Evans: As the Broncos quarterbacks turn …
Sep 6, 2016, 8:04 PM
Finally, after months of moves and non-moves and speculation piled on mountains of more speculation, the Broncos quarterback situation for 2016 has been settled.
Here are my thoughts on what did-and what did not go down:
‣ John Elway and Gary Kubiak really are taking this “back to our roots” thing seriously.
Elway likes Paxton Lynch because while he may be prone to mistakes, Lynch has the kind of big play ability to make up for those mistakes. Hmm, I wonder where Elway has seen a quarterback like that before (hint, every morning when he stares into the mirror while brushing those magnificent choppers of his).
Meanwhile, Koobs sees in Trevor Siemian a smart, stable quarterback who avoids mistakes, is not outrageously talented, and is probably looking at a career as a backup … you know, kind of like who he was.
‣ … Which explains the Austin Davis signing. Neither Kubiak nor Elway want their guys to be messed with.
If Siemian and Lynch get hurt or struggle with performance, I doubt Broncos fans will be clamoring for Davis. There would have been some of that if Mark Sanchez was still on the roster. Or, if they had signed someone like a Matt Barkley, once he was cut loose by Arizona.
‣ By the way, how does Barkley only end up with a practice squad job with the Bears? Barkley was slinging it against the Broncos in that final preseason game.
‣ I’m happy Sanchez ended up with the kind of deal he got in Dallas. I never rooted against Sanchez. In fact, I was rooting for a career re-birth for him here in Denver.
I liked how much he wanted this job and the lengths he went to try and get it. From the passing camp to having his mom quiz him on the playbook while they were on vacation together. He aced the intangibles test.
But, those mistakes were hard to get around, even though I still see someone who can make plays.
In Dallas, he has a decent chance to play, as I see a high probability that everyone’s darling — Dak Prescott — will either get hurt or struggle mightily — two easy to predict events when talking about rookie quarterbacks.
‣ Think how different this all would’ve been if Elway approached Brock Osweiler after the Bengals game last year about a new contract. Or, right after the Super Bowl instead of waiting for Peyton Manning to make his announcement?
Everyone agrees that John’s Plan A was to re-sign Brock, right? And that Plan B was to trade for Colin Kapernick. (Wow … Can you imagine if that show was all playing out here? Would’ve brought back those halcyon days of Tebow-mania.)
And that Plan C was for Sanchez to win and job and not lose it. Not many general managers can fail to execute his goals and still possibly end up better for it.
We shall see in the months and years to come if the best moves were the ones not made.
