Orton is a different kind of Broncos quarterback

ENGLEWOOD • Brian Griese, Jake Plummer and Jay Cutler were all irritable to various degrees, sometimes crude and usually interesting. Kyle Orton is none of the three. That might be for the best.

The former Denver Broncos quarterbacks bristled at the attention and scrutiny that came with their position, and all of them had better starts in Denver than Orton.

Orton, who gets a chance at redemption in Saturday night's preseason game at Seattle, doesn’t seem to be affected.

When Orton has a good game — some Broncos fans, after watching Orton throw three interceptions last week, might wonder if that day’s ever coming — he’ll likely be the same: polite, monotonous and deliberate.

His college position coach said Orton always has taken the same even-keeled approach.

“He’ll bounce back just fine,” said Blaine Bennett, Orton’s offensive coordinator at Purdue, who is now coaching Central Washington.

Orton’s preseason debut followed an uneven performance in an Aug. 6 scrimmage at Invesco Field at Mile High, but coaches haven’t hinted that there will be a quarterback controversy. A couple of more treacherous performances might force coach Josh McDaniels to reconsider, but for now Orton is firmly the starter.

Orton likely has missed most of the firestorm surrounding him this week. When asked earlier this month about public response to him, he said he doesn’t pay much attention. He has proclaimed he doesn’t follow football on television or in the media.

Bennett said Orton is capable of handling the demands of the job. He noted that even though Orton sometimes tries to come off as a simple farm boy from Iowa, he is one of the smarter players he has been around. Bennett said that Orton picked up Purdue’s complicated offense quickly, which is a good sign for the Broncos as Orton learns their complicated schemes.

Bennett believes Orton will succeed because of his experience. He followed Heisman Trophy finalist Drew Brees at Purdue and now is going through the same type of pressure following Pro Bowler Cutler.

“He’s been through this before,” Bennett said. “He’s been through adversity in his career.”

There hasn’t been much change in Orton this week. McDaniels said he improved every day in practice. Backup Chris Simms said that nothing about Orton’s demeanor indicates he is worried.

“He’s a very focused guy,” Simms said. “He sees the big picture — it’s not the end of the world because he didn’t have his greatest game ever in preseason game one. I totally expect him to bounce back.”

Orton was predictably calm this week when he spoke to the media. He said he is trying to improve and remains confident. If Orton is affected by fans’ angst, he isn’t showing it.

“I understand they want us to be playing perfect right off the bat, and that’s just how it is in this league,” Orton said. “But I just try to stay on track, do my job and get better this week and play better on Saturday.”