Brock Osweiler may be getting the opportunity of a lifetime, but this undoubtedly a difficult situation. He’s not just getting the first start of his career; he’s replacing one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
That’s a lot of pressure.
Whether you think Peyton Manning has been good, bad or terrible this season, the fact of the matter is that the Broncos believe they are Super Bowl contenders right now; that doesn’t change with Osweiler in the lineup.
So how is he doing? Is he up for the challenge? His team seems to think so, as they backed the fourth-year quarterback all week.
Here’s what they had to say:
Gary Kubiak on how Osweiler has handled himself:
“I think he’s handled himself well. He’s totally locked in to what he’s doing. All of the reps come your way now and it’s time to play. I think that he’s had two good days. His preparation has been good. His feedback to me has been really good. He’s a kid that he’ll speak up.”
Kubiak on whether they’re changing the playbook for Osweiler:
“We’re going through just like we would with Peyton or anybody else as far as how we practice and how we prepare. I think feedback from players come when they practice. As a coach, that’s where you need to be most receptive. You’re watching something that you’re asking them to do and then look at it in practice. If it doesn’t feel good with them then you get rid of it. I think, more than anything, I’ve been able to watch him more this week. Obviously, it’s a lot of reps as compared to a few in that growth period working towards Sunday. It’s the first time out between the two of us, but it should grow as we get going. That’s what I really try to pay attention to.”
OC Rick Dennison on Osweiler’s progress:
“Yeah, certainly anytime you even just have the verbiage go in and out of your mouth and in your ears and huddle and get people on the right page, that’s going to help you. He works really hard in and out of the building. We quiz him every week and that’s all three of them [the quarterbacks] at night, Saturday night before the game, and he’s been very sharp with that. You know he’s spent some time on it. I’m not surprised that he’s been preparing that way.”
Dennison on whether the Broncos will change the playbook:
“We’ve got the 2015 Broncos. That’s it. It’s the same playbook. We haven’t got any new playbook. It’s the same playbook that we’ve had. No, we haven’t. It’s what we expect to do. It’s the same football playbook. It’s football. We’ve been under center, we’ve been in the pistol and we’ve been in gun. We can expect all three could happen on Sunday. We’re not coaching them any different.”
Dennison on what he’s doing to prepare Osweiler:
“Not really much. I think it is his fourth year now, so he’s been around it. He understands. Our whole approach is it’s not just Brock against the Bears. It’s the Broncos. You’re a part of the deal. Do your job. We’ve coached you. You’ve got a bunch of really good players behind you. We’ll put you in the right spot, and just keep working at it. Take what you’ve got. You don’t have to force anything. We’ve got a run game. We’ve got enough people that we could spread the ball and make plays. Don’t try to win it all on one play. We’re trying to progress the ball downfield, as always, move the chains and score points.”
Dennison on Osweiler’s strengths:
“He’s got a good arm. He’s athletic, but other than that, he’s a quarterback. We’ve done the same thing with the quarterbacks that I’ve been around. Peyton did a good job of the things that we asked him to do, and Brock will do a good job with the things we ask him to do. I don’t know if I want to get too much into exactly what, but we all see him play. He does a good job. We just have to keep him thinking about focusing, ‘Hey, this is my job. Let’s take it one play at a time.’“
Ronnie Hillman on Osweiler’s transition:
“It’s been good. Brock, he’s come in and he’s done a great job. He’s done a great job in the huddle taking command of the huddle and just being out there and being a leader. It’s impressive.”
Von Miller on Osweiler’s effect on the team dynamic:
“I don’t think all that stuff is going to change. It’s going to look a little bit different over there, obviously, with [QB] Peyton [Manning] not playing, but we’ve got full faith in [QB] Brock [Osweiler]. He’s looked excellent throughout the year. In the preseason, he looked phenomenal. When he got in the game, he was able to make some stuff happen, and he didn’t even expect to be playing last week. That’s pretty encouraging. I’ve got full confidence in him. We’ve got to go out there and play the type of game that—we haven’t been playing it the last two weeks, but we need to get back to it. [We have] still been doing a lot of good stuff, but it’s time to get back to what we do best.”
