Are the Broncos Being Too Careful At Quarterback?

Of course there is a quarterback controversy the instant a soon-to-be Hall of Fame signal caller hangs up his cleats for the final time.  As Peyton Manning moves on to the next phase of his life, the Denver Broncos are attempting to defend a SuperBowl Championship.

Only seven NFL teams have successfully defended their titles with a consecutive championship. The Broncos are one of those seven teams going back to 1998-1999. It isn't as 'easy' anymore in this presumed age of parity -- the last team to repeat was the New England Patriots over a decade ago in 2004-2005.  The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team to ever accomplish the feat twice.  Denver could join some elite company on the all time NFL records list, if they can find someone qualified to take every offensive snap to start the new season.

In this case, this was not really a controversy the Broncos were expecting after their victory parade in February.  Back-up Brock Osweiler did a solid job of leading the team to a 5-2 mark while Manning healed his heal in time for a playoff run.  He had carried the clipboard rather nicely over the first four years of his career, he knew the offense, and it seemed like Brock would be the next guy with the toughest job in the state of Colorado.  Osweiler wasn't as excited as anyone thought to guide the Broncos back to the SuperBowl. Instead, he is taking his moderate talents to Houston, Texas.

 Hey, it is a pressure packed assignment.  Such has been the case for decades: Be impressive under center here at a Mile High or the orange and blue faithful will help you find a new job elsewhere.

And thus, two former Denver quarterbacks have been working away to fill the void left by Manning's experience.  The Broncos liked their number three signal caller Trevor Siemian so much from a season ago, they kept their quest down to a dull roar.  They signed veteran Mark Sanchez for a song and moved up in the draft to grab former Memphis Tiger Paxton Lynch in the first round.  A seven year veteran, a second season back-up and a rookie.

Easy mode, right?  After all, it was the dominating Denver defense that wrangled the third title for the Broncos.  Just throw a guy in there to 'manage' the offense and not turn the ball over.

Not so easy as it turns out.  Most of the league talking heads penciled in Mark Sanchez before summer camps kicked off.  Now, Sanchez has played his way down the depth chart with multiple turnovers his first couple of tries this pre-season.

Yes, it is pre-season, but a critical moment to pick a player to lead an offense that need only compliment the defense to get back to another shot at the Lombardi Trophy.

The reason John Elway has done so well in such a short period of time leading the Broncos back to the promised land is he doesn't give anything away.  He holds on to his budget, ties up his best players and does not believe in rebuilding or giving a season away in order to stockpile for the future.  This is the "There is no Plan B" executive who knows how tough it is to win it all in the NFL.

Gary Kubiak, the other former Broncos quarterback, with the big chair around the coaching table is trying to accomplish the task.  They imagined a playoff veteran could grab a hold of the reigns while the younger slingers watched and learned.  However, Sanchez is having a rough time looking calm, cool and collected in the pocket.

Siemian has shown a quick, accurate release, with only one really poor pick six.  But he certainly hasn't shown off any ability to stretch opposing defenses to this point.  The Broncos are being careful and calculated with the safe choice to again, 'manage' the offense down the field.

The problem is, the league loves to bottle up game managers in crunch time.

What the team needs is a player who doesn't follow the script.  Heck, Paxton Lynch doesn't even know the script.  He just runs around, tries to keep plays alive and then shows off with some impressive deep passes down the field.  Does his play style ring any bells?

Oh, yeah. John Elway.

Of course no one in their right mind would compare the talented Hall of Fame QB to this kid from Memphis, who has quite a few rough edges.  But the way he plays the game makes us understand why Elway traded up to get him.  Lynch can chuck the pigskin with some flair.

He will make mistakes.  He will cost some field position, but I think we're looking at the future right now.  Sanchez and Siemain will mess up to, but Lynch's upside is the big sell here.

Elway was started and benched, started and benched a couple times by Dan Reeves before an injury forced Reeves to stay with the rookie with rough edges the rest of 1983.  It was valuable experience according to now Vice President of Operations John Elway.

The odds are the Broncos go with the careful choice.  But if the game management quarterbacks stall out of the gate, I think we all need see what that wild-eyed rookie can do in this title defense season.


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