SPORTS TIME FOR HIGHDOLLAR BRONCOS TO PAY OFF
It’s no longer a question of if Phillip Lindsay is the Broncos’ best offensive player, but when he will be elected mayor of Denver.
The Broncos could not be 20 without Lindsay, the mightiest mite in the NFL.
But, at 5foot8, is Lindsay big enough to carry Denver to the playoffs?
Nope.
At a salary of $485,000, no NFL player is providing more bang for the buck than Lindsay, whose 178 yards rushing rank third in the league.
But with quarterback Case Keenum and receiver Demaryius Thomas playing football that’s meh at best, can Lindsay be counted on to cover for $27 million of underperforming assets in the Denver huddle? Nope.
Lindsay has stolen the hearts of his hometown and dominated the narrative of the Broncos’ undefeated start. Everybody loves Lindsay, including Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
“You probably have to be surprised when any rookie (produces like Lindsay); it doesn’t matter if they’re a free agent or drafted highly,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. “To put up the kind of production he’s put up, it’s pretty unusual. And very impressive.”
Lindsay has been discovered. Don’t be surprised if Harbaugh goes all Bill Belichick on the Broncos, doing everything in his power to take away Lindsay, while daring Denver to beat him with a quarterback struggling to
find a rhythm in the passing attack.
It’s far too early for the Broncos to panic. But it’s not too early for us to ask: What’s going on with Keenum and Thomas? They carry the two highest salary cap hits on the Denver roster in 2018. And they haven’t carried their weight.
At a cap hit of $15 million, Keenum’s quarterback rating is 28th in the league, no thanks to Thomas. D.T. stands for dropped throw. He drops anything you throw at him. At a salary cap hit of $12 million, Thomas looks old at age 30.
The positive outlook: The Broncos are tied for first place in the AFC West, despite disappointing contributions from Keenum and Thomas, who account for more than 14 percent of their salary cap allocation.
The reason for concern: The Broncos have yet to establish a reliable identity on offense. Can Keenum evolve into more than the game manager that his skill set suggests? Or do the Broncos need to acknowledge their limi tations, settle for a conservative groundandpound attack that minimizes the chance of interceptions, while leaning on linebacker Von Miller and the defense to win games?
What offensive identity did coach Vance Joseph want Denver to establish?
“I wanted an offense that can obviously run the football and find completion plays for our quarterback on early downs,” Joseph said. Translation: physical football, with conservative throws and the ability to rule time of possession.
When Denver signed Keenum as a free agent, he was hailed as a major upgrade at quarterback. The early results have not been favorable. That’s not an opinion. It’s a fact.
A year ago, Trevor Siemian opened with victories over the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas, completing 65 percent of his passes, with six touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 106.9, as the Broncos averaged 33 points per game.
Through two games, Keenum has completed 59.5 percent of his passes, with three touchdowns and four interceptions for a passing rating of 73.7, as the Broncos averaged 23.5 points per game.
Trying to rebound from his least productive season since becoming a fulltime starter in 2012, Thomas is off to an even slower start this year. It’s a small sample size, to be certain. But his catch percentage (52.4) and his yards per reception (7.4) indicate a troubling lack of chemistry with Keenum. Is it just me, or does Keenum seem to have more trust in Emmanuel Sanders and Jake Butt as passing targets?
Keenum and Thomas must play better for the Broncos’ undefeated record to survive a trip to Baltimore’s house of pain.
“They’re big, tough and strong. Big, tough, strong,” Keenum said, repeating attributes of the Ravens so nasty it can make a quarterback’s knee ache. “It’s an AFC North defense. I’ve played them a few times and I know very well how they operate. We’ve got our work cut out for us, especially on the road.”
Lindsay is the best story in Denver sports.
But, for the Broncos to make the playoffs, there has to be more to this story.