Print edition: 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. —He stood in the Chiefs locker room, a stranger, answering questions about how he'll handle the expectation, fair or not, of saving this team in distress.
"I'm just going to be myself," quarterback Kyle Orton said. "I think guys can see through a lot of the phony stuff."
What Orton is, or has shown himself to be during his seven NFL seasons and a high-profile career at Purdue, is complicated. He has at times been a leader and a pouter, a man of fortitude and a kid showing that youth isn't so easy to shake. The quarterback who won over a Chicago Bears locker room with a 15-2 home record and a rare way of rallying teammates is the same man who raised eyebrows during his rookie season after photographs of Orton at a bar circulated on the Internet.
Later, he mostly avoided reporters in Denver after being benched this season for Tim Tebow. When Orton did speak, as he did in early August, he sometimes said things like this: "My last goal playing quarterback is to win over the fans."
He's not an easy player to figure out, and that's nothing new.
"Some of the things he did," former Purdue coach Joe Tiller said, "got him in a little bit of a jackpot."
Orton is a competitor and a family man — committed to mastering a game that has made him rich and famous, but willing to put it aside, as he did last week upon joining the Chiefs after the team's waiver claim, if family matters arise.
The Chiefs, and Kansas City, have no idea yet what they'll get from Orton, but they at least know what they need from him. This team, at 4-7 and churning through the quicksand of a four-game losing streak, needs a leader. Orton has the experience and the pedigree. Among other unknowns — for now, Tyler Palko remains the Chiefs' starter, though Orton could play today at Soldier Field in Chicago — is how committed he is to being the man his new team needs him to be, or even playing that role for five more weeks.
"I've got to play well enough," he said, "so we can make it to the playoffs."
*
So he's an optimist, too. That always was his thing. Orton grew up in Altoona, Iowa, a suburb east of Des Moines, and loved the University of Nebraska. It wasn't until he reached high school that he decided that he and the Cornhuskers would make for an ill fit. Nebraska ran the option; Orton wanted to pass often.
Orton's coach at Southeast Polk High, Kent Horstmann, traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., to meet with Purdue's coaches and see how the skinny kid back home might fit in with a program that has, after producing such stars as Chiefs legend Len Dawson to the Saints' Drew Brees, become known as the "cradle of quarterbacks."
"He knew what he wanted to do," Horstmann said of Orton this past week.
Horstmann told the recruiters about Orton's persistence; how as a freshman, he'd call most every day and ask to throw, or discuss Southeast Polk's offense, or for a ride to the weight room. Horstmann told them about an unnaturally strong arm coming from a high school player, how Orton could inspire and motivate teammates in the huddle, and how he wanted to be Purdue's next great passer.
Not long after Horstmann visited campus, Boilermakers assistant coach Greg Olson called. A scholarship offer followed. Orton committed. He wouldn't have to run any option.
When he arrived on campus, Orton's physical skills were unquestioned. It was his emotional approach that needed work.
"He had a lot of growing to do," Tiller remembered thinking. "... A lot to learn."
Usually, Tiller allowed a position coach to handle quarterbacks, but Orton was different. He was talented, but when he needed to be a leader, he preferred to remain a laid-back bystander. Tiller began calling frequent meetings with Orton to work on his presence, something that could hold him — and the Boilermakers — back.
It was enough that Orton was benched during his junior year by Tiller, who hoped a scrambler named Brandon Kirsch would pull Purdue from a late-season funk.
"Kyle wasn't happy about this," Tiller said. "... He's got pride."
Orton stood on the sideline as Kirsch ran Orton's offense, instructed Orton's teammates on what to do, ran Orton's plays against Michigan State. But late in the fourth quarter, Kirsch was hit hard and had to leave the game. Tiller pointed again toward Orton, whom he hoped would be inspired or angry or... something.
Purdue faced a fourth down with about two minutes to play when Orton resumed his place in the huddle. Tiller called a safe route to pick up the six or so yards needed for a first down. Instead, Orton called an audible, sending teammate John Standeford on a fly route.
"I'm screaming, 'No, no!'" Tiller said. "I just wanted the first down."
Orton ran the play anyway, throwing a perfect pass that Standeford reeled in and took into the end zone. Purdue held off the Spartans for a 45-42 victory, and Tiller stood on the sideline and smiled. His experiment with Orton, inadvertent or not, had worked.
"Needless to say," Tiller said, "he started the rest of the way. We didn't screw around with that other guy."
*
Orton, who threw 74 passes and passed for 522 yards in separate games, led Purdue to four consecutive bowl games, and his 9,337 career passing yards were third in team history — better than such quarterbacks as Dawson, Bob Griese and Jim Everett.
The Bears made Orton a fourth-round pick in 2005, and almost immediately he was forced into the starting lineup after Rex Grossman suffered an injury. Again, teammates loved his laid-back way and positive outlook, but his maturity and leadership were called into question when he returned home to Iowa during a bye week for a night of partying.
Within days, photographs of Orton made their way to the Internet; in one, a dizzy-eyed Orton holds a half-full bottle of bourbon; another shows Orton flipping his middle finger toward the camera. Tiller's interest in Orton, and the alignment of body and mind, didn't end after his quarterback left campus.
"I advised him: 'Hey, Kyle, you've got to be smart about what you're doing,'" Tiller said.
Tiller said Orton wasn't quite ready to leave behind his college years, and in some ways, it seemed that Orton had no idea how well-known he was, or how his actions would be interpreted. Tiller said it was common to invite Orton to dinner, and when the coach arrived at the restaurant, his former quarterback had an entourage waiting with him.
"I guess that comes with the territory," Tiller said.
Still, teammates loved him. He was calm, friendly and willing to teach others.
"Kyle did a great job," Bears quarterback Caleb Hanie said this week, "of just showing me what it takes to get yourself ready every week."
In 2006, Orton's inconsistency became a concern for the Bears and he was benched in favor of Grossman. Tiller said Orton changed, though, when he met his future wife, Bridget. He mellowed and began focusing more on his career. The couple married in 2008, and Orton had his most productive season in Chicago, passing for nearly 3,000 yards.
Years later, Orton admitted that family life changed him. Still, he said he doesn't apologize for the wild days of his youth.
"I don't really regret any of that," he said this past week. "I'm certainly a different person now. I'm 29 years old, got a family, and I'm a lot more mature. I really don't have any regrets about stuff I did."
A moment later, he went on.
"Family life really makes you appreciate the chance that you've got in the NFL to earn the living that you do," he said. "It really just focuses you."
*
Orton's outlook might have changed, but his career didn't grow much smoother. He was traded to Denver for Jay Cutler in 2009, and he immediately became the Broncos' starting quarterback, setting career-highs in passing yards and touchdowns during his first season.
Then former coach Josh McDaniels drafted Tim Tebow in the first round in 2010, and the popular Heisman Trophy winner became an instant obsession for Broncos fans. After two-plus seasons as the starter, undergoing another change after McDaniels was fired last year, Orton was involved in a quarterback controversy before this season. Some fans demanded that Denver take its chances with Tebow; many fans chanted during games that Tebow should start, and others paid to have a billboard erected to persuade coaches to bench Orton for Tebow.
At the time, Orton didn't help himself.
"Thank God," he told Denver reporters before the season, "the people don't make the decisions."
Tiller said that, before training camp, Orton told him that he expected to be traded to Miami. The deal, Tiller remembered Orton telling him, was almost done. Then it fell apart, and after five starts, sure enough, first-year Broncos coach John Fox benched Orton for Tebow.
"To be honest with you," Orton said this past week, "(I'm) just happy I'm out of there and moving on."
To further complicate matters early this season, Orton and his wife had their first child, a daughter named Olivia, in August, and the baby had health concerns shortly after her birth. A month later, Bridget's father died.
After being benched, Orton didn't say much publicly, declining most interview requests during what became his final months in Denver. He was released in late November and the Chiefs were awarded his rights in a waiver claim.
Orton arrived in Kansas City late in the week, though, practicing once and making it virtually impossible that he would play against Pittsburgh. Orton, who is due to make about $7.4 million in the final season of a two-year contract, stayed home in Denver, spending a few days with his wife and daughter.
Tiller acknowledged that put the Chiefs in a difficult spot, but he added that's who Orton is now. He's more self-aware, more careful and perhaps more focused on family. Still, Tiller, who spoke with Orton shortly before he was released by Denver, said his former quarterback remains passionate about football and being a leader for his team.
"He's more aware today, certainly, than he's ever been," Tiller said. "... He feels good about where he is now, and he feels good about his future. I think he's very capable of providing the type of leadership the Chiefs need."
*
Two years ago, another former Purdue quarterback made his way into the visitors' locker room at Arrowhead Stadium to greet another member of the fraternity.
Len Dawson remains an ambassador for the Chiefs, whom he helped guide to the franchise's only Super Bowl title more than 40 years ago. But he's also a member of Purdue's great quarterback lineage.
"It's the cradle of quarterbacks, you know," Dawson said with a chuckle.
The old man greeted the young man, shaking hands with the former Boilermakers quarterback and wishing him well after the Broncos defeated the Chiefs.
"He was the guy that started it all," Orton said of Dawson.
Now, Dawson said, he'll take even more of an interest in Orton. Because not only did they share an alma mater, they both have now been handed responsibility in helping to shape the Chiefs' future. Dawson, whose early career with Pittsburgh was unmemorable, found success with the Dallas Texas, then Kansas City — a place that needed him, as it now needs someone to lead the Chiefs from difficult days. For all the success Purdue has had with quarterbacks, the position has been a constant worry for the Chiefs since Dawson retired in 1975.
Dawson said he'll be watching the newest member of this fraternity.
"I'm watching his demeanor, how he handles himself, how he handles the team," Dawson said. "... My expectations are high."
Of course, the Chiefs haven't said how much Orton will play today against the Bears. The team is concerned that, if it bypasses Palko for Orton, Palko's confidence will be shattered — and then what happens if Orton is unsuccessful? Maybe, as it did at Purdue, being doubted at Denver will lead to an emotional resurgence — that, who knows, might carry the Chiefs toward an encouraging finish.
And maybe a man who has known little more than unrest can finally help level the Chiefs' season.
"It's not a perfect world," Orton said. "You just make it the best you can."
