It’s been one day of Phase I of OTAs and fans are expectedly getting overly excited about potential and overly pessimistic about perceived trends.
But if Broncos fans need another example of why having Case Keenum in the locker room is a great thing, his comments yesterday provided it.
“It’s really early,” Keenum noted when asked about thoughts on Bill Musgrave’s offense. “I really enjoy the way that we work, the way that [Musgrave] calls plays and the energy we have out there. It’s been a lot of fun. Maybe get back to me in a few months.”
Exactly.
One day into the team getting back on the field is not the time for hot takes and predictions.
But it is the time to note a change in team perspective - having a starting quarterback named before the offseason work begins makes a world of difference in the locker room and also on the field.
Coach Vance Joseph called that “good for our football team and good for our coaches. It’s good to have a guy in place.”
For Keenum, who hasn’t started an offseason as the presumed starter, this is also a very comfortable way to learn a new offense and build chemistry with his new teammates.
“It feels different. It feels good. I like it. I like competing, I like knowing my place and knowing my role,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “There’s some comfortableness to that. I think that that puts different things at ease and lets you go out there and play. It lets you cut it loose. It’s nice.”
Damn straight it is.
QB @casekeenum7 wants his actions to speak louder than his words.
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 23, 2018
But both were loud as he entered his first OTAs as "the guy."
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And as for that first day of cutting it loose, Keenum felt good about his work.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was a good day of “building.”
“There’s a lot there already, but I’m always looking for more and those guys are always looking for more,” Keenum said of developing chemistry with Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. “I would say you’re just trying to get more, more and more on the same page. You’re never satisfied with where you’re at. I think we did some good stuff today and we did some stuff that we need to learn from, too. I’m glad to put that stuff on film and go learn from it.”
After having a few months to look at the playbook and study some film, Keenum said it felt really good to “compete” and “go against our defense” - even if he didn’t know they were called the No Fly Zone.
“Is that their nickname? Is that what they’re called? That’s good to know,” he said laughing.
If that was a troll, it was beautiful. If it was genuine ignorance to the name, then that should be a wake-up call to Chris Harris Jr. & Co. that their league-wide dominance from two years ago needs an obvious upgrade in 2018.
Going against Keenum during practice should help that.
“They’re talented, they’re a talented squad,” Keenum acknowledged. “I think that good going against good makes you better. I think competition, not only within positions and yourself, but against a defense coming out here everyday and competing against the ‘No Fly Zone,’ it’s going to be really good. I’m excited. It’s fun competition. Those guys are really good.”
"It's not an exaggeration to say some of [@casekeenum7's] scrambles were Fran Tarkenton-esque." - @Vikings beat writer @christomasson
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) May 22, 2018
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For both the offense and defense it was just good to get started going up against some competition.
And watching Keenum lead his team was a refreshing change for everyone it seemed.
“Good, really good. ...I wasn’t surprised that he would come out and do the right things,” said Joseph, adding that “even Paxton Lynch and Chad Kelly” did a great job commanding the huddle. “It was good to see football today.”