You may have heard, but the Denver Broncos are currently in the middle of a quarterback competition ahead of the 2017 season.
During Sunday’s practice, the first time the Broncos have put full pads on in training camp, neither Trevor Siemian nor Paxton Lynch appeared to have the upper hand. A large reason why was because the daunting Denver defense played lights out in front of the largest crowd UCHealth Training Center has hosted in 15 years of open training camp practices.
“Did I like what I saw? Not really,” head coach Vance Joseph said after Sunday’s practice. “Both guys had issues today. I didn’t like what I saw today. Honest. They both struggled today.”
In all fairness to both Siemian and Lynch, it’s tough for any quarterback to look good going up against the Broncos defense. On a day where the defense had one of it’s best days, defensive coordinator Joe Woods couldn’t help but be impressed with the effort.
“I feel like the effort was really good,” Woods said of his defense. “I thought we tailed off a little bit towards the end of one period and then we brought it back and finished it up with two minutes. The thing we want to build defensively is to score and get the ball back for our offense more than their defense does. Today, the way we closed practice was awesome.”
While it may be discouraging for some to see the offense get overpowered by the defense on occasion, that’s exactly why cornerback Chris Harris and company got into this business.
“That’s what we’re trying to do,” Harris said. “We’re trying to drown them deep in the water every day and that’s our motivation. We were upset with yesterday’s performance and we wanted to come back today and show them who we are.”
Some may call it unfair that these young QBs are being judged against such a formidable foe, but Joseph isn’t one those people. Facing the defense every day can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, and you can probably tell which way Joseph is leaning. Calling the situation unfair doesn’t sit well with him.
“No,” Joseph said. “It’s NFL football. Make your reads – we have good receivers. They win against anybody. When you say that, it’s not about the overall secondary, it’s about the matchup. No. 88 (Demaryius Thomas) and No. 10 (Emmanuel Sanders) can win. Find them and throw the ball to them.”
Despite the offense’s bad day on Sunday, they have had some good days as well. Even if the defense may have won the day, Harris can see the offense is making strides in the right direction.
“They are getting better,” Harris Jr. said. “They’re playing the best and they’re going to have days like this.”
Just like in anything, there are good and bad days, and Joseph has been in the NFL long enough to know that.
“No, I’m not annoyed,” Joseph said about his quarterbacks’ performances. “Again, it’s not going to be based on a one-day evaluation. It’s been pretty good. It wasn’t very good today, and that was both guys. I’m okay.”
