QBs say splitting reps, three-man competition good for everyone

Gary Kubiak says he is divvying up offseason reps between his three quarterbacks evenly across the depth chart - and his three signal callers say they are OK with that.

"It's fun. It's got to be fun or you shouldn't be out here," says Mark Sanchez, the QB with the most years in the NFL but still a newbie when it comes to the Broncos' offense. "When you go from team to team, the most important thing you can do is control what you can, not worry about anybody else, put the ball where it's supposed to be, make the right decision with the football and move on. It's been a great camp so far."

The Broncos' No. 1 draft pick, rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch who just may be being groomed to take the reigns sooner than later, knows he's got the most ground to make up when it comes to learning this offense as well as adjusting to the NFL.

So he's not thinking so much about his competition as he is just getting up to speed.

"In the back of your mind, you just want to come out here and focus on what you've got do and what you can control. That's being the best player you can be every day," Lynch said Tuesday, noting that he's doing a lot of studying every night. "Taking those scripts home and those plays home, and getting into your playbook and doing everything you can before the next practice. That's what I've been doing. I've kind of been worried about what I've got to do and what I've got to handle. I think the rest will come."

It turns out that the quarterback getting the least attention - Trevor Siemian - is actually the guy with the most Broncos experience right now, making him the true vet on the field.

"I'm a year in, but there still is a lot to learn," Siemian said yesterday after the first day of the second week of OTAs was in the books.

Siemian added he's getting coached up "a ton" by Greg Knapp and Rick Dennison, which he appreciates.

"I think I'm trying to do a good job of remembering that and just getting better every day," he said, adding that he's trying to "hammer" a few things each day. "The tendency is to try and take everything in all at once. It's pretty tough when you do that."

Although splitting the reps means each quarterback gets less total time to develop chemistry with the top receivers, they know this time of year is about taking whatever reps they get with all targets.

"At the end of the day, you're going to be throwing to a bunch of different guys. You're not going to be throwing to one group of receivers the whole time," Lynch said. "The fact that you can get in there with all of those guys and kind of get a feel with all those guys, I think it's good."

Siemian pointed out that working on being consistent no matter who is getting the ball is a skill to develop on its own, so the regular change-up works in the long run too.

"It's good in a sense. You've just got to be consistent, follow your keys and follow your feet," the second-year quarterback said. "I think it's one to thing to work on chemistry, but in a sense it's good for you to stay consistent and play ball."

Even though the three QBs are competing for the top spot, they're also helping each other out a lot.

Siemian is definitely the go-to guy for questions about the offense.

"Even though Trevor is only in his second year, he is a vet to me. He's the only quarterback in this system who has been here for a year," Lynch said, adding that Siemian's experience watching and learning from Peyton Manning is also knowledge to take advantage of. "I know that's what I would have done if Peyton was here."

And Sanchez has given Lynch a lot of tips on making it in the NFL and dealing with outside pressure.

"If I ever had a question about anything, if I had a rough series, rough couple of plays or anything like that, [Sanchez] is there to talk me through it and kind of pick me up," Lynch said. "That's really helpful to have a guy like that, also an older guy who's been around the league and knows what he's doing. Like I said, I'm just sitting back and learning from all of those guys. I understand that they've been here."

Sanchez has certainly "been there" when it comes to dealing with media and fan scrutiny, but he takes it in stride and uses his experience in the New York and Philadelphia markets to his advantage right now.

And he's loving the challenge of playing against the best defense in the NFL - which will definitely help weed out the best of the best among this trio of quarterbacks.

"I'm just keeping everything positive and playing my butt off," Sanchez said, adding that practice feels like more than just an OTA because they're playing against such a good defense. "They take up so much space on the field, and they have a good knack for reading routes, reading patterns and combinations. It's a heck of a competitive atmosphere when you're in there with that first group, but it makes it fun."