Bronco Blog Preseason Week 2: QB Competition Finished

After a dominating win at the Bay on Friday, it looks like the QB competition in Denver has been decided. Ladies and gentlemen, the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos in 2017 is... Trevor Siemian. Now before all the Paxton Lynch and Kyle Sloter fans come to my door and yell at me, let me tell you how the real story went for the sophomore QB from Memphis.

Basically, Lynch went 9-13 for 39 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions; a mediocre day for the starter Lynch had to rely on his athletic attribute of running and scrambling outside the pocket, which didn't really didn't do so well.

With Trevor Siemian at the helm however, he looked as if he were in midseason form, passing 8-11 for 93 yards and 1 touchdown via a sweet toe-tapping catch by Jordan "Sunshine" Taylor. Siemian also didn't throw a pick as he was able to find his open receivers for short to medium passes which turned into first downs. If Siemian can read defenses and find open receivers without throwing the ball under pressure, he will have a higher quarterback rating with more touchdowns which can lead the Broncos to more wins every week. He just needs to be protected.

Speaking of protection, one member of the O-line did fairly well as he was able to get pass blocks for Siemian to throw to his receivers, despite having three holding calls. Rookie from Utah; Garrett Bolles. Now as for Bolles' holding penalties, those are rookie mistakes and it's the best time for him to make them now in the preseason. My only concern is that the O-line must have cohesiveness working together in giving run and pass blocks without being called for holding. Because if they make these mistakes during the regular season, it might cost the Broncos some games.

As for the defense, D-lineman Shelby Harris had 2 fumble recoveries and another Harris (not named Chris Jr.) but Chris Lewis-Harris had a crazy interception. The Broncos also scored 3 touchdowns. The first being from a run by C.J. Anderson after a botched kickoff went off of a 49er's leg forcing a turnover. There was also the Jordan Taylor touchdown pass from Trevor Siemian. Finally, the Broncos put the cherry on top with another touchdown run by Juwan Thompson.

We'll see how the quarterbacks fare when the Broncos host their home preseason opener against the Packers, but it looks like that Trevor Siemian is the favorite that will win the starting job.

Finally, I would like to close with these words. Now for all of those Paxton Lynch fans out there, I know that Trevor Siemian didn't lead the Broncos to another playoff trip and that his O-line was not good at all. Paxton Lynch may have won those two games last season in Tampa and Jacksonville, but this year is a new season. From what I saw in Lynch's performance, he has lost himself the starting quarterback job. This year may be another year of growth and learning for Paxton Lynch before he can have that opportunity to commit to being the starting quarterback. This is just not Paxton's year. With Siemian however, in his preseason action he has completed more passes and has relieved himself from pressure. Therefore, he has gotten sacked less. This was one of his struggles last year and Trevor Siemian has fixed that problem this year. With a better O-line and all-star receivers in Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jordan Taylor, this Broncos offense will be 10 times better than it was last year.

Trevor Siemian has learned from and reviewed his mistakes in what he needed to work on, has grown as a quarterback, and has more confidence in throwing and letting the ball out faster. Therefore, if Siemian can do these things in regular season games without getting pressured, he will most likely lead the Broncos to more wins that last season, and possibly their sixth trip to the Postseason in the last 7 years. Trevor Siemian has the smarts, the skills, and the poise to be the Denver Broncos starting quarterback for 2017