Players, coaches and fans all want to know sooner than later who will be the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. But if we want a true measuring stick for who should earn the job, everyone should have a little patience.
The Paxton Lynch vs. Trevor Siemian quarterback competition has been the talk of the town long before camp even started.
As the Broncos eclipse the halfway mark of training camp, fans are still left to wonder who will win the starting quarterback job.
Both players have seen their ups and downs in camp, which is expected from both players.
Trevor Siemian, the incumbent starter from last season, has been consistent through most of training camp. While most plays run by Siemian have been unexciting, Siemian has rarely turned the ball over during team drills.
Paxton Lynch has been almost the polar opposite. Lynch continues to make awe-inspiring throws all over the field, but will follow up a beautiful pass with a poorly-timed throw that sometimes leads to a turnover for the defense.
A sense of anxiety and nervousness has started to grow from the Broncos fan base, as the general census is that neither quarterback has truly stepped up and outright won the starting job.
One factor often left out when grading the quarterbacks’ play in camp is that both have the unfortunate circumstance of playing against the feared “No Fly Zone” of the Broncos’ secondary.
For a unit that held Super Bowl 51 MVP Tom Brady to 16 points last season, perhaps results against that unit aren’t the best way to gauge the quarterbacks’ play deep into camp.
With that said, the Broncos have stated that they would like to use their practices against the San Francisco 49ers as well as preseason games against the Chicago Bears and the 49ers to determine who will start at quarterback.
As their records indicate from last season, both teams possess terrible defenses and won’t give a realistic test for the opponents both quarterbacks will face in 2017.
A more effective medium would be to wait until Week 3 of the preseason to name a starting quarterback, when the Broncos take on the Green Bay Packers.
The third preseason game is often called the “dress rehearsal” game, where teams often play their starters into the second half in preparation for a regular season game.
The Packers would be a fantastic way for the Broncos to see where each quarterback is at and who would be most ready to start for the team right away. Though not an elite defense, the Packers posses talent all across the defensive side of the ball and would more closely mirror the type of opponents the Broncos will face in their 2017 schedule.
It appears that the Broncos are adamant about being patient when it comes to naming the starter of the NFL’s most-closely watched quarterback competition.
On being asked if either player has been given any indication who the starter will be, head coach Vance Joseph assured the media and fans that was not the case.
“That has not happened. It’s an open competition still. Nobody has been told they’re a starter. We’re still evaluating these guys. Again, it’s been a grind every week on both sides of the ball. We’re going to play our game next Thursday and we’ll go from there on who’s going to be the guy. Nobody has been told yet.”
If the Broncos’ goal for 2017 is to return to the playoffs, then playing their quarterbacks against a quality team – one that was one game away from the Super Bowl – would be a great way to gauge both quarterback’s play.
