Chad Kelly has lots of things going for him. Can the Denver Broncos be ready to move on from the Paxton Lynch disaster? Keep an eye on this game.
Saturday, as the Denver Broncos continue their preseason, it is apparent that general manager/executive vice president of football operations, John Elway, is not happy with the Broncos’ backup QB situation.
While Chad Kelly (14 of 21, 177 yards, 2 TD’s/INT) impressed in the 42-28 loss to Minnesota last week, Paxton Lynch (6 of 11, 24 yards, INT) did nothing to help his situation.
On the “Horsin Around” podcast on the Denver Broncos website, hosts Andrew Mason and Andy Lindahl confirmed their beliefs that Kelly does things better than Lynch, such as having a “feel for receivers.”
It doesn’t hurt Kelly that Elway has gone on the record, saying that he reminds the Broncos’ executive of his “uncle Jim,” his fellow Hall of Famer who starred for the Buffalo Bills from 1986-1996.
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As word emerged this week that Lynch had fallen to third on the depth chart, in mid-week remarks, Elway said the Broncos are also looking to upgrade the backup QB position.
In any event, Lynch, who is universally hated by Broncos Country, seems to be a sure cut once camp casualties fall prey to the Turk.
Based on the trend of the first two days of Week 2 of this preseason, it would appear starters are getting lots of reps across the NFL. Perhaps this means the Broncos will give Case Keenum more work against the Chicago Bears this evening.
As my late Grandpa McArthur would say based on last Saturday’s reps, Keenum “barely had time to get his ears wet.” Going one for four is not pleasant, but hardly a sufficient sample size to make any judgment. I would expect to see Keenum go at least two or three series this time around.
The Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos engaged in joint practices this past week, which saw Chicago’s prized first-round draft pick, Roquan Smith, practice for the first time.
The eighth overall pick out of Georgia finally ended his contract stalemate and Bears head coach Matt Nagy reported he liked what he saw out of him during the workouts.
Also, it’s interesting that Denver Broncos tackle Garett Bolles and Bears QB Mitch Trubisky have become fast friends.
In fact, Bolles now calls his fellow draft class of 2017 member, “Uncle Mitch.” Apparently, the orange and blue color schemes are not all the Bears and Broncos have in common. Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe says the squads have sufficient respect for each other.
Obviously, the Broncos’ injuries were accentuated by safety Jamal Carter being lost for the season with a torn ACL earlier this past week. The Broncos have since signed veteran safety Shamarko Thomas, a sixth-year pro out of Syracuse who is best known for his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Broncos and Bears are meeting in the preseason for the 11th time and the Broncos are 7-3 all-time in this series but only 1-2 at home. The Weather Channel reports there is a 35 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms at kickoff with temperatures around 74 degrees.
Throughout the game, these conditions become “scattered thunderstorms” with temperatures hovering around the low 70’s. Do not be surprised, therefore, if there is a weather delay with a chance of lightning around.
Anyway, this is your game thread. If any Bears fans visit, treat them kindly, the Broncos’ way. GO BRONCOS!!!