The Denver Broncos take on the Los Angeles Rams tonight in an NFL football game on the third Saturday night of the 2016 preseason schedule. But how do the rest of the guys stack up? Coach Gary Kubiak said Siemian did 80 percent of his usual workload and is still on track to be the starter against the Rams.
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Manning retired, Osweiler moved on to the Houston Texans, and now, the Broncos are left with Mark Sanchez, Paxton Lynch, and Trevor Siemian. He was inactive for six games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot but returned in the final game of the regular season and started all three playoff games.
“Siemian was more impressive than his stat line “ 10 of 17 for 122 yards, one TD and one arguable interception “ showing off his strong right arm and just the kind of patience, poise and precision required of Peyton Manning’s successor as Denver defends its Super Bowl title. Denver has yet to announce who will be their starting quarterback next weekend. “I think he’s very calm”. “We started trying to do that a little bit, but we got confused on formations and lining up”.
However, the Rams have done the better job at keeping the Broncos offense off the scoreboard, up until the last few minutes of the half. There are business factors at work as well given that Sanchez is slated to count $4.5 million against the salary cap and the Broncos would not have to surrender a conditional draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles if Sanchez was not on the roster to open the season. It could be tough to be a Broncos fan this season while they determine who the best option will be tossing the ball down the field. “[It] felt good, I got a lot of playing time”, Lynch said.
The Rams, in their first two preseason games, had scored sevej touchdowns in seven red-zone entries, but against the Broncos, they had three field goals in three attempts, and also turned the ball over on downs at the Denver 27 in the third quarter. Anderson runs set the Broncos up with a first and goal situation. While a Michael Vick contract may seem appealing to some fans of the Super Bowl team, others feel that the personality of the veteran quarterback might disrupt the Paxton Lynch group.
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“I thought Ronnie had his most productive game and week last week, ” Kubiak said. Lynch was drafted by the team in the most recent NFL Draft. Siemian will have rightfully earned the Broncos’ starting quarterback job – at least until he falters or Lynch is deemed ready.
