SPORTS LYNCH’S TASK: PROVIDE SPARK, AVOID TURNOVERS
Young QB starts his tryout vs. Raiders Sunday
On Aug. 21, Vance Joseph announced what most folks by then had already expected. Trevor Siemian would be the Broncos’ starting quarterback after beating out Paxton Lynch in an offseason competition. Siemian was “the best guy for our team,” Joseph said that day, and Lynch, with only two NFL starts in his career, needed more time.
“He’s a young player, so in a year or two he may be ready to take over the reins,” Joseph said. “But right now, he’s not.”
On Wednesday, Joseph announced what most by then had already heard and expected. Lynch would be the Broncos’ starting quarterback after the team tried Siemian and then Brock Osweiler in the midst of dropping six consecutive games.
“Paxton is a talent and he’s our first-round pick,” Joseph said. “We’re trying to change what’s happened offensively. It’s simply his turn. We changed coordinators on Monday, and we’re hoping to play better offensively and not turn the ball over. Very simple.”
Circumstances have changed, even if Lynch’s body of work hasn’t. The Broncos, 3-7 and onto their second offensive coordinator in Bill Musgrave, need a spark, not to mention a victory as well as a gauge of Lynch’s ability now that he’s fully recovered from a shoulder sprain.
“Playing Paxton, it’s kind of twofold,” Joseph said. “We have to see where he is as a quarterback, but we want to win on Sunday. That’s not mistaken in our locker room.”
So Sunday at Oakland, Lynch will take the reins in undoubtedly the most significant start of his young career, and he’ll do so in an offense that has been tweaked by Musgrave. For Lynch, it’s the beginning of a tryout before the roster is retooled in the offseason.
For the offense that has been dragged down by turnovers and a lack of scoring, it could be a needed reset.
“I don’t take it as a last chance, but I definitely take it as an opportunity to go out there and show that you can be the guy,” Lynch said. “They called my number. I’ve been preparing this whole time, whether it was out here on the practice field or in the training room when I couldn’t come out here. I’m confident in where I am and what we can do this weekend.”
Joseph elevated Musgrave to interim offensive coordinator to, in part, improve the passing game, but to also streamline a system and playbook that he felt had become too burdensome. Previously the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, Musgrave provided a blueprint of sorts of what can be achieved in his system with an effective quarterback.
In 2014, Musgrave inherited a Raiders offense that ranked last in total offense (282.2 yards per game), rushing offense (77.5 yards) and first downs (15.5 per game), and finished 31st in scoring (15.8 points per game).
By the end of last year, he helped turn it into a group that finished 12-4 for its first playoff berth in 14 years, and guided an offense that ranked near the top of the league in many offensive categories: No. 6 in total offense (373.3 net yards), No. 7 in scoring (26 points per game) and tied for No. 1 in turnover differential (16).
An offense with an MVP-caliber quarterback like Derek Carr certainly isn’t a direct comparison.
But in an effort to achieve more success with Lynch, the game plan Sunday will be tailored to fit his strengths.
“It’s going to be his third NFL start, so it won’t be perfect. But, again, we have to coach him to the point to where he can be efficient with the offense,” Joseph said. “Running the football is always a must for a young quarterback and giving him a chance to have some easy completions, that’s also a must for a young quarterback. … If it breaks down, he can run the football. I told him, ‘Just play. Don’t try to be a pocket passer. We call a play and it’s not there, take off and run.’”
Musgrave’s offense won’t be an overhaul; there’s only so much that can be changed in a week’s time. But it will be simplified to try to fix the most glaring of the Broncos’ many offensive problems.
The Broncos over the last six weeks have watched their once-efficient and balanced system spiral into a mess. At the bye, the 3-1 Broncos were tied for the third-most rushing yards (143 per game) and ranked 11th in scoring (24.5 points). Since their six-game losing streak, they now rank 24th in scoring (18.3 points), 15th in rushing yards (112.9) and 30th in touchdown-to-interception ratio (0.86).
“We’re going to try to be much cleaner in our approach and take care of the football, take care of the quarterback and be explosive when the ball is in our hands,” Musgrave said. “We want to focus on the fundamentals and, of course, end up in the end zone much more than we have in the last couple of months.”
In other words: eliminate turnovers, run the football, put points on the board.
Joseph calls it “complementary football.” After Sunday, he hopes to call it a win.
“Sometimes take some variables from players,” he said. “If there’s five variables on the play, as a coach, take three away and give them two. That can cut back on giving the football away. If everyone’s on the same page and playing fast, that should help us.”