If you have fully bought into the propaganda that Mark Sanchez is the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, then you probably bought into the media blitz last week that Trevor Siemian looks real good this year.
Meanwhile, all rumors quiet on the Paxton Lynch front. Nice and protected from any pressure to get ready quicker. It's all by design. At least, that's what I am personally buying into.
The fact is, Gary Kubiak confirmed on Tuesday that the quarterback position is wide open and reps are a premium that each quarterback is feasting upon equally. If you think that is normal, well it is not.
"We’re going right down the middle," Kubiak said of how the quarterbacks competed on Tuesday. "What we’re trying to do is make sure that they all get their opportunities to work with the first groups. We haven’t made a decision like, ‘You’re one, you’re two.’ We’re all working together. I think we’ll continue that way throughout the OTAs. I think it’s been good. I think it’s a little hard, [for example] if you’ve got your first offensive line, first receivers and you’re coming in with a new quarterback. But in the long haul, that’s what is going to make us better and that’s what is going to make that guy step out, in my opinion. We’ll continue that practice. Today was a good day. They came back well."
The fact that reps are being split completely down the middle should tell everyone that the Broncos want Lynch to get the reps, but they don't want to cut the legs out from under Sanchez right out of the gates. Kubiak, in all his genius, is playing this much like he played the Peyton Manning/Brock Osweiler saga down the stretch that ultimately led to a Super Bowl title.
A player will ultimately get their legs cut out from under them, but it won't happen until the Broncos know for sure who is going to take the reigns.
"It is different. It’s unusual for the most part in this league," Kubiak said of splitting reps evenly between the quarterbacks. "But I think we have a good situation, too, because I see three really good football players. The only way that they establish themselves and take a team over is if they somehow give them the opportunity to do that. As a coach, you don’t make your decisions before you ever step on the field and give them an equal opportunity to prove themselves. I don’t believe in that. What I’m trying to do is make sure I walk off the field every day where they’ve each got 40 reps or whatever the reps are, and I can sit down and take a look at where they’re at and how they’re doing because I know the team is looking at the same thing. That’s what I’m trying to do."
There is no quarterback controversy, though. This is not me stirring the pot. This is me shutting down the notion that this is Sanchez's job to lose. What we have is an open competition that will likely go on through OTA's, training camp and even preseason.
"I don’t have a timeline on anything," Kubiak said when asked about naming a starting quarterback. "I just want them to compete and work. We’ll see how it goes. I’m trying to get everybody comfortable with where we’re at right now going into training camp. I think we’ve got some good young players on this team that can help us again. We’ve got some really good second-year players that should become great players—that are pretty good players that should become great players. That’s what we’re trying to get done here in the offseason."
Kubiak is going to do what he always does. He's going to be patient and he's going to let things play out and make the decision when the time is right.
"Let me just say this: I’m very comfortable with our three guys right now," Kubiak said when asked about his comfort level with the quarterback position. "That’s where I’m at. I love the competition that’s going on. I think every day has been a little bit different. One of them has had a good day—I think it’s bounced around a little bit. Time is going to tell. Let’s just see. They’re all very capable of helping this football team win. That’s why they’re here."
Frankly, this is what I've believed would happen from the moment Paxton Lynch was drafted. The Broncos will do everything they can to get him ready for Week 1, but 'Plan B' will be to have a capable veteran like Mark Sanchez come in and lead the team until Lynch is ready.
Guessing or predicting when Lynch is ready to start is pointless. Hopefully it will be sooner, rather than later as the Broncos didn't draft him in the first round to sit on the bench.