along.”
•New Towson coach Rob Ambrose, UConn’s quarterbacks coach since 2002, became offensive coordinator in 2006, two years after Dan Orlovsky’s senior season. The Huskies’ running game has been effective the past four seasons, but their passing has ranked near the bottom nationally since Orlovsky left. Where UConn’s offense has ranked nationally and its yards-per-game averages the past five seasons
| Total offense | Passing offense | Rushing offense | |||||
| Year | Rank | YPG | Rank | YPG | Rank | YPG | W-L |
| 2004 | 19 | 429.7 | 10 | 281.3 | 66 | 148.4 | 8-4 |
| 2005 | 94 | 324.2 | 106 | 149.5 | 34 | 174.2 | 5-6 |
| 2006 | 73 | 323.9 | 110 | 141.0 | 13 | 182.9 | 4-8 |
| 2007 | 90 | 347.1 | 97 | 185.8 | 49 | 161.3 | 9-4 |
| 2008 | 69 | 355.3 | 106 | 147.3 | 19 | 204.5 | 7-5 |
| Note: 117 I-A teams in 2004 and ‘05; 119 in ‘06-’08 | |||||||
2005 Exquisite Dan Orlovsky
Dan Orlovsky will not forget the moment when he decided a thrown football could complete a mission.
He was staring out the windows of the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, a college quarterback trying to answer questions none of us can.
“I had gotten closer to some people who, unfortunately, had been constant visitors to the hospital,” Orlovsky said this week. “There was one family, I’d rather not get into too many specifics, who I had built a relationship with, and I was going to visit the child. They said he wasn’t going to make it. While I was there, the child passed.
“I wound up in a room with the mother for a half-hour. It was one of the most difficult things ever in my life, to see a mom in so much pain, trying to comfort her. Leaving that room you question so many things. Why was I so blessed? Why did this kid, who hadn’t done anything, deserve this? Why his family?”
So there he was, the Shelton star who stayed home and made UConn football cool, staring out those hospital windows. Through UConn and the Walter Camp Foundation, Orlovsky already had grown popular as a visitor to sick kids, but surely, he thought, there was more.
“I decided God has blessed me with football,” Orlovsky said. “I will use it in some way to help others. Yeah, that was my moment.”
Orlovsky was scheduled to fly to Philadelphia Wednesday to spend part of Christmas with his fiancée, Tiffany Lesher. They met at the wedding of former UConn teammate Jeff Fox. He will return to Detroit tonight, return to the Lions, return to the NFL franchise that has become a national punch line. If the Lions lose Sunday at Green Bay, they will go down in history as the first NFL team to finish 0-16. Late-night comedians poke fun at them. Newspaper columnists mock their futility. Their long-suffering fans, well, they suffer.
And there he was Sunday, the Connecticut kid who went on to the Lions in 2005, standing tall, looking into the cameras after the 42-7 loss to New Orleans, using words like “awful” and “embarrassing.” Orlovsky had been pulled in favor of Drew Stanton after completing only 10 of 23 passes and throwing two interceptions. A backup his first three seasons, Orlovsky started his first game as an NFL quarterback on Oct. 12 after Jon Kitna went on injured reserve. He went back out with a thumb injury when Daunte Culpepper came out of retirement. He returned when Culpepper hurt a shoulder. Orlovsky has had some good games and not-so-good games. Either way, the Lions have lost.
He has enjoyed good moments and, well, a moment he did not realize he had stepped out of the end zone for a safety.
“I will be on bloopers shows forever,” said Orlovsky, who is remarkably good humored about the play.
He will start this final game, and folks around the country will watch the Lions with the curiosity of drivers rubber-necking at accidents. In an uncomfortable sort of way, Orlovsky’s national profile has never been higher than this week. He has been handed the keys to Detroit’s tragicomedy. He accepts it as a career challenge. He will not let it define him as a man.
“I love football,” said Orlovsky, a free agent at the end of the season. “I have given it my all. If anybody works harder than me, studies more than me, prepares better, I’d love to meet him. I also know I’m either going to be good enough to play and be successful in the NFL or not. I have a firm and strong confidence. I have goals people will probably laugh at.
“But at the end of the day, I cannot allow football to define me. These things I’m doing with the foundation, 15 to 20 years from now, they are going to be more important than any touchdown I threw. I’m hoping by getting some playing time, people seeing me, they’ll be more in tune and step forward as donors.”
From that cathartic moment in college, the Dan Orlovsky Foundation was founded in 2006. He takes pains to mention all his board members. Their goal is to bring hope to youngsters in Connecticut who desperately need it, while providing a role model they deserve. There’s a wine-tasting event, a golf tournament, a bowl-a-thon, a tailgate party at a UConn basketball game. There are turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving and gifts at Christmas for the needy. There have been flat-screen TVs, laptops, motorized Powerwheel cars donated to the hospital. Orlovsky’s generosity is substantial
“I think people in Connecticut know me well enough to know I have big dreams,” he said. “We really want to do something that is lasting.”
Orlovsky believes he has found that something in a room. Not just any room.
“An awesome room,” Orlovsky said.
Architects have been consulted. The budget formed. A room at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center will be torn up and in its place will be something wonderful for kids in most need of something wonderful. Some who can barely walk, some who cling to precious life.
“When you’ve got to such a great hospital, you don’t question the care, but if a kid is there for two weeks, two months, they are stuck in their rooms,” Orlovsky said. “We want to give them a place just to be kids, to have fun, not to think they’re in a hospital. There’d be interactive computers, TVs, video games, videographies, all built in a stadium replica.
“We want smiles.”
The cost of those smiles is between $300,000 and $400,000.
“It’s a big task,” Orlovsky said. “But I also understand God has given me more than I deserve, and I’m determined to give back to others.”
Maybe this Christmas week you’ll be among those NFL fans who will look at Dan Orlovsky and believe he will suffer the ultimate in ignominious defeat. He will know better. He knows greater victories lie ahead.
BY CARLOS MONARREZ • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • December 12, 2008
Dan is in. Daunte is out. And Drew remains in limbo.
That’s the way the Lions’ quarterback situation shook out Thursday, when coach Rod Marinelli said Dan Orlovsky will start Sunday at Indianapolis after missing the past five games with a thumb injury.
Orlovsky participated in his second straight practice since he suffered two fractures and a torn ligament in his right thumb Nov. 2 at Chicago.
“My thumb feels 100%,” Orlovsky said. “I don’t have any ill effects from the past injury. … No pain, no soreness, no grip problem. I feel perfectly fine.”
Daunte Culpepper, who started the past five games and suffered an injured right shoulder during a throw late in Sunday’s game against Minnesota, did not practice for a second straight day. Marinelli said Culpepper almost certainly was out against the Colts.
That left Marinelli with the decision of starting Orlovsky or Drew Stanton, who suffered a concussion Nov. 23 against Tampa Bay but otherwise is healthy.
“I just think the guy’s got four starts under his belt,” Marinelli said of Orlovsky. “He’s been there, and he’s done it. I think he gives us a good chance to win.”
Orlovsky took almost all the snaps with the first team. He did not wear a protective device on his hand.
“I was anticipating waking up and it’d be pretty sore,” Orlovsky said. “I woke up today and it felt pretty well. And we did some more treatment today, and I went out there and practiced today. I didn’t brace it or didn’t tape it up or anything like that, compared to yesterday.”
Orlovsky said Wednesday that he expected to miss some throws because of the effects of the injury. During individual drills Thursday, he whipped his helmet to the ground after one throw.
“It was just missing one certain route I wasn’t happy with,” he said. “Just a frustration thing.”
Several times this season, Orlovsky has expressed his understanding of the fickle nature of his profession. He got his big chance when Jon Kitna was placed on injured reserve after the fourth game. Orlovsky started the next four games and improved steadily until his injury.
Now he gets another chance. He said he thought as recently as two weeks ago he might be placed on IR. He’s in a contract year and knows what’s at stake. He knows what a win or even a strong performance might mean, but he is not dwelling on it.
“I’m not thinking about it like that,” he said. “I understand the situation. Just like I got my starts before I got injured, I understand the situation. But I’m just going to go out and play. I’ll be prepared, and I’ll know where to go with the football. And I’m confident that I’ll be able to go and play well and move this team down the field.
“That’ll take care of itself. It’s nothing that concerns my mind.”
CORNERED: Starter Leigh Bodden missed practice with a groin injury, which means the Lions may be down to three cornerbacks, including Dexter Wynn, whom they signed Tuesday. The good news is that Keith Smith (groin) could return after missing four games. Marinelli said Smith did well while being limited during a physical practice. Safety Kalvin Pearson, who has played cornerback, also could be used.
END GAME: Marinelli expressed optimism about the return of defensive end Dewayne White, who has missed the past four games with a calf injury. White’s experience would be highly valuable against the Colts, who disguise plays well.
“It’s easier to see this stuff because there’s maybe subtleties on how this guy sets you,” Marinelli said about the Colts’ offensive linemen. “It’s the subtleties on how this tackle sets. Maybe they’re square, maybe the hips are slightly turned. So you feel that subtlety as you’re getting up the field and then you’ve got to create that in practice. And he’s seen it before. It helps.”
Contact CARLOS MONARREZ at 313-222-6697 or http://www.freep.com/article/20081212/SPORTS01/812120356
ALLEN PARK — With the injury status of starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper up in the air — results of an MRI exam on his right shoulder weren’t known Monday — the Lions weren’t sure who would be taking the first-team snaps when practice resumes Wednesday.
Culpepper injured his throwing shoulder on the final series of Sunday’s 20-16 loss to Minnesota, when Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards came down on his arm while he attempted a Hail Mary pass. Backup Drew Henson came in for the final play of the game.
Dan Orlovsky, who started four games before suffering two fractures and a torn ligament in his right thumb Nov. 2 at Chicago, said he will try to return to practice this week in the hopes of playing Sunday at Indianapolis.
“I thought last week I was probably a week or two away, so we’ll see how it feels this week,” said Orlovsky, who admitted he was having problems with velocity and accuracy on his throws a week ago.
Drew Stanton, who hasn’t played since suffering a concussion Nov. 23 against Tampa Bay, said he’s ready to play, too, if called on.
“I guess part of it will depend on Daunte’s health,” said Stanton, who was the emergency third quarterback Sunday. “But I’ve got no idea, per usual.”
Stanton, who played in relief twice last month but has yet to start an NFL game, returned to practice last week and split the scout-team reps with Henson.
“I feel good,” Stanton said. “My head’s been clear. I’ve felt good for about a week now. I had no problems working out, being able to understand anything. I’m glad to be beyond that.”
Marinelli explained cornerback Brian Kelly ’s benching Sunday as a coaches’ decision to play three safeties against the Vikings, though it was nickel back Travis Fisher who started in Kelly’s place. Kelly said he was given the same explanation, but he clearly wasn’t happy with not playing.
“That’s Rod’s answer — that’s not mine,” Kelly said, declining to elaborate.
… The Lions placed linebacker Alex Lewis on injured reserve — he missed the last two games because of a chest injury — and signed linebacker Darnell Bing off their practice squad.
… Asked how the Lions could beat the Colts (9-4) on Sunday, Fisher was frank.
“We’re gonna have to do everything right — everything,” he said. “I mean, the past games when we’ve been embarrassed, we’re gonna have to do everything right or it’s gonna be worse than that. We know that. If you don’t know that, you’re crazy.”
by Sean Yuille on Dec 2, 2008 5:57 PM EST in Notes
Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky could be cleared to practice as soon as Wednesday.ALLEN PARK — As of right now, Daunte Culpepper is the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions and will face one of his former teams, the Minnesota Vikings, on Sunday at Ford Field.
Could all of that change Wednesday?
Quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who has been sidelined with a fractured right thumb for the past four games, could be given clearance to practice then and play Sunday. When asked Monday if that meant a change at quarterback might take place, Marinelli dodged the question.
“He’ll go in and see the trainer and see how it all works out,” Marinelli said. “We’ve just got to see (how) close (he) is.”
Orlovsky didn’t practice Monday, but he did some throwing in individual drills and on the side. Orlovsky threw everything from short passes to airing it out on deeper routes with plenty of zip on the ball.
“I threw today and it was fine,” said Orlovsky, who saw a hand specialist last week. “He said everything was healing fine.”
Orlovsky said the Lions training staff will see how his thumb reacts today and if there are any setbacks. Then, on Wednesday, he’ll visit the medical staff again and a decision will be made on whether he can play Sunday.
“If I can do something to make (the thumb) worse, I’m not going to play. I’m not going to be stupid about it. We’ll have to wait and see on Wednesday,” Orlovsky said.
If Orlovsky is cleared to play, does he expect to start against the Vikings?
“That’s a coaching decision. We’ll have to wait and see,” Orlovsky said.
Orlovsky and Culpepper each have started four games this season. While Culpepper has committed seven turnovers, Orlovsky has just two, and both were interceptions that he threw in his most recent game after injuring his thumb. Culpepper has fumbled once and thrown six interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns.
When asked about his team’s 47-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Thanksgiving, Marinelli said, “We were beaten soundly. We made mistakes, but what compounded it was the turnovers. We turned the ball over three times, and that’s going to take a really good team and make it look worse.
“That’s a very good team. Could we have played better? No doubt. Ball security would’ve helped us, (elimination of) some of the penalties would’ve helped us, but we didn’t help ourselves.”
Orlovsky also has an edge over Culpepper because he’s been in the offense for three years, while Culpepper was signed just a month ago. Last week, Lions offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said the Lions were “limited” because Culpepper still is learning the system.
Lions QB Daunte Culpepper has a good chance at opening next season as the team’s starter, even if the team’s front office and coaching staff are hanging in the balance. With Dan Orlovsky set to hit free agency, he might choose to jump ship, and there is not enough confidence in Drew Stanton right now to start him for a winless team, so no matter who is coaching this team, Culpepper could turn out to be the most attractive option as things stand now.
“I’m not going to get surgery,” Orlovsky said Wednesday. “I’m going to try and do everything I can not to have surgery. I’m going to give it time to let it heal on its own, and we’ll reassess it in a couple weeks.”
Not only have the Lions not put Orlovsky on injured reserve, they have released quarterback Drew Henson, leaving them with Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton for the time being.
Henson was released Wednesday to make room on the 53-man roster for punt returner/wide receiver Adam Jennings, whom the Lions claimed off waivers from Atlanta. If Henson passes through waivers, the Lions could sign him to their practice squad.
If Henson passes through waivers, the Lions could sign him to their practice squad.
Releasing Henson leaves the Lions with three quarterbacks: Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Dan Orlovsky, who has two fractures and a torn ligament in and around his right thumb. Orlovsky said today he was out at least a couple of weeks.
“I’m not going to get surgery,” Orlovsky said. “I’m going to try and do everything I can not to have surgery. I’m going to give it time to let it heal on its own, and we’ll reassess it in a couple weeks.”
UConn currently has six former players that are currently on NFL rosters.
The veterans of the group are both entering their fourth year in the league. Quarterback Dan Orlovsky is in his fourth year with the Detroit Lions and has started four games this season although he is now out with an injury .Linebacker Alfred Fincher is in his first year with the Washington Redskins after playing his first three years with New Orleans.
Fullback Deon Anderson is in his second year with the Dallas Cowboys after starting four games for the team last year before an injury ended his season.
UConn currently has three rookies on NFL rosters: offensive lineman Donald Thomas with the Miami Dolphins – a sixth round draft pick who started opening day but suffered a season-ending injury — and defensive back Tyvon Branch of the Oakland Raiders – a fourth round pick who has made 10 tackles in the first 10 weeks of the season and has also had an interception. Danny Lansanah was a free agent signee of the Green Bay Packers last year and was placed on the 53-man roster on Oct. 7 and has played in two games this year. Defensive tackle Dan Davis was in camp with the Indianapolis Colts, but was released. MORE>>>>
| Dan Orlovsky - QB - DET - Nov. 12 - 9:15 am et | ||
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Lions coach Rod Marinelli said he will commit to a starting quarterback this week but won’t announce his choice publicly until Sunday’s game at Carolina.
has not been placed on injured reserve.Culpepper started against the Jaguars, despite only three days of practice after coming out of retirement. Marinelli said he thought Culpepper gave the Lions their best chance to win.
“Daunte Culpepper’s a talented football player,” Lions chief operating officer Tom Lewand said. “The idea behind anybody we sign is to come in and help our football team win games, period.”
Stanton came in for two plays in the first quarter and threw his first NFL pass for a 1-yard touchdown. But the Lions put in a goal-line package for him because Culpepper couldn’t learn everything in a short amount of time.
In the fourth quarter, Stanton went 5-for-7 for 93 yards while taking five sacks. But when he reentered the game, the Lions were trailing, 38-7, and the Jaguars were playing a prevent defense.
Asked if he would consider the situation when evaluating Stanton, Marinelli said: “That’s important. You bring up a great point. You’re behind, and your coverage is dictated. Everything’s a little bit more dictated, little bit more four-man rushes and some of those things. So you look at everything.”
Marinelli and offensive coordinator Jim Colletto have said recently Stanton is not ready to play because injuries have cost him too much practice time the past two years.
Orlovsky is scheduled to see a specialist early this week. He has two fractures and a torn ligament in his hand and might need surgery.
NOW WHAT? Lewand attended Marinelli’s postgame news conference.
“It’s not about sales jobs,” Lewand said. “It’s not about what’s popular. It’s about what’s right, and what’s right is winning football games. … Clearly our record isn’t there, and our focus is on getting it there — period, end of story.”
Asked what more the front office could do now, Lewand said: “We will always look at ways to try and improve ourselves to the extent that you can. Obviously, those opportunities are limited in the middle of the season, particularly in the second half of the season, when people have injuries. But we will always look to that, and we will never back down from that. This is about trying to improve immediately.”
The Lions think trying to win now is the best way to try to win in the future.
“That’s how you get yourselves better,” Lewand said. “That’s how you improve things. That’s how you evaluate your personnel. That’s how you get ready for the future. You start with the next game, and you win that next game.”
ODDS AND ENDS: Defensive end Dewayne White (calf), defensive end Jared DeVries (hand), cornerback Keith Smith (groin) and wide receiver Mike Furrey (concussion) suffered injuries. Marinelli said DeVries might need surgery. …
Cornerback Brian Kelly was pulled in nickel situations. “I think Keith Smith’s been doing a nice job,” Marinelli said. “He’s young and explosive. He’s got really good speed.”
All indications are it will be Daunte Culpepper, though Drew Stanton played in Sunday’s 38-14 loss to Jacksonville and Dan Orlovsky has not been placed on injured reserve.
Culpepper started against the Jaguars, despite only three days of practice after coming out of retirement. Marinelli said he thought Culpepper gave the Lions their best chance to win.
“Daunte Culpepper’s a talented football player,” Lions chief operating officer Tom Lewand said. “The idea behind anybody we sign is to come in and help our football team win games, period.”
Stanton came in for two plays in the first quarter and threw his first NFL pass for a 1-yard touchdown. But the Lions put in a goal-line package for him because Culpepper couldn’t learn everything in a short amount of time.
In the fourth quarter, Stanton went 5-for-7 for 93 yards while taking five sacks. But when he reentered the game, the Lions were trailing, 38-7, and the Jaguars were playing a prevent defense.
Asked if he would consider the situation when evaluating Stanton, Marinelli said: “That’s important. You bring up a great point. You’re behind, and your coverage is dictated. Everything’s a little bit more dictated, little bit more four-man rushes and some of those things. So you look at everything.”
Marinelli and offensive coordinator Jim Colletto have said recently Stanton is not ready to play because injuries have cost him too much practice time the past two years.
Orlovsky is scheduled to see a specialist early this week. He has two fractures and a torn ligament in his hand and might need surgery.
NOW WHAT? Lewand attended Marinelli’s postgame news conference.
“It’s not about sales jobs,” Lewand said. “It’s not about what’s popular. It’s about what’s right, and what’s right is winning football games. … Clearly our record isn’t there, and our focus is on getting it there — period, end of story.”
Asked what more the front office could do now, Lewand said: “We will always look at ways to try and improve ourselves to the extent that you can. Obviously, those opportunities are limited in the middle of the season, particularly in the second half of the season, when people have injuries. But we will always look to that, and we will never back down from that. This is about trying to improve immediately.”
The Lions think trying to win now is the best way to try to win in the future.
“That’s how you get yourselves better,” Lewand said. “That’s how you improve things. That’s how you evaluate your personnel. That’s how you get ready for the future. You start with the next game, and you win that next game.”
2005 Exquisite Dan Orlovsky Autographed Rookie Card
Lions coach Rod Marinelli said there would be an update on Orlovsky’s status for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville at 4 p.m. Friday. Marinelli also said he planned to carry four quarterbacks on the roster for Sunday.
Marinelli again refused to disclose which quarterback would start and how the practice time was being split between Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton. Culpepper had only his second practice after being out of the NFL for nearly a year. When it was suggested the game could be a good opportunity to see Stanton at least play, Marinelli again played it close to the vest.
“Every day is a day I evaluate,” he said. “But I think there’s also something about veteran presence. The guy’s done it, been there, confidence, command. Those are vital things also. I’m not saying I’m going that way. I’m taking each day and trying to do a good job evaluating.”