Brock Osweiler had the reins on Sunday yet again as Peyton Manning took another scheduled day off. It was the second such time since the start of camp that the Hall of Fame quarterback has been sidelined as part of head coach Gary Kubiak’s plan to keep Manning fresh for the regular season and to see what he has in the fourth-year backup. Following practice, both Kubiak and Osweiler spoke with the media about the day.
Here are the highlights…
Gary Kubiak: “I thought Brock did a good job. He missed a few plays. I know he missed a skinny there at the end on a little mock situation we had on third-and-seven, but he made a lot of plays, too. I just think he’s gaining a little confidence running the football team when it’s his. You can see when he comes out here on those days it’s not a shock. It’s ‘let’s go.’ I think it’s important for the group, and obviously, it’s important for his career.
Brock Osweiler: “Today went well. I always think that there is room for improvement, but that’s why you practice. As a whole, I think offensively we did some really great things. We did some situational things. We had a red area; just call it period that ended in a touchdown and we did some other things throughout the day. I thought the offensive line played great, receivers made plays and (running) backs did a good job as well. As long as we just keep building, growing, learning from mistakes and getting a little bit better each day, I’ll be happy with things.”
Osweiler: “Through my first three years, you could probably count on two hands how many balls I got to throw to (Demaryius Thomas). Just to have him in camp, and for me to be able to get some reps with the ones, it’s huge and I think that (successful post route) alone kind of showed that work paying off and hopefully I get a lot more.”
Kubiak: “I thought (Osweiler) practiced well. He missed a play at the end of practice that he needs to make, but I think he continues to get more comfortable in his role when he gets the football team. I think he’s had a good, what has it been, eight or nine days? (He) needs to play a lot in the preseason.”