Brees the primary reason Orton decided to go to Purdue

Kyle Orton followed Drew Brees to Purdue because he wanted to be just like him.

"He made a lot of stuff happen for the program and was a big reason why I went there," said Orton, who will square off against the Saints' quarterback at Soldier Field on Sunday as the Bears attempt to improve to 8-6 and keep their tenuous playoff hopes alive.

"I wanted to throw for all those yards and put up the numbers that he did. No question he was a big influence and a reason why I went there."

Orton never put up the staggering numbers Brees did at Purdue but not many have. Brees finished his stay in Wast Lafayette, Ind., ranked fourth in NCAA Division-I history in total offense, completions and attempts. Brees totaled 12,692 yards of total offense, while Orton finished second in Purdue history with 9,653 yards.

Comparisons to the prolific passer didn't bother Orton, even though they were a constant throughout his career as a Boilermaker, which began after Brees was drafted 32nd overall by the Chargers in 2001.

"Every quarterback that goes through that place is going to be compared to Drew," Orton said. "He was a great quarterback in college, he's certainly an outstanding quarterback in the NFL and a good person to watch and try to model yourself after."

That's still the case.

"It's not like we talk on the phone every night or something," Orton said, "but whenever we get to see each other, it's always friendly and good. He's fun to talk football with. He's an extremely smart player. I remember my freshman year - if I ever needed to find out how to run a play or (attack) a certain look, I'd just go and pop on (film of) what he did and try to do that. It seemed to work out for him."

A little less than a year ago they squared off at Soldier Field in the 2007 season finale, and Brees put it up 60 times, completing 35 for 320 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he also had a pair of interceptions. Orton completed just 12 of 27 passes for 190 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 pick, but the Bears won 33-25, and Orton's passer rating of 77.7 for the game was 2 points better than Brees'.

"I can't wait to play him," Orton said of Thursday's game. "I've had fun playing him in the past, and I can't wait to do it this time."

Orton's teammates on the defensive side might not be so anxious to engage Brees, who leads the NFL with 4,100 passing yards, 52 completions of 20 yards or longer, 15 completions of 40 yards or longer, is tied for first with 26 TD passes and is fourth in passer rating (96.2).

"He's been playing great," Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "One thing we've talked about this year is quarterbacks who get the ball out (quickly). We're going to have a little bit of a problem with that. He gets the ball out really fast. They're spreading us out a little bit, so our guys on the back end have got to cover these receivers really well. (We) have to either get our hands up or get some hits on him."

Orton doesn't get to throw nearly as much as Brees does in the pass-happy Saints offense, but he's established himself as the leader of the Bears' offense and has a 15-8 TD-interception ratio and an 83.5 passer rating. Orton doesn't have to be as productive as Brees for the Bears to defeat the Saints - he just needs to be efficient, as he was Sunday against Jacksonville in his best game in six weeks.

"I executed the offense, made pretty good decisions, and we made some plays," Orton said. "That's been our story for success all year."

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