A ‘sophomore jinx’ isn’t to blame for Trevor Siemian’s struggles

Yesterday, Denver Broncos PR man/9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis tried to spin Siemian’s struggles into a positive by just calling it a “sophomore jinx.”

He used Josh McCown and Case Keenum as (bad) examples for this. Unfortunately for Klis, the spin he tried doing here didn’t work very well.

First off, using players like Case Keenum and Josh McCown as examples is grasping at straws. Keenum has been nothing but a backup option and Josh McCown has been the ultimate journeymen quarterback. He has played for eight different teams and has never started more than 10 games in a season three times during his career.

Plus, it’s just ignoring the obvious - Siemian is just not that good.

Now in Siemian’s defense, he is just a late seventh-round pick. The fact he has done this in his career is impressive, but the excuses and expectations for a quarterback who wasn’t even that good in college is just a waste of time.

Now back to this “sophomore jinx” nonsense. This label implies Siemian’s struggles began this year - but that’s not the case. The struggles started last year during the second half of the 2016 season.

From Week 8 to Week 17, Siemian totaled 10 touchdowns, 7 interception, and 2 lost fumbles. This also included a stretch where he only threw one touchdown in the month of December in the midst of a postseason run. Then Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe also threw for one touchdown during that span if you need a comparison.

(Chart via: MHR’s Joe Mahoney)

Siemian’s struggles continued in 2017. Week 1 he played well against the Chargers, and in Week 2 against the Cowboys, he faced a secondary ravished by injuries. Also need to add in the fact that the league was adjusting to him in Mike McCoy’s offense.

But ever since then, Siemian has been downright awful. He has started seven games since Week 2 and totaled just three touchdowns as a starter (not counting the two that came in relief of Paxton Lynch) and 11 interceptions. Siemian also fumbled the ball four times and lost two of those fumbles during that span.

So three touchdowns and 13 total turnovers since Week 3.

That’s not good. And it’s a lot more than a “sophomore jinx.”

Siemian, the quarterback who was called the “Heir to Peyton Manning” and apparently has an arm gifted from the gods, just isn’t that good.

He looks rattled despite having unshakeable poise and a big reason why the Broncos only have won six games since November 2016 (but one of those wins came with Paxton Lynch under center).

To just say his struggles are because of a “sophomore jinx” is asinine, in my opinion.

The Broncos are just trying to put a positive spin on Siemian’s struggles, and we cannot allow that to happen.

Lynch being a bust amplified this situation, of course. It forced the Broncos to go with Siemian and exposed that they were poorly equipped to handle a struggling first-round draft pick. The Broncos did acquire Osweiler, who probably played the best of all three quarterbacks, but he’s on the bench.

Allowing Siemian to start 22 games with Brock Osweiler and Mark Sanchez being the best competition he has is the reason why this team is destined for a top 5 pick in 2018. I’m tired of the countless excuses being made for him and this team.

No more sugar-coating it, guys.

Broncos Country reacts to the “sophomore jinx” excuse:

You get the idea.