CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The expected arrived Friday.
After failing to secure the starting job with a shrugged-shoulders offseason, Trevor Siemian is beginning to regain his groove. Siemian posted back-to-back strong days at Broncos training camp, creating slight separation in the quarterback derby with an important evaluation looming in Saturday's scrimmage.
Siemian simmered Thursday and caught fire early Friday. He connected on scoring strikes to rookie slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie, who rebounded in a big way, and veteran Cody Latimer on a fade route. It wasn't just the results that stood out. It was the fashion in which they were accomplished. Siemian looked like the veteran -- even if he only has 14 career starts -- in the competition against former first-round pick Paxton Lynch. Siemian appeared composed, poised, relaxed and reliable.
It is not sexy, but it might be enough to win the job given Joseph's emphasis on decision-making and taking care of the football.
"I saw Trevor just being consistent, making his reads and making the throws where the reads told him to make the throws," Joseph said. "He did a good job today.”
Lynch continues to experience a roller-coaster ride. He made a strong play on a bootleg scoring pass to receiver Demaryius Thomas, but missed a wide-open Thomas in the end zone, and threw picks to cornerbacks Bradley Roby and Lorenzo Doss. Nobody expects perfection in practice. But as Siemian limits mistakes, Lynch is repeating those seen earlier in camp.
Safety Darian Stewart provided what I believe is an accurate synopsis of camp when asked about the quarterbacks Friday.
"Paxton can run. He’s athletic enough to get outside the pocket. Anytime you’re dealing with a dual-threat quarterback, that’s the toughest task," Stewart said. "But Trevor, he’s smart, he’s savvy and he’s doing some great things and making the right plays.”
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