While coach Gary Kubiak didn’t make an official announcement of the team’s starting quarterback after the Broncos 17-9 win over the LA Rams, he reiterated that he has already gathered enough information to make the decision. The team then brought in journeyman Mark Sanchez and used a first-round pick on Memphis product Paxton Lynch in order to put some pieces into the search for Manning’s successor.
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It was somewhat of a tough night to evaluate Siemian early on, as the Broncos opted for six straight runs to open the game with no first downs. Siemian complete 4 of his 16 passes for 17 yards.
An afterthought while taking just one snap a kneel-down as a rookie last season, Siemian has emerged as the best option to lead the team with Manning on the links and Brock Osweiler in Houston.
No, his exhibition numbers haven’t made it a no-brainer: 27 of 43 for 285 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Lynch went on to finish 57 yards in 6-for-13 passes.
The question should be asked, though: can Siemian truly be aggressive if he’s anxious about his job security?
Trevor Siemian threw his first touchdown pass of the preseason and tightened his grip on the Broncos’ starting quarterback job.
“I know everyone in the huddle enjoys when he comes in there because he’s always cool, calm and collected”.
“I feel like we did well as a group, some good and some bad”, Siemian said. “I think we’re really fortunate here we’ve got a lot of great leadership here in the locker room”, Siemian said.
After the interview, as Siemian rose to his feet with a slightly pained exhale, I asked him how his rehab was going, how his knee was feeling.
When Siemian leads the Broncos’ offense on the field in their opener, he will make National Football League history. Each of these receivers have shown abilities to run routes and will all work well with either quarterback, these are the best receivers and should get the time to reflect that.
Veteran Mark Sanchez was acquired in an offseason trade with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick. “I could probably get in a lot of trouble trying to be a first ballot Hall of Famer”, Siemian said.
“To me, he’s earned the right to be our starter”.
Rams: DE Robert Quinn received his first playing time since undergoing back surgery in December and tackled RB C.J. Anderson for a 2-yard loss on third down to snuff out Denver’s first series.
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Sanchez hurt his chances with two red-zone fumbles against San Francisco, but Kubiak said it was more of what Siemian did that won him the job. He looked good in coverage, but received an unnecessary roughness call for a hit on the sidelines on Rams starting quarterback Case Keenum. There are a number of implications about this, but the most predominant fact is that if Sanchez will not play, the logical reason could be the fact that he is going to be either traded or released. He led a drive that culminated in Zuerlein’s third field goal, a 48-yarder with 52 seconds left in the second quarter.
