Being objective is one place to start:
Totally objective upon analysis of both QBs; of course I want TS to do well, but I have seen the same things that Kubiak and the rest of the Broncos coaching staff have seen.
Just b/c a player has donned the purple doesn't mean that I look at their play w/ purple-tinted glasses.
For instance, I was critical of Trai Essex's play with the Steelers (also thought they took him too high).
The Denver O-line was actually worse during parts of the Cincy game when they were missing both Stephenson and Okung. The healthy starting line up has played well overall and were decisive in running the ball too. However, the line has had injury related glaring question marks the past two games and were dog trash against the Falcons. I don’t think Falcons blitzed but a few times keeping 7 in coverage and still consistently pressured the QB. With no credible run threat established they teed off on him.
You think there was a credible run threat in the Cincy game?
Against the Bengals, the Broncos rushed for a grand total of
52 yds (including 5 from Siemian).
Against the Falcons, rushed for
84 yds, including 18 from Lynch.
Siemian was under a lot of pressure in the Cincy game, but he did a good job of moving up in the pocket to evade the pass rush. Siemian also did a good job of changing the protection at the LoS.
Both of those things, Lynch still needs a good bit of work (Siemian can also continue to improve in those areas, but he's a good bit ahead of Lynch); the Broncos O also used too much time in the huddle - another area where Lynch is just not up to speed.
Against the Bucs, Siemian got sacked and hurt when he held on to the ball to attempt a down the field pass when the short and intermediate throws that were the mainstay for the 1st 2 games would have been better. Throwing the ball down field is what it is, and it is part of the game.
Yes - but not wise to do that when the protection won't stand up for the play to develop. Don't know if that was simply Kubiak's call to go deep or if Siemian just opted to wait for that play to develop, but he would have been much better off to dump it or throw it away (which is what Brady does all the time, keeping himself pretty much healthy for most of his career).
The Denver secondary played well enough, it was the LBers that got that lit up by the Falcon RBs on pass plays. LBs have pass coverage responsibilities. Kudos to Falcons-OC on calling a great game. His coaching future continues to look bright, good genes.
Yes, but there aren't that many LBers who have the speed to keep up w/ Coleman - who runs a
sub 4.4 40.
To prevent a mismatch, teams will often play a safety at the LB position (think the Falcons were doing that on their end).
In addition, the Denver O did not help out the D like they did in the previous 4 games - moving the chains and keeping the opposing O off the field and the Denver D fresh. True, the Denver D also didn’t help out the offense against Atlanta. The Denver D got worked over even when they were fresh on the first drive. Denver defense had scored 14 points in 4th against Colts and had given the O short fields twice in 1st qtr against Tampa.
OK - did you
not watch the Bengals game?
Cincy scored a
TD against the Broncos D on their very 1
st posession, gashing the Broncos D w/ a
50 yd run, and Cincy had the lead going into the 4th Q.
As for the game against the Colts, the Denver D returning 2 TOs for TDs is exactly why the Broncos O only had the ball 3 times in the 2nd half; if the Broncos D hadn't scored, you don't think the O wouldn't have put up more points?
You are all worked up in disparaging Lynch, why? Lynch is the backup. TS was injured so the backup played- Occam’s razor. I too assume Siemian would have likely made some of those routine plays Lynch missed but the players were out executed and the coaches ran up against a staff with a better game plan on Sunday- it happens.
I'm not disparaging Lynch; simply stating the
facts.
Think Lynch has great physical tools and a lot of potential.
The ? is whether he will develop all those other aspects of QB play which is required in the NFL
Siemian also needs to keep working on those things, but he is a good bit ahead of Lynch, which is understandable as Siemian has 1 year under his belt.
Like I had stated, what we saw from Lynch wasn't surprising as the best case scenario for the Broncos was for Lynch to sit, learn and improve.
All the stuff I had listed is the stuff that Kubiak and Dennison have stated that Lynch needs to work on - getting a firmer grasp of the playbook, going thru his reads quicker, footwork, pocket awareness, etc.
Good luck always finding pundits/analysts who confirm your bias though. Clearly, you have diligently been observing Lynch even deducing his specific footwork issues and how it can be improved. Then again, if the Cleveland Browns just had Siemian they’d be 5-0 because he’s a big boy NFL starting QB and the rest of the team are just a bunch of warm bodies lost without his guidance.
LOL!!!
So are you going to say that
Kubes and Dennison are biased?
I'm not saying anything that they haven't stated all along.
And I'm not making any claim as to what the future may portend for Siemian or Lynch in the NFL.
It's way to early to get any sort of accurate reading, but it's clear that Siemian is ahead of Lynch when it comes to the things that an NFL QB needs to be able to do at this juncture.
I also don't know which QB will end up having the better NFL career - Lynch has the size and better physical tools, but Siemian has the better FB IQ and is able to process info. more quickly..
As for the Browns, McKnown and the rookie Kessler have put up decent enough #s - enough to give the Browns a chance to win.
Not like things have been that great for QBs w/ the situation at the Broncos O-line and the only real viable TE (Green) being out.
Place Siemian or Lynch behind the Cowboys O-line with Zeke gashing opposing defenses and both will likely do a good bit better; but Siemian will still do better than Lynch b/c he is ahead when it comes to the fundamentals.
