As Orton goes, so go the Bills

Through his first four starts, Kyle Orton was without a doubt a breath of fresh air for a Buffalo Bills offense that had been stuttering with E.J. Manuel under center. Over that four-week stretch, Orton led the Bills to three wins while posting a respectable +0.8 passing grade. Orton's 93.89 PFF QB Rating was tenth-best in the league during that period, while his 74.8 Accuracy Percentage ranked 14th.With Orton playing well, the Bills offense had considerable success moving the ball down the field in chunks; 56.9% of his passing yards came before the catch, and his 8.04 Yards Per Attempt was the eighth-best rate in the league over that period.

Unfortunately Orton has fared less well since Week 9 bye, with a cumulative -9.1 passing grade, and a less impressive 82.25 PFF QB rating, contributing to a brace of defeats for the Bills. The big plays from before just haven't been there, with Orton finding just 40.3% of his passing yards before the catch and averaging just 5.20 Yards per Attempt. The passing attack has become less aggressive, prior to the bye week 43.0% of Orton's passes traveled at least 10 yards in the air, since then that has dropped to just 20.5% of passes.