There are hot takes and then there are true statements. Denver Broncos fans may have found a way to meld the two together.
There's a quarterback competition in Denver and judging solely from reports from observers in the media, it hasn't been pretty.
Might've been the worst practice I've ever seen out of Siemian, and Lynch wasn't much better.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) August 2, 2017
Allbright's take is just one of dozens along the same lines. But if there is a favorite it seems to be Trevor Siemian over Paxton Lynch, which doesn't excite many fans, and probably shouldn't. Neither have inspired confidence this summer.
We already know Siemian sucks and can't win anything. Not near as good as Alex Smith. Worst QB in AFC West by far. Siemian = last place.
— Mark Knudson (@MarkKnudson41) August 7, 2017
Update: lynch sucks. Siemian sucks. We're boned https://t.co/cHpgJ2gGgY
— Game of thrones SZN (@KrHarmon) July 30, 2017
Siemian struggled last year to be anything more than just a placeholder.
(NFL rank)
| COMP % | YPA | TD | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59.5 (25) | 7.00 (20) | 18 (22) | 84.6 (23) |
Those numbers and rankings aren't good, though to be fair to Siemian, it was his first year starting. Problem is, the Broncos offense needs to take a step forward and if training camp is any indication, that hasn't happened yet.
[divider]AFC RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR
HOT TAKES: Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers[divider]
Oddly, however, Siemian is not the worst quarterback, statistically, returning in 2017 for a team with high hopes for the postseason.
Here are a pair of QBs on legit playoff teams who had worse numbers than Siemian last season, including a former MVP:
| Player | COMP % | YPA | TD | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Newton | 52.9 (30) | 6.88 (22) | 19 (20) | 75.8 (28) |
| Carson Wentz | 62.4 (18) | 6.23 (29) | 16 (25) | 79.3 (25) |
Siemian also had a better passer rating than Joe Flacco, Blake Bortles, Brock Osweiler and Ryan Fitzpatrick, though only Flacco is saying anything and it may say more about Flacco than Siemian.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is, Siemian isn't the worst but if he or Lynch aren't noticeably better in 2017 than Siemian was a year ago, Twitter user @KrHarmon may be right. The Broncos might be boned.
