The pads came out — along with the emotions.
A pair of scuffles highlighted the Broncos’ first practice in full pads Sunday, the second of which prompted a heart-to-heart from coach Gary Kubiak to his players in the waning minutes. The focus had seemingly faded as the intensity increased.
“We were on the back end of practice, about the last 20 minutes, and we were gassed,” Kubiak said. “So we get a little sloppy, just bad judgment. I tried to calm them down, told them we still had a long way to go and refocus. And they did.”
Mark Sanchez especially.
The veteran quarterback, while not perfect (an interception earlier in team drills) on the day, came out of the on-field meeting and quickly connected with a diving Bennie Fowler on a fade route. On the subsequent play, Sanchez found Cody Latimer with a deep pass down the right sideline.
“That’s game day,” Kubiak said. “You’re out there playing all day long and when everybody’s worn out, the quarterback has to step up and make plays. He did that at the end of practice. He made some great plays, made some great throws.”
Although a number of veterans received a rest day, as mandated by Kubiak to keep them fresh throughout the long season, the competition at quarterback continued. Second-year pro Trevor Siemian was again steady with his throws and decisions as he received some first-team reps alongside Sanchez. And rookie Paxton Lynch, who has made slow but steady progress in adapting to the NFL speed and thicker playbook, showed signs of improvement.
Lynch completed three consecutive deep passes, to wide receivers Kalif Raymond, Mose Frazier and Durron Neal, in team drills, pleasing the crowd of more than 4,700 that watched from the grass berm. But with the highlights came the mistakes from Lynch, including an interception made by rookie cornerback B.J. Lowery.
“He’s just better every day,” Kubiak said of Lynch, a first-round draft pick from Memphis. “Every day we are out here, he tends to make some big plays and do some good things. He struggles at times, but you are just seeing a guy get more and more confident.”
Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison echoed Kubiak’s assessment, but added a reminder that this year’s offense is wholly unlike that of 2015. New names have given way to different position battles and different groupings of plays. And the search for the next starting quarterback will not be rushed.
“I think we are going to get a clear picture when we open,” Dennison said. “We are just going to take our time, let that thing sort out. I think we have plenty of patience. Let’s let them play some games, let’s let them lead. Game experience is big. Obviously Mark’s got the upper hand on that. Let them go out there and play. The installation is just a part of us. We’re trying to progress it, so we don’t want to overload them. We try to teach in concept so they get a good feel and a grasp so we can move on.”
