At the start of the second quarter in Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, the Kansas City Chiefs replaced Tyler Palko with Kyle Orton, who is the Chiefs newest quarterback. Chiefs coach Todd Haley said throughout the week that Orton may or may not play and he eventually did -- for just one play. Orton suffered what's been reported as a dislocated finger on that play and he was done for the day.
Haley was asked about Orton's one play and he noted that the Chiefs "had a little plan [for Orton] in addition to just having him ready to play." The Chiefs coach didn't elaborate but those words suggest to me that the Chiefs had a package ready for Orton (which apparently included a flea-flicker) even if he played just a little bit.
What's interesting about Haley's postgame press conference (video via KCChiefs.com) is that he said the Chiefs weren't necessarily making a true quarterback change when Orton came into the game at the top of the second quarter.
"We weren't making a change there, so to speak," Haley said. "Again, I want to strategically be careful about what I say but I felt good about both guys being prepared to play and getting the job done."
Hmm..."We weren't making a change there, so to speak." What does that mean?
After he was injured, Orton had to signal to the sideline for Palko to come in which tells me that Orton's package was more than just that one play. He looked like he was expected to stay in the game at least for one more play (if not more).
So I'm not really sure what to think about the Chiefs quarterback situation and how Haley views things. Frankly, that confusion is probably exactly what Haley and the Chiefs want.