Broncos forced to look to the future, Lynch
There is little chance of the Denver Broncos salvaging their season. But if they can emerge from it with a solution to their quarterback quandary, that would provide some measure of solace and it would restore a sense of optimism for the future.
It was a week of big shakeups for the Broncos and Raiders, who meet today in Oakland amid dueling disappointments. The Raiders, losers of six of their last eight games and coming off a lopsided defeat to the New England Patriots in Mexico City, dismissed Ken Norton Jr. as their defensive coordinator and replaced him with defensive assistant John Pagano.
There was even more upheaval in Denver, where the Broncos ousted offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and elevated quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave to coordinator. They also turned to second-year pro Paxton Lynch, a first-round draft choice last year out of Memphis, as their third starter of the season at quarterback, following Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler.
It’s unrealistic to believe that Lynch, who made two starts last season as a rookie but will be making his 2017 season debut after working his way back from a shoulder injury, is going to turn around the Broncos’ season and get them back into the postseason conversation. This is a team is disarray, with six straight losses since a 3-1 beginning and a focus recently on whether the organization has gotten soft, as described by front office executive John Elway.
This is about the bigger picture. This is about fixing what has become a mess of a quarterback situation since Peyton Manning retired following the Broncos’ Super Bowl triumph to cap the 2015 season. Osweiler left and came back. He hasn’t been the answer. Neither has Siemian, the former seventh-round draft pick who actually had some moments of competence last season but has struggled to nine touchdown passes, 10 interceptions and a 76.8 passer rating this season.
Now it’s up to Lynch, who was regarded as a promising but notyet-polished prospect when he was drafted.
“Paxton Lynch is a guy that’s a year away from playing,” Mike Mayock, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, said before last year’s draft. “But he’s 6(-feet-)7 and he’s big and athletic.”
At the time, former NFL coach Jon Gruden called Lynch the most intriguing player in the 2016 draft class.
“I’m not saying he’s Cam Newton,” Gruden said then. “But I’m saying he’s big like Cam Newton. He’s athletic. And this kid is a dual threat that has a lot of people curious about what he could actually bring to an NFL offense and how long it might take.”
Games to watch
SAINTS at RAMS: An important late-season game between two NFC heavyweights. Just as everyone figured when they first saw this game on the schedule.
PANTHERS at JETS: The Panthers have to give some help to Cam Newton. They can’t keep expecting him to be a one-man show.
DOLPHINS at PATRIOTS: Tom Brady has 50 touchdown passes and four interceptions since the start of last season.
Games to miss
BROWNS at BENGALS: Wake us up when the Browns reach 0-15.
TEXANS at RAVENS: Just because the standings say these teams are in the AFC wild-card race does not mean they’re actually worth watching.