After watching the Mark Sanchez experiment fail in three preseason games, the Denver Broncos appear ready to hitch their horse to an unproven 2015 seventh round pick. A relatively unknown name who is now poised to be thrust into the spotlight as the starter for the defending Super Bowl champs.
Trevor Siemian is expected to be the Week 1 starter for the Broncos when they take on the Carolina Panthers in a rematch of February’s Super Bowl where Denver won a championship with Peyton Manning. A game in which the Broncos had two quarterbacks who started games during the Super Bowl run that no longer play with the team. Manning and Brock Osweiler both departing from the team, forcing John Elway into a tough position without a quarterback this offseason.
With tight cap space, Elway has gone with a patchwork plan for this season at quarterback. Drafting Paxton Lynch late in the first round while signing Mark Sanchez to be the planned veteran starter while Lynch spent the season learning the offense. A plan that has now shifted over to Siemian, a player the team drafted in the seventh round last season and will be trusting to run the offense as the Broncos attempt to win a Super Bowl with one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacking situations.
The Broncos showed what is likely their reality on offense with Siemian as a starter this weekend against the Los Angeles Rams. Going with a run-heavy gameplan that will put the pressure on CJ Anderson and the offensive line to move the ball down the field this season. A plan that will be similar to last season where the Broncos played a conservative offense with Manning and Osweiler, but will be even more boring than the 2015 Broncos attack with an extremely limited quarterback in Siemian under center.
For example, the Broncos ran the ball six consecutive times on their opening two series against the Rams. Punting on both drives as head coach Gary Kubiak didn’t exactly take the opportunity to give Siemian some looks at throwing deep against the Los Angeles defense.
When Siemian did throw deep, it was a discouraging adventure as the expected Broncos starter struggled to find his targets. Underthrowing Demaryius Thomas and Cody Latimer, two players who could suffer the most this season if Siemian can’t find his top targets. A disappointing preseason tune-up for the Broncos offense that raises the question if this team will be able to score enough points to remain atop of their division as they look to defend their title.
To the Broncos credit, they just won the Super Bowl with an over the hill Manning in February. A run built off one of the best defenses of the modern era and the pass-rushing exploits of Von Miller that forces the respect of the league even with arguably the worst quarterback in the league under center going into Week 1. If the Broncos can win the title with the final gasps of Manning’s career, their fans certainly deserve to feel confident that they can at least contend in the AFC West with a seventh round unknown out of Northwestern.
On the other side of the coin is the harsh reality that the Broncos defense has also regressed with the departures of Danny Trevathan and Malik Jackson. Two departures that will put further pressure on a defense that needs to play at a historically high level to keep the Broncos amongst the elite teams in the AFC this season. A tough task without Trevathan and Jackson in the fold even if they are retaining the best pass rusher in the league in Miller as well as the best secondary in football.
Siemian is coming into the season with the spotlight firmly placed on him after a year of being anonymous behind Manning and Osweiler. Now in place as the improbable starter who has the pressure of leading the defending champs, Siemian is either going to sink or swim with the opportunity. If he sinks, don’t expect the Broncos to be able to pull off another run in the AFC West with limited quarterback play as the drop in talent under center could prove too much to handle. The Super Bowl champs are in serious trouble and they will need an underdog story out of Trevor Siemian to avoid a letdown season in 2016.
