hopped up on the box and took his first giant step as quarterback of the Broncos.
The box? It doesn’t look like much. It is painted blue. It is a mere 14 inches tall. Parked between the practice field and the locker room at Dove Valley Headquarters, the box also is where the man with most-scrutinized job in Denver stands to be quizzed by the media on behalf of apountry.
“I don’t know what to do with my hands,” Keenum said Tuesday, hopping on the blue box after his first day of OTAs as the new starting quarterback now entrusted with making everything all right for a team that finished 5-11 last season.
My first impression of Keenum? Well, if you want me to be honest, what struck me had nothing to do with how he can spin a football or command the huddle. Instead, here’s the thought that entered my mind as Keenum stepped on the blue box: He’s a lot shorter than I expected.
Whatap that got to do with anything? If potential was measured in height, would already be well on his way to the Hall of Fame. So, as far as moving the chains on third down, it doesn’t really matter Keenum is listed at 6-foot-1, which might be a wee bit of a stretch.
But, as a QB expected to lead the Broncos back to the playoffs, itap also fair to say Keenum doesn’t possess the follow-me-boys swagger of or the presidential aura of .
And, in apountry, all eyes are on the quarterback. 24/7. Withstanding the constant scrutiny from a demanding football town will be the biggest challenge for Keenum, far tougher than learning the Denver playbook or developing chemistry with receiver .
On a lazy May day meant for rolling out a blanket and chewing on a blade of grass, there were eight television cameras and nearly 40 journalists watching every breath Keenum took and every move the 30-year-old quarterback made at an NFL practice without pads.
“This is Case’s first time having a chance to really be the guy,” Broncos coach said, “so he’s excited about that, and I’m excited for him. His entire career, he has been a backup. He’s become a starter because of injury, most of the time, but this is his first time being the guy.”
And that right there is among the keener observations Joseph has uttered since his rocky reign as coach began a little more than a year ago.
While examining Keenum since he signed a two-year, $36 million deal as a free agent in March, the debate has centered on whether he can replicate his 22 touchdowns, seven interceptions and 67.6 completion percentage of last season in Minnesota. But that argument, I think, misses the point. Until 2017, when Keenum stepped in for injured and led the Vikings to 11 regular-season victories, he had started 26 games in his career and never been asked to be the man.
Despite seven years of hard knocks in the NFL, here’s what Keenum cannot fully understand about working in Denver until he throws a pick-six against the Raiders: Quarterback is a job everyone in apountry takes very personally.
never cared about winning as much as the fans did. Jake Plummer was known to throw an interception that made the veins bulge in Mike Shanahan’s neck, but the passion of “The Snake” burned so white hot it was felt and appreciated from the locker room to the South Stands. Manning had a great-and–powerful Oz presence so large it could carry the Broncos to the , even after his broken-down body was unable to perform anywhere near a Pro Bowl level.
While standing on the blue box to meet the press, always came off as an accidental tourist, a self-described slappy lucky to be here. And Lynch? The Broncos don’t fully trust him to represent the team on blue box, much less lead a comeback in Oakland.
“I’m trying to earn the right to lead these guys,” Keenum said.
Keenum is ranked No. 51 on the NFL Network’s new list of top 100 players, which demonstrates a healthy respect from his peers, who voted in the survey. But, in apountry, the real test of a quarterback’s mettle is when the home team loses two in a row, and Keenum will be forced to stand up and take more than his fair share of responsibility for the trouble, because around here, we expect the QB to make everything all right.
The box? It is little. It is blue. It is only 14 inches tall.
But for any quarterback that slips up with the Broncos, the fall is a long way down.
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