Mike Rodak, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Orton: Bills have 'good' starting QB

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills opened their wallets to sign backup quarterback Kyle Orton last week, but the veteran offered praise for starter EJ Manuel after his first practice Monday.

"Great [first impressions]. Good coaches. Good players. Good young talent. Good starting quarterback," Orton said. "Should have a chance to be a really good offense."

Orton was asked if he considers himself competition to Manuel to be the starter.

"My role is the backup and to be ready to play whenever I need to be," Orton said. "But probably job number one is to help EJ, and that's what I plan to do."

What can Orton do to help Manuel?

"Like him, I started as a rookie. I know how tough that it is. But I also know how great your second year can be, just learning-wise. I didn't get the chance to play my second year, I was back on the bench," Orton said. "But the growth curve from Year 1 to Year 2 is great. Your confidence grows.

"So I'm just here as a sounding board for him. I don't think I know everything. But I've seen a lot of looks, been in a lot of different offenses and played a lot of defenses. Any question he has, I hope I can help him with."

However, Orton feels he can learn the offense quickly after officially signing Saturday.

"This week and I think I'll be ready to go," Orton said.

^ Back to Top ^