Evans: Those dirty, dirty birds — Broncos-Falcons observations
Oct 12, 2016, 11:35 PM
Here are my seven observations from the Denver Broncos unexpected first loss of the season to the Atlanta Falcons:
1. Don’t get down on Paxton Lynch.
On Sunday, Lynch was exactly what I thought he would be. That is, a raw quarterback who came out of a mid-major conference and played in a wide open, quarterback friendly offense that didn’t really prepare him for the NFL.
I watched Lynch during the preseason, and while I can appreciate his obvious skill set, I have way too much respect for how difficult and intricate it is to play QB in this league to think he would be ready anytime soon. He needs a lot of work on his mechanics, on reading defenses, and on making decisions.
This isn’t a put down of Lynch. He is exactly where he should be right now.
I said before the season the best thing for the Broncos would be if he had a redshirt season. That was proven against the Falcons.
2. It reinforces how thin the Broncos left themselves at the quarterback position.
A veteran quarterback (yes, even Mark Sanchez) would come in handy for this week. The team doesn’t feel good about Lynch. Siemian will be playing at less than 100 percent while risking the possibility of setting himself back further if he takes more serious hits.
With 10 days off after this game, it would make far more sense to let Siemian heal more and leave the chaotic nature of preparing for a road game in a short week in the hands of a veteran.
3. Don’t buy the “Falcons Blueprint” that was laid out for the rest of the NFL.
New England has done this to the Broncos a bunch over the years. But that’s a special case where you have to have an above average quarterback and the pass-catching personnel to do it.
Atlanta has better pass-catching running backs than the Patriots, and while Matt Ryan isn’t “Uggs,” he isn’t too bad.
It did show how losing Danny Trevathan hurt, but lets not throw the baby out with the bath water. The Broncos defense is still stocked.
4. While John Elway deserves nothing but “A” grades for the way he’s built this team, offensive line has been a weakness of No. 7.
Not only did he have no choice but to overhaul his starting offensive line, but he has left his team thin in depth and backups.
It was OK the past few years because he had Peyton Manning. Great quarterbacks like Manning make offensive lines look better than they really are with an ability to change blocking schemes at the line of scrimmage and getting rid of the ball quickly.
But with this duo of current quarterbacks, the deficiencies of the Broncos offensive line are painful for all to see.
5. Cody Latimer … stop taking the ball out of the end zone.
It’s aggravating to see the Broncos start drives short of the automatic 25-yard line.
6. Is it just me or as Darian Stewart been virtually invisible since he took those big fines for late hits?
7. And finally, best wishes to Gary Kubiak.
Considering his medical history I completely understand how Broncos officials were terrified he was having another stroke even though they announced “flu like symptoms.”
Sorry, not buying that. Not with a history like Kubiak’s.
I don’t want to see Kubiak go anywhere, but you have to think there’s been some serious soul searching going on.
Remember, Kubes was happy and content to be the offensive coordinator in Baltimore. He had no interest in getting back into head coaching, and his wife didn’t want him to do it.
He only considered a return because his good friend John Elway came calling, and even then Kubiak turned him down initially. But Elway persisted and Kubiak finally relented.
This latest episode has to call into question just how long Kubiak plans on coaching.
