The Denver Broncos are approaching preseason game No. 3 and have no starting quarterback. Normally, I would criticize Gary Kubiak for not making a decision, but I’m not quite sure Kubiak can make any sound decision based on our sample size so far.
Mark Sanchez is the veteran and logical choice for the starting job on paper. He has showed the ability to lead Denver down the field and move the chains. During the offseason and training camp, Sanchez has been praised for his ability to control the huddle and his leadership ability. The issues with Sanchez have been his inability to finish drives, unnecessary turnovers and inability to take advantage of field position.
Trevor Siemian has the most experience in Denver’s offense, even at such a young age. There is an easiness to the way Siemian handles himself at the position that makes fans want to trust him. It seems Kubiak has even gone out of his way to praise Siemian. The problem is that Siemian falls in love too much with his first reads. He also has nowhere near the velocity on his ball that Sanchez does. Trevor also committed the cardinal sin of this preseason and threw a pick-six.
Finally, Paxton Lynch has showed that he has most of the tools to be a solid quarterback in this league. He has kept drives alive, produced the most points and has shown great ability to escape danger in the pocket. It seems Denver fans are ready to see Lynch have a try with the starters. The issue here is Lynch does not know the full playbook yet. Kubiak has made it very clear that this is a two-man competition, pointing out on several occasions that Lynch is still developing.
It is understandable that Kubiak has not come up with a sound decision regarding his starting quarterback. It seems that nobody is proving that they want this job besides Lynch.
I am hoping that Lynch’s workload is increased this week. I want to see an increased urgency to get Lynch at least somewhat prepared to be the starter. Denver simply cannot keep waiting for Sanchez or Siemian to just not screw-up enough to win the job. Time is beginning to become precious, and if this plan is not going to work, the Broncos need to begin thinking about coming up with a different one.
To hear more about the Broncos’ quarterback situation, listen to the podcast below …
Catch the Weekend Drive every Saturday and Sunday from 2p-4p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.