Broncos making mistake with Trevor Siemian

The Denver Broncos are turning to quarterback Trevor Siemian in their third preseason game.

Denver is trying to become the first team since the 2003-04 New England Patriots to repeat as Super Bowl champions. If the quarterback situation is any indication, though, it won’t be happening.

On Monday, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak announced that quarterback Trevor Siemian will start the all-important third preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. This puts Siemian on the first team for two consecutive weeks, ahead of both Mark Sanchez and Paxton Lynch.

While Kubiak noted no final decision has been made on the Week 1 starter, this is a strong indication. If Sanchez was the starter, he would be getting this valuable playing time with the first team. If Lynch had any chance of starting, he would absolutely be getting all the first-team reps. Instead, Siemian is under center to start, showcasing Kubiak’s apparent decision.

Broncos fans are quick to point out that the combination of Brock Osweiler and Peyton Manning won a Super Bowl last season. Therefore, Denver can certainly win with Siemian, or Mark Sanchez, or Paxton Lynch, right? There are some holes in that theory.

While Manning did throw nine touchdowns against 17 interceptions, his mind can’t be discounted. Manning is perhaps the most intelligent player in NFL history, and undoubtedly got Denver into good plays instead of bad ones with checks at the line on myriad occasions. Siemian won’t be doing any of that as a second-year quarterback.

The Broncos have the best defense in football, and they are going to need it. Siemian played portions of four seasons at Northwestern, seeing most of his action from 2012-14. He split time with Kain Colter, and completed 58.9 percent of his throws over his college career. All told, Siemian tossed 27 touchdowns against 24 interceptions.

In his only preseason start to date, Siemian led Denver on an 86-yard rtouchdown drive against the San Francisco 49ers to begin the contest. After that, he launched a pick-six to safety Eric Reid and afterwards, looked rattled. His final line was 10-of-14 for 75 yards and an interceptions, averaging 5.4 yards per attempt. For context, that would be a full yard worse than any quarterback in 2015, save for Nick Foles (6.09).

Making Siemian the starter leaves more questions than answers. With a weak arm and no mobility, Siemian is a bad fit for Kubiak’s rollout offense. While Sanchez is also not the long-term answer, he at least has experience including two AFC title games. If it simply comes down to taking care of the ball, Siemian’s track record suggests plenty of turnovers are on the way. It doesn’t make sense.

Denver remains a dangerous team because of it’s lights-out defense. But if Siemian ends up starting against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, it is going to be a long night at Mile High.