Denver Broncos: The Good and Bad vs the Washington Redskins
The Good
Case Keenum
Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum looks to have found his groove in Friday’s game against the Washington Redskins. He looks a lot more comfortable with the system the team is running. He has thrown some very accurate passes to his receivers. Keenum finished the night completing 12-of-18 passes for 148 yards.
That is a very big positive for the Broncos and something the team desperately needs after a couple of years with poor/mediocre play at the quarterback position.
Keenum helped orchestrate some long drives, making the Redskins’ defense stay on the field longer than Washington hoped. That’s an important thing to do: tire the opposing team’s defense out.
With 45 seconds left in the first quarter that’s exactly what Denver did. Keenum handed the ball to running back Royce Freeman and he ran through defenders for a 24-yard touchdown run.
Wow.
Royce Freeman & Phillip Lindsay
Lindsay is F-A-S-T. The Broncos found yet another gem in the rookie free agent department. Denver could do a lot with Lindsay. He can run. He can catch. He can return kicks. With his speed, Lindsay could become the Broncos’ X-Factor during the 2018 season.
It looks as if Denver will have a very strong rushing attack in 2018. Freeman probably locked up the starting job, taking it away from Devontae Booker. The Broncos might even be happy enough with the three rookies (including David Williams) to let go of Booker.
I cannot say it enough: Phillip Lindsay is FAST. Not only did the Broncos do a phenomenal job at finding stars in the draft, they really did themselves a favour in finding a guy who lives nearby and went to CU.
Pass Defense
In the first quarter, Denver held Redskins quarterback Alex Smith to -3 yards passing during their 7 minutes and 10 seconds of possession. The Broncos did a great job getting to Smith, forcing him to throw the ball sooner than he wanted to. If Denver can do that on a regular basis, who knows? Maybe they could set some records and be the dominant defense they once were.
Emmanuel Sanders
Sanders led the way for the Broncos receiving core with 4 receptions for 61 yards. He also had the opportunity to run the ball. He did well with his lone opportunity, taking the run 27 yards for the score.
Could we see some more of that during the regular season? Who knows. There is still one preseason game to go. If the Broncos want to explore it again, and if Sanders does well rushing again, I wouldn’t rule out the idea of him taking the handoff from Keenum every once in a while.
Sanders showed tremendous effort in Friday’s game against Washington. Some of the passes thrown to him were off target, but that didn’t matter, as he stretched out and dove for them. A
Dymonte Thomas
If the Broncos decide to keep five safeties, it looks like Thomas has done enough (or more than enough) to solidify that last safety spot.
Darian Stewart, Will Parks, Justin Simmons and Su’a Cravens are the guys who are expected to be the other players at the safety position.
Denver also has Trey Marshall, Jordan Moore, as well as former Steelers and Bills safety Shamarko Thomas, who left Friday’s game with an eye injury.