Don’t read too much into the Broncos final preseason game
Aug 28, 2019, 6:11 AM
The Broncos are going to play their fifth and final game of the 2019 preseason on Thursday when the Cardinals come into town. Head coach Vic Fangio knows exactly what he wants to see in the backup quarterback competition from veteran Kevin Hogan and rookie Brett Rypien.
“I’d like to see some separation from them. We’ve got one more game to do that. That remains to be seen. I’ve seen some good play. I’ve seen some not so good, so I don’t know the answer to that just yet,” Fangio said.
Broncos fans should not take too much from the performance of these two quarterbacks in the preseason finale, however. Here’s why:
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Vance Joseph’s “Defense”
Vance Joseph, the former Broncos head coach, is coming back to Denver, this time as the defensive coordinator of the Cardinals. He was a defensive coordinator for one season with the Dolphins before getting a chance to be the head coach of the Broncos for two years. Joseph did not have great success with the Dolphins, and so far his Cardinals defense is looking porous at best. The Cardinals have played three preseason games, and opposing quarterbacks have made things look easy against Joseph’s unit.
In the preseason opener, only six passes were incomplete by the Chargers quarterbacks. Los Angeles rookie Easton Stick finished with 78 yards passing, but also 51 yards rushing and one rushing touchdown. Stick is far from a polished passer, but still was able to make plays against the Cardinals defense.
In the second preseason game against the Raiders, only three passes were incomplete and guys like Mike Glennon (11-of-14 for 175 yards and two touchdowns) and Nathan Peterman (8-of-8 for 41 yards) were shredding Joseph’s defense with ease. When quarterbacks like Glennon and Peterman are dominating your defense, that’s not a good thing.
In the Cardinals third preseason game, they did a better job against the Vikings. Minnesota starter Kirk Cousins looked awful, going 3-of-13 for 35 yards passing. However, Minnesota’s backup quarterbacks – Sean Mannion (6-of-9 passing for 57 yards) and Kyle Sloter (6-of-7 for 102 yards and one touchdown) – had their way with the Cardinals defense.
On Tuesday, I asked Rypien if he had asked any of the veteran players about what to expect from Joseph’s defense.
“A little bit. I think that they’ve made some changes there. I’ve seen my point of view from it, watching the film. Coach Scangarello has prepared us, as well, so I know what they’ve been doing in the preseason and I’ll be prepared come Thursday.” Rypien said.
If the two Broncos quarterbacks have success against Joseph’s defense, it will be par for the course compared to what almost every other quarterback has done this preseason.
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Pedal to the Metal
It sounds like the Broncos offense could actually open things up a bit in the preseason finale. Hogan gave some insight as to what he wants to do against the Cardinals, and there is no doubt that he believes the team could move the ball up and down the field.
“I just want to go out and make some big plays, put on a show for the fans and have fun. I think we need to be able to open it up a little bit. I think that’s what we’re going to do. I’m expecting some successful drives and some points on the board.” Hogan said.
Going deep has been missing from the Broncos offense during the course of the preseason. In the earlier portions of training camp, the team didn’t seem too willing to fire passes deep downfield. That changed a couple of weeks into practices, but we never saw it translate into the games that much. When the Broncos did try to go deep and were successful, the plays were called back by penalty (like the 45-yard strike to Emmanuel Sanders that was negated by a holding call on Garett Bolles).
The Cardinals, like every other team in the NFL, are not going to play many – if any – starters in the preseason finale. If there’s ever a time to go deep and try to connect on big plays downfield, it is this week. The Cardinals starters aren’t that good on defense and their reserves are even worse. They can be picked on early and often.
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Too Little, Too Late?
No matter what Hogan and Rypien do on Thursday night, it might be too little too late. In a way, Hogan and Rypien are not only competing against themselves, but they are also competing against other quarterbacks around the league who might become available either through waivers or a trade.
Both quarterbacks have had their fair share of struggles during the preseason, and neither has really stood out. I do believe Rypien has been better and has unknown (although limited) upside. Hogan is more of a known quantity and hasn’t looked any different than he did in earlier stops in the NFL with the Browns and the Chiefs.
There’s really nothing either one can do on Thursday if the Broncos have their eyes on some other team’s backup quarterback. Even if they do move the ball with ease against the Cardinals defense, that might not be enough if the right quarterback becomes available.
Since Hogan said the team was going to open things up on offense, I asked Rypien if he felt the same way.
“Yeah, we’ll see. It’s tough to say right now, we haven’t really gotten into the game plan. We kind of dove into it a little bit, but we won’t necessarily see all of it until tomorrow or game day, so we’ll see as the week progresses. But yeah, it would be nice to open it up, for sure.” Rypien said.
In summation, the Broncos backup quarterbacks should look good against the Cardinals. They don’t have great talent on defense and Joseph is not considered a good coordinator by most. It’s past time to open things up on offense, and the quarterback duo may have some rust when it comes to firing passes downfield. Sure, they could have some good plays here and there but the Broncos should be looking for an upgrade at the backup quarterback position.
Essentially, the backup to Joe Flacco (while Drew Lock is injured) may not yet be on the roster.
