It’s Time for the Broncos to Hit the Panic Button

While the Denver Broncos season hangs in the balance by the tiniest of threads, is it time for them to hit the panic button ? The answer is.....yes!

At his weekly Monday press conference Broncos' Head Coach Vance Joseph said Trevor Siemian will be the starting quarterback Monday night when the Broncos take on the first-place Kansas City Chiefs.

"Absolutely. He’s our quarterback. He can’t play well if he’s not being protected.“He can play better, absolutely, but it’s not a Trevor problem, it’s a unit problem.”- Vance Joseph

The story on Twitter is entirely different, with many tweeters calling for a change at quarterback and suggesting the Broncos make a call to the unemployed and controversial Colin Kaepernick, Tim Tebow, or even Michael Vick.

You can't blame the fans for wanting change. When the Broncos won their first two games, a lot of people, myself included, thought this team might be okay, despite three Siemian turnovers in those games, and taking 6 sacks.

Since those two wins, it's only gotten worse for Siemian, whom I have staunchly supported and defended publicly and privately.

In the last four games, Siemian has been responsible for six turnovers, and has been sacked a whopping 16 times. Some of those sacks are on the offensive line, and some of them are the result of Siemian simply holding onto the ball too long. Since throwing 4 touchdown passes against the Dallas Cowboys, Siemian has thrown a grand total of two touchdown passes. Are you kidding me??

Coach Joseph is right about two things. Trevor can play better, and it is a unit problem. The offensive line is not good, but it is possible they are playing as good as they are capable. That's not their fault. Siemian is part of that unit, and so, yes, he is part of the problem.

Is it time for the Broncos to panic?? Yes, it is. The season, and the Broncos' playoff hopes are just a whisper away from blowing away in the Colorado breeze, and if the Broncos don't do something fast, Bronco Country will be talking more about the 2018 NFL Draft than they will the final eight games of the season.

I have to confess, I'm starting to have my doubts about Trevor Siemian as the Broncos long-term solution at the most important position on the field. I'm pretty sure, based upon what I've seen, that Brock Osweiler is not the answer. That leaves one option, and that is second year-man Paxton Lynch who has been busy recovering from injury.

Is Lynch the answer? Well, we know that he wasn't ready to be the guy the last time we saw him play, but the fact is, he hasn't gotten much opportunity to take snaps in real NFL games. If the Broncos season goes South quickly -- as might well be the case with games coming up against the Chiefs, Patriots and Eagles, we might as well put Paxton in there, give him some real game experience and figure out this season if he's got what it takes to be the long-term guy.

Bringing back Tim Tebow certainly won't salvage Denver's season, and Colin Kaepernick seems more interested in stirring the pot than throwing the football, so that doesn't seem like a viable option. It looks to me like the Broncos' problems run deeper than the quarterback position.

My hope, going forward is that the Broncos offensive line will miraculously learn how to open up holes for the Broncos tangent of talented running backs, and start pass-protecting Trevor Siemian to keep him off his back. If that happens, and the Broncos team that beat the Cowboys in week #2 returns to the field, all is not lost, and they could make a run at a wildcard spot.

If not, it's time for the rebuilding to begin...and it may be too late to panic.

[NFL.COM]