Gruden breaks down Siemian, Osweiler ahead of Broncos vs. Texans
Oct 24, 2016, 12:00 AM | Updated: 5:19 am
Many quarterbacks have sat in the chair opposite Jon Gruden in his QB Camp series on ESPN, including former Denver Broncos 2012 second-round pick Brock Osweiler.
However, the man who has been compared to Osweiler — not necessarily this week leading up to Denver’s home matchup with the Houston Texans on Monday Night football but basically since he earned the starting job in the preseason — Trevor Siemian never faced Gruden’s hot seat.
But the ESPN analyst and Monday Night Football broadcaster took his shot at the second-year quarterback Friday on with “Schlereth and Evans.”
“It’s a great story. He’s a seventh-round pick. There are a lot of successful quarterbacks that have played in the NFL who aren’t first-round picks,” Gruden said.
The former coach-turned-television personality called Siemian athletic and accurate and said the Broncos are asking him to play a big role mentally as well.
“He is athletic. He is accurate. He does show some timing,” Gruden said. “They’ve involved him at the line of scrimmage. They’re asking him to do a lot of things from an audible standpoint, so he’s handling a lot of different things.”
However, all is for naught if Denver can’t get keep the young gunslinger upright with its offensive line, Gruden said.
“If the offensive line doesn’t improve, it’s just a matter of time until another quarterback gets in there,” Gruden said. “He’s been behind in the chains. They’re not running the ball with any type of consistency. And that’s hard on any quarterback, especially a guy playing in his first year.”
Denver’s given up the ninth-most sacks through six games this season (17) while also ranking 26th in rushing offense with just 591 yards and four touchdowns.
Gruden took another crack at Osweiler, now the Texans starter after leaving Denver in the offseason for a four-year, $72 million contract with Houston.
Houston’s struggling to stay consistent offensively, Gruden said, and Osweiler’s got to do a better job of delivering the ball.
“I think it’s a new offense for him. It’s different for him. There’s a struggle there. It’s really been, I think, an inconsistent Houston Texans offense,” Gruden said. “And Osweiler’s got to throw the ball better. He’s been erratic throwing the football.”
The Broncos and Texans rank back-to-back in terms of passing offense through six game sin 2016 (28th and 29th, respectively).
